Looking specifically at Verse 28:
"I Thirst":
[0:00] Good morning. A warm welcome to the service this morning and a special welcome to those who are visiting with us. I know we've got quite a few visitors today from different places, some from as far away as America, and you're very welcome to the service today.
[0:19] You can see that we are celebrating the sacrament of the Lord's Supper today and as Ian will say in the course of the service, it's the Lord's table so it's not the free church table or the North Harris table, so any who know, who trust the Lord are welcome to join with us as the elements are passed around in due course. We want to welcome as well those who will be sitting with us for the first time as Communicant members here and again we're so thankful to see Lucy and Donald and Roslyn in the, sorry, Jane, sorry, see what happens when I don't take notes. Jane, MacDonald and Roslyn and Donald, it's great to have them with us for the first time. One or two intimations just to highlight. The evening service is at six and again that will be taken by Ian. We are thankful to have been under his ministry over this weekend and Ian we look forward to hearing God's word through you again this evening.
[1:33] There's a fellowship after the service this evening as well. We don't have tea after the service as we normally would have today in the morning but there's a fellowship this evening after the service at six and please be encouraged to stay for that. Ian will share testimony.
[1:49] At eight o'clock we'll also stop and we will observe the national minute silence as we are in anticipation of the funeral tomorrow. In the course of this week, just to highlight that there will be a deacon's court tomorrow night at half past six. Please note that there are various things which are happening as we happen week by week and you can take note of these things.
[2:15] One change is that the midweek meeting that we would normally have on Wednesday, we're not having on Wednesday this week. Those of you who remember Adam, it's not his real name but that's the name he goes by. Adam does a very important work as he ministers to Muslims in a range of countries.
[2:37] It's very much under the radar and so we look forward to hearing from Adam and of the ministry that he's involved with. Because of the sensitivity of that, it can't go online, can't be recorded so there'll be no Zoom midweek this week. It'll be in person on Thursday at half past seven.
[3:00] But I can't encourage you enough to come to that meeting. It's incredible just to hear how God works in these places and through that ministry.
[3:11] For the young ones, just note, Connect for P4 to P7 starts again this Friday, half past, well quarter to four to half past five. Blytheswood shoebox appeal. We've got quite a lot of donations so far and thank you for that. For the next couple of weeks, we're collecting hats, scarves and gloves please.
[3:33] And the final thing is the Senior Sunday School are organising a brunch for Blytheswood. That's this coming Saturday, 24th September, half past nine till twelve. Here in the church, I presume.
[3:45] Yes? Yeah? I can't. I'm looking for somebody to nod at me. Here in the church. And please come along for brunch and support this work. So these, I think, are all the notices. And again, it gives me great pleasure to hand over to Ian. And we pray once more that we'll know the Lord's blessing as you lead us.
[4:07] Thank you, David, for the warm welcome. And once again, it's a joy and a privilege to be gathered together here today, especially as we come around word and sacrament. And we pray that we'll know the Lord's blessing, his spirit opening our hearts and our minds to the wonders of that salvation that is ours in Christ. We're going to begin by singing to God's praise. We're going to sing from Sing Psalms in Psalm 103. Psalm 103, reading at the beginning of the psalm.
[4:42] Praise God, my soul, with all my heart. Let me exalt his holy name. Forget not all his benefits. His praise, my soul, in song proclaim. We're going to sing down to the end of the verse marked 11, to the praise of God, to the praise of God, standing to sing. Praise God, my soul, with all my heart.
[5:01] Amen. Praise God, my soul, with all my heart. Let me exalt his holy name. Forget not all his benefits.
[5:24] His grace, my soul, with all my heart. Let me exalt his holy name. Let me exalt his holy name. The Lord forgives you all your sins and heals your sickness and distress. Your life he rescues from the grave and crowns you in his tenderness.
[5:53] And grants you in his tenderness. He satisfies your deep desires from his unending stores of good.
[6:12] So that just like the eagle's strength, your youthful vigor is renewed.
[6:23] The Lord is known for righteous acts, and justice to damned-roden ones.
[6:35] To Moses he made known his ways, his mighty deeds to Israel's sons.
[6:47] His mighty deeds to Israel's sons. The Lord is merciful and kind. To anger slow and full of grace. He will not constantly reprove, or in his anger hide his face.
[7:16] He does not punish our misdeeds, or give our sins their just reward.
[7:27] How great is love as high as heaven towards all those who fear the Lord.
[7:38] Friends, let's unite our hearts in prayer. Let us pray.
[7:51] Lord our God, we come and we seek today to have our hearts bow down in worship.
[8:06] For as we reflect upon who you are, we cannot but come and worship. The King of kings, the Lord of lords.
[8:22] The one who is our prophet, our priest, and our king. The one who is teaching us, and leading us, and directing us in his word.
[8:35] The one who is interceding on our behalf at the right hand of the Father. The one who, if we are his today, sits upon the throne of our heart.
[8:47] We thank you, O Lord, that if we are yours, our identity is in Christ. And it is in Christ that we come around your word and sacrament this day.
[9:01] We acknowledge that we have nothing to bring ourselves. Our righteousness is our, as your word tells us, like filthy rags. They are but soiled garments.
[9:14] All that we seek to bring to you by nature is so tainted by sin. But yet, O Lord, we come this day and we offer to you what you have already given unto us.
[9:30] That grace. So that today we can truly say that by the grace of God, we are what we are. That our security is found in that finished work.
[9:45] In that act of love that was shown on Calvary's hill. When you died so that we might live. What a wonder it is that we can take our eyes beyond this world.
[9:59] And we can look upon that great landscape of eternity by faith today. As we reflect upon lives that are often characterized by pain and anguish.
[10:12] As we are tossed to and fro with various difficult providences. And as well as we enjoy times of anticipation and expectation.
[10:26] We know that all that we have in this world is but temporary. This is a temporary arrangement. Even our gathering here today at your table.
[10:38] We are remembering your death. We are remembering the fact that you gave yourself as a ransom for many. But we are only doing so until you come again.
[10:54] And so help us to have that great eternal outlook. An outlook that doesn't render us useless here in time.
[11:04] But an outlook that all the more leads us to that place where we long for men and women. Boys and girls to come and to share in the wonders of Christ for themselves.
[11:19] Those who are strangers both to grace and to God. Who know not their danger. Who feel not their load. That we as your people. As your church.
[11:29] As your bride. That we would as it were from one beggar to another. Show them where to get food. And so help us to keep the main thing.
[11:40] The main thing. In our mission. And in our vision. That you would be the one who is high and lifted up. In all that we seek to do. Even today.
[11:51] That we would see Jesus. Jesus. We praise you Lord for this gathering of your people. Some whom we know. Some whom we don't.
[12:02] Gathered from north, south, east and west. A people that reflect the church of Christ. From every nation, tribe and tongue.
[12:13] We praise you that we unite at the cross. That we unite in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. And as we reflect upon our gathering here today.
[12:25] Our hearts rejoice. As our friends are added to the number of this congregation. We pray for them oh Lord. And we give thanks for them.
[12:37] For Donald. For Roslyn. And for Jane. We pray that you would be with them. Even just now. As they have taken that step of faith.
[12:48] That your Holy Spirit would be as it were. A wall of fire around them. Protecting them from the thoughts of the evil one. Who we know who is seeking to destroy.
[13:01] And take from us any peace that we are enjoying. Keep him away. Not only from our friends who have just joined us. But from all of us here today. That you would keep him away.
[13:12] And that above all else. We would be so aware. That you are here. In our midst. We thank you Lord then. For this congregation.
[13:24] In this community. And we pray that as they continue to minister. That they would go from strength to strength. Unwearied. Still forward. Unto strength.
[13:35] That they would see many more coming to that place of repentance. That place of faith. That they would see this place as a place that is bursting at the seams.
[13:50] With many more who seek to call you their father and their friend. How we long for days of revival and renewal. Revival in our own hearts as your people.
[14:02] First and foremost. Forgive us we pray. Forgive us for losing sight all too often of who you are. And who we are in you. And help us even as we reflect upon all that you have done for us.
[14:16] And continue to do and will do. That we might have that renewed vigour and zeal. To go out and to serve you all the more.
[14:27] For time is short. And eternity is long. Death is no respecter of Persians. We have been reminded of that even in the days gone by.
[14:38] As we have lost her majesty the queen. From the realms of time. Into the endless ages of eternity. We pray for the royal family.
[14:49] We pray that you would be with them. That you would strengthen them. That you would lead them in all the duties that befall them at this time. No doubt they are wearisome in their bodies.
[15:01] And even in their soul. That they would know that strength that is otherworldly. That you would throw alongside them. And that they would in a great measure know something of the God whom the one whom they loved so much in this world.
[15:18] Worshipped and gave herself fully to. We pray for his majesty the king. That you would be with him now. As he begins this new chapter.
[15:29] In his experience. A chapter that is in many ways no doubt daunting. And there are many things that lie ahead. That cause him to ask questions and concern.
[15:43] We pray oh Lord that he would come even at this time. To find strength from the king of kings himself. From the Lord Jesus Christ.
[15:54] Now be with us we pray in our act of worship. Be with your elders here as they themselves continue in their various duties. That all would be done to the glory of your name.
[16:08] Be with the young people gathered here also. We praise you for them. We thank you that they are here in their young years. And we pray that your Holy Spirit might touch them.
[16:19] Even today. So that they would be found giving the best years of their lives. To God the king. And so go with us now we pray.
[16:30] And forgive us for all our many sins we ask. In Jesus name. Amen. Well I believe we've got some young folk in with us today. If you'd like to come to the front.
[16:41] I'm just going to say a. A wee word to you with a bit of paper. I don't have anything very exciting to show you. Come and take a seat. Wow.
[16:53] That lot of kids. It's so lovely to see you. You know it does my heart good to see you. We've got I think four or five kids in Grava.
[17:03] So you'll have to come over and bump up our numbers one day. Would you do that for us? They would love. In fact you know what we should do? You could maybe come and help us do a holiday club sometime.
[17:14] Would you do that? Yeah. There's a good plan. So what am I going to do? I'm going to show you this boring bit of paper. I'm going to ask a question.
[17:26] How do we get to know Jesus? This paper is going to show us how we get to know Jesus.
[17:36] Now there's all kinds of different ways of getting to know Jesus. Any ideas? How do we get to know Jesus? By reading the Bible. Good answer. Yeah.
[17:47] Coming to Sunday school. Absolutely. Learning all about it. Any other ways? Going to church. Coming to church. Good.
[17:58] Absolutely. There's loads of different ways of getting to know Jesus. Now I'm going to show you by folding here. Let's see if I get this right. If I don't get this right you'll have to bear with me.
[18:10] I might have to do it a second time. So what's this? What have I got here? Not yet. Not yet. What have I got here?
[18:20] A house. It's a house. So. How can we get to know Jesus through a house? Well.
[18:31] First of all we need to think. What is a house made of? How do we build a house? What do we build a house with? Gold house. Bricks. You said it. Good lad.
[18:42] Concrete. Concrete. We make a house with bricks. With cement. With wood. With cement. With all these different things. So. Can we build a building.
[18:54] So high in the sky. I know this. That if we go really really really high. Eventually. We'll get to God. We'll get to Jesus. Can we do that? You know there were those in the Bible.
[19:05] Who tried to do that. You need to get a. You need to get a. You need to get a. You're glad. They're good here. They're really good here. You need to get a. Lock it to get to God. Well we're going to come to that. You're.
[19:15] You're taking my children's talk away. You're going to step ahead of me. So. Some people thought. Way back. That we could build a. Tower of Babel. And you're right. That's where we got all the.
[19:27] Languages from. That we could build. Our way. To God. But even today. People think they can build their way. To God. If they have different bricks. If they do enough. Good things. And they build these.
[19:38] Good things up in their life. If they're a good neighbour. If they're kind to people. If they give lots of money. To charity. If they build their way. To Jesus. They'll get to Jesus. Now.
[19:48] I'm going to fold this again. Let's see. It's going to be an. Wait. That's a paper airplane. Oh. Paper airplane. Now you're going to throw that.
[19:59] So. Throw it. Throw it. Throw it. Throw it. Throw it. No. I'm not going to throw it. You said it. You said. So. If I went down to the airport.
[20:10] In Stornoway. And I got a ticket. And I. Well I'd have to get a ticket. Before that. And I went on the plane. Could I fly up to heaven. Could I get on the plane. No.
[20:20] And could I fly up to heaven. You can only get. Do I clench. The fuel we've got out. In order. The captain needs. Of course. It can't handle that much pressure. I couldn't do that.
[20:31] These are all daft ideas. Right. These are daft ideas. Of course, we can't build our way to Jesus. We can't fly up to heaven. No matter if we had, you said, a rocket, if we had the fastest rocket known to man, we could never get to heaven that way.
[20:45] But we need to know Jesus. Why do we need to know Jesus? We need to know Jesus because we live in a world, this is like our lives, a world that is so torn and so broken.
[20:59] What's the word we use to describe what makes our world so broken? Sin. Sin. What's the middle letter of the word sin?
[21:09] If. If. If. I. Me, myself and I. And that's always at the center of sin, ourselves. So if we tell this, is this what our lives are like? They're all torn.
[21:20] They're all ruined in many ways. It's God's take. By sin. We can't build our way to Jesus. We can't fly to Jesus. Today, the mums and dads, grannies, grandpas, everyone here today, we are remembering Jesus.
[21:36] How? How do we get to Jesus? What have I got here? I'm praying. What have I got here? What have you got there?
[21:46] Wait, wait. What's the name? What's the name? Okay. A cross. A cross. How did you know that was really good? Magic. This is what I got here. We can only get to Jesus by the cross.
[22:00] And that's why we're here today. We're remembering that Jesus died for us at the cross. So you remember that no matter how you want to get to know Jesus, we have to come to the cross.
[22:12] Here you go. You've listened so well. Let's see. A wee word of prayer. Before you go. Lord our God, we give thanks for the cross of Jesus Christ. And we pray for each and every one of the boys and girls here, that they would come to know you at the cross, that they would see that if they put their trust in you, their sins will be forgiven.
[22:35] Forgive us then, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Well done. You listened really well. And you know, Lord, good teaching down in North Harris. Good teaching. So we're going to carry on singing as our friends go to Sunday school.
[22:50] This time from Psalm 116. Psalm 116 in the Scottish Psalter. Words are up on the screen.
[23:01] I love the Lord because my voice and prayers he did hear. I, while I live, will call on him who bowed to me his ear. We are standing to sing verses 1 to 7 to the praise of God.
[23:14] I love the Lord because my voice and prayers he did hear.
[23:33] I, while I live, will call on him who bowed to me his ear.
[23:47] Of death, the courts and sorrows did. About the compass run.
[24:01] The pains of hell took hold on me. I, grief and trouble found.
[24:16] Upon the name of God the Lord, God merciful and righteous is.
[24:52] Yea, gracious is our Lord. God saves the meek.
[25:03] I was brought low. He did me help afford. O thou my soul, do thou return unto thy quiet rest.
[25:27] For, largely, O the Lord to thee, His bounty hath expressed.
[25:40] O the Lord to thee, O the Lord to thee, hear the word of God.
[26:17] Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.
[26:29] They came up to him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews, and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, See, I am bringing him out to you, that you may know that I find no guilt in him.
[26:47] So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, Behold the man.
[26:58] When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.
[27:14] The Jews answered him, We have a law. And according to that law, he ought to die because he has made himself the son of God. When Pilate heard the statement, he was even more afraid.
[27:30] He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, You will not speak to me?
[27:43] Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? Jesus answered him, You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.
[27:57] Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin. From then on, Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend.
[28:12] Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar. So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement and in Aramaic, Gabbatha.
[28:27] And it was the day of the preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, Behold your king.
[28:38] They cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
[28:52] So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and he went out, bearing his own cross to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
[29:08] There they crucified him. And with him, two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross.
[29:19] It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.
[29:36] So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write the king of the Jews, but rather this man said, I am the king of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written?
[29:50] I have written. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier, also his tunic.
[30:05] But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top to bottom. So they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.
[30:18] This was to fulfill the scripture which says, They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. So the soldiers did these things.
[30:29] Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Cleopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son.
[30:48] Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. After this, knowing that all was now finished, after this rather, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst.
[31:09] A jar full of sour wine stood there, So they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch, and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished.
[31:25] And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Amen. We pray God's blessing on that reading of his own holy, inspired, and inerrant word.
[31:38] Before we come back to this chapter, this passage together, we're going to sing once more, this time in Gaelic from Psalm 22. I'll read the verses in English.
[31:53] First of all. Psalm 22.
[32:12] This is at verse 14. We'll sing these verses now to the praise of God.
[32:43] heaven and heaven and chosen to be behalf of Christ. To the praise be who Christ you and mother and mother and mother and mother.
[32:53] The source of love and kindness are filled and dove in and wine. So again, the next chapter, CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS
[34:00] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS
[35:01] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS Thank you.
[35:38] Thank you.
[36:08] Thank you.
[36:38] John chapter 19. John chapter 19. And I'd like us just for a short time to consider those two words that we have in verse 28.
[36:53] I'll read the whole verse. After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst. I thirst.
[37:06] We've been asking some questions this weekend. On Friday evening, we thought about what it is we've been called to do, to come and to eat.
[37:22] Last evening, we thought about why that is as we looked upon that great act of love that we saw on Calvary's Hill when that thief was saved, as it were, at the 11th hour.
[37:37] We're a reminder of the matchless mercy of Christ. And tonight, today rather, we're going to think about how this has been made possible.
[37:49] We're coming to the table because of this great act of love to us through Christ. But how is this possible in the first place?
[38:01] We're going to come and we're going to think about what we see here before us on Calvary's Hill. And as we come to Calvary's Hill, once again, we look upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
[38:14] And what do we see? As we come here, what do we see? Well, we see, do we not, one who is moments before taking his last breath.
[38:26] And as he's there on the cross in the last moments of his life, it's true, is it not, friends, that he's speaking to us. His very being there speaks a thousand sermons.
[38:40] But as well as his very physical presence on the cross, what we see here is that he speaks. As people around him watch him dying that cursed death on that cross, we see intermittently words coming from the mouth of our dying Savior.
[39:01] We saw that last night. Today you will be with me in paradise, he said to the thief on the cross. Be it woman, he said to his mother, behold your son.
[39:15] As she saw her own flesh and blood, as it were, her own son dying before her very eyes. He cried out, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.
[39:30] He said that to those who put him on the cross in the first place. And then as things heightened, as things progressed, as things moved closer to that point in redemptive history, he cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[39:54] Significant words from our Savior. But friends, today we are looking at significant words. Two words, or one word as it is in the original language, that tells us so much, not only about our Savior, but also about you and me today if we have been saved.
[40:18] I thirst. So what I'd like us to do just briefly is to think about these words, this word under three headings. We're going to think about a human thirst, a promised thirst, and a quenched thirst.
[40:35] A human thirst, a promised thirst, and a quenched thirst. Firstly then, a human thirst. And we know that we have needs as human beings.
[40:48] Without water, we simply cannot survive. We can survive a great deal of time, perhaps without food, but not without water. Water speaks of life itself.
[41:00] We're not maybe able to appreciate that as much as we ought to in this part of the world. We have plenty of water, but still it's true. We need water to live.
[41:11] And we see that throughout Scripture, even in Exodus. We read there in Exodus 17.3, where we see the Israelites in that state of panic, in that state of thirst, as they're being led by Moses, as they're brought to that point, even when they question the leadership of Moses.
[41:31] But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, why did you bring us up out of Egypt and kill us, and our children, and our livestock, with thirst?
[41:47] Thirst is real. Thirst can be life-threatening. Thirst can cause all kinds of disquiet, and unrest, and anxiety, as we see here with the children of Israel.
[42:02] And yet here, on the cross on Calvary's hill, we see Jesus crying out these words, I thirst.
[42:15] Isn't that something? God incarnate, the one who is perfect in every aspect of his being, but still he thirsts.
[42:28] He thirsts, a genuine thirst, thirst. And he has to thirst, a genuine thirst, because it had to be a human thirst.
[42:38] And this might arise questions in our mind, well, how can God thirst? If God is perfect, surely he doesn't have these weaknesses, and infirmities, that lead him to this place.
[42:51] Thirst is symptomatic of our body, needing to be rehydrated, a symptom of weakness, of the human flesh. So how, how could Jesus thirst?
[43:04] Yet here he cries out, I thirst. Do we grasp these words? I wonder, do we grasp today exactly what this is telling us?
[43:19] Because what we see here is, is Christ Christ coming alongside us, Christ knowing the feeling, as it were, of our infirmity.
[43:33] Christ even knowing the weakness of our flesh. Now we struggle with that concept. We can think of God being perfect, God being God, but when it comes to God being man, and the God man undergoing the weaknesses that we do, yet without sin, we struggle.
[43:56] We struggle even to believe. And there's a reason for that, a good reason for that, because there's something quite scandalous, is there not, friends, of the reality that God chose to become man.
[44:13] Out of all the ways that he could bring salvation to you, and to me today, this is the way that he chose. He took bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.
[44:27] God, who is perfect, who is perfect, who inhabited eternity, came to earth and walked amongst sinners like you and me. He walked the face of this earth.
[44:41] He wasn't a deified man, nor was he a humanized God. Here he is, as the God man, forever God, and now forever man.
[44:56] Hebrews 2.17 reminds us that in all things he had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
[45:14] And of course, it had to be. We can't say today to God, well, you don't know how I feel. You don't know what it's like. You don't know the struggles that I am going through as if somehow he's distant or detached or far removed from us as human beings.
[45:31] No. Because he took to himself humanity. And as he did, he thirsted. He knew what it was to be desperate for a drop of water.
[45:46] That is our Savior. That is who brings us together here today, the one who identifies with our weakness. And any other notion of who God is is not true.
[46:01] He knows us and he loves us. I'm told that when someone's dying, having lost a lot of blood, they're overcome with an inordinate thirst, a thirst that even overtakes the pain that they're going through in whatever illness they have.
[46:22] We read of instances like this when soldiers were dying on the battlefield. They thirsted. And more than anything, they longed just for a drop of water to pass their lips.
[46:35] That's all they wanted so that they could get some hydration, so that they could get even a bit of relief. And here we see Jesus being no different.
[46:52] Nailed to that cross, hands and feet struggling to breathe, his flesh brutally torn, showing forth this natural response to his physical condition.
[47:04] He thirsts. He thirsts. But it had to be. It had to be.
[47:17] Why? Because of you and because of me. man had fallen. We know the story in Adam.
[47:28] And so in order for divine justice to be satisfied, what had to happen? Well, man had to pay the price. Man has to pay the price. That's why we see God in human flesh on that cross.
[47:43] That's why we see the one who had been eternally dwelling in the heavenlies, if you like, that place of complete unutterable perfection. Now on that cross, crying out, I thirst.
[47:57] There was no other way. Man sinned. And so man had to take the price. A human thirst. And then we have a promised thirst.
[48:13] So that scripture could be fulfilled. And we see throughout the Old Testament, time and time again, we see the Messiah, the promised Savior. But not only do we see the Messiah, he's not there in some sort of vagueness that we don't really get to know anything about.
[48:30] And because in the pages of the Old Testament, what we see is the very specific details of how he was to suffer.
[48:42] In Isaiah 53, we see that promise that he would be counted as a common criminal. Psalm 22 promises that his bones would not be broken.
[48:54] Psalm 34, that he would be buried in a rich man's tomb. Psalm 22, we sung it, I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint.
[49:06] My heart is like wax, it has melted within me. My strength is dried up like potsherd. My tongue clings to my jaws. You have brought me to the dust of death.
[49:20] My tongue clings to my jaws. I promise thirst. This is showing force rather that this had to happen so that scripture would be fulfilled.
[49:35] And so what we have here, friends, is a prophesied picture, yes, but a prophesied picture of what? And it's not just a physical thirst because what we have here is an inner suffering manifesting itself in outer suffering.
[49:55] Is it not true, friends? It's so often how we feel on the inside can make its way out to the outside of a person. If we're in a state of anxiety or fear or high pressure, if you've ever been in a job interview or something along those lines, you find that you thirst, you have this anxiety.
[50:16] What's going on within shows its way without. And that's what we see here. That as a result of the thirst of the soul of Jesus Christ, a soul that was about to descend into a time of complete drought and barrenness as he died as a ransom for you and for me today if we are his.
[50:43] As he took to himself the hell of his people. He thirsted. A promise thirst.
[50:55] A thirst that reflected that his heart was melting within him. A thirst that reflected the reality of the flames of God's wrath.
[51:08] A thirst that showed forth fear, anxiety, loneliness, even forsakenness of his father so that his tongue would stick to the roof of his mouth.
[51:23] And that he would in all his weakness as he is brought to the dust of death cry out I thirst.
[51:35] This is almost unbelievable if we were not to lay hold of it by faith. We really need to grasp this friends the reality of what we have before us.
[51:49] The danger is that we treat God and even Christ as some sort of fantasy fiction figure that he doesn't really exist. we read of him in scripture we know the stories but it remains in our heads.
[52:02] This is real. This is who we come and we worship today. This is who we remember. This is who we are going to see again when he comes.
[52:16] The one who thirsted for us and as he thirsts he's offered a drink. Verse 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there and he filled a sponge with sour wine and put it on hyssop and put it to his mouth.
[52:34] Now this was the cheapest of the cheap wine. This was the wine that the soldiers themselves would have drunk. Wine that was mixed with vinegar. So we might ask well are the soldiers showing Jesus an act of mercy giving Jesus a drink?
[52:53] Well of course they're not. Just look at the scene. They're putting a rag to his mouth. They're mocking him. They know that he's just about to die. So you can just imagine them prodding this rag at his mouth.
[53:06] This rag on a stalk of hyssop. Putting it at his mouth and taunting him and blaspheming and jeering at him. But this was the result of more than just mocking.
[53:20] because this is a promised thirst. A promised thirst that even saw that the drink that he would be offered would be a promised drink.
[53:32] We read of that in Psalm 69. They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
[53:43] Even down to the drink. that act of crucifixion confirms the promises that the Messiah was to come. We might look at the Old Testament and see that it's so irrelevant to us.
[53:56] It means nothing to us. That's a time gone by. It's got no bearing on Jesus. We don't see Jesus in the Old Testament. He's here. Right before our very eyes.
[54:10] Every single detail there prophesied. And this promise thirst. Now it's interesting to note just as an aside that this isn't the first time that Jesus is offered a drink on the cross.
[54:30] What do we see in Mark chapter 15 verse 23 we read that he's offered wine mingled with myrrh.
[54:41] He's offered wine mingled with myrrh. And this sheds light on what's happening on the scene before us here. And as he's offered this wine mingled with myrrh he doesn't take it.
[54:53] He refuses it. And this is significant because this was a concoction if you like of wine and myrrh and together it would have acted as anaesthetic.
[55:05] so that even the smallest of measures of this wine mingled with myrrh it would numb the pain. This was an offering of mercy.
[55:17] Some would say that it was given to Jesus by the woman of Jerusalem his most loyal of followers as they saw their beloved saviour on that cross dying that death they wanted to help as would you and as would I and so they offered him this just to numb the pain to dull the pain but he refused.
[55:41] Why did he refuse? Because he wanted to retain all consciousness of his suffering. Because you and I friend if we leave this world without Christ and we go to a lost eternity and I say this with a heavy heart but it's true.
[56:03] If we go to a lost eternity without Christ we will not have anything to numb the pain as we come to that place of truth realised too late.
[56:17] And so he wanted to retain all consciousness of his suffering. He wanted to take that pain that should have belonged to his people.
[56:29] Every last inner and outer struggle had to be deeply felt. Why? Because it was deserved.
[56:41] It was warranted. This is the gospel. The price had to be paid not for anything he had done which makes us all the more wonderful in our eyes but rather for each and every sin of each and every person that would put their trust in him.
[57:01] Supposing there was only one sinner who had committed one sin in time. This had to happen. This had to happen.
[57:12] What love. What love friends for you and for me. And yet he thirsted. Why? Because we thirst.
[57:23] We are thirsty today. we are spiritually dehydrated. That is what led this to happen in the first place. We are all looking for something.
[57:37] We are trying to quench that thirst of our soul. Maybe you are here today without Christ and you are trying to quench that thirst in your soul.
[57:48] Maybe you are not aware that that is what you are doing but you are looking for something in life. just for purpose, for meaning, for direction. And wherever you go and whatever you do you are simply not finding it.
[58:01] Why is that? It is because Christ is not at the centre. And it is as if you are thirsty, a physical thirst and you go out and you look at the sea there and there is nothing else to drink.
[58:14] And so you go and you see this beautiful looking water and you think it is going to quench your thirst and as you take a drink of that salty water. What happens? You are left with a greater thirst, a deeper thirst.
[58:29] That is what it is friends when you are striving to live a life separate from Christ, looking for something or someone in this world to fill that void in your heart.
[58:41] You have been created in the image of God and only God himself can fulfil the longings of your soul. But you know friends, we haven't been left that way and that is the wonder of it all which brings us to our final point, a thirst quenched.
[59:04] A thirst quenched. what we see here is Christ dying for his people, that thirst of death, thirst of hell itself.
[59:25] And in his suffering, friends, he thirsts after the full restoration of his father's fellowship. remember those words, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[59:41] That broken fellowship with the father, he thirsts after that, but not only for himself, but for you and for me today. By nature, there's that great gulf between us and God.
[59:52] That fellowship is broken and as he thirsts, he thirsts after the restoration of that fellowship. he longed for the smile of his father's face to be turned toward him once again, a smile that through him shines upon you today, dear Christian.
[60:20] Our thirst is quenched because he thirsted for us. And as we reflect upon the wonder of the implications of this, we were reminded that the full implications of this thirst being quenched are ongoing, they're living, they're lively, because today we are remembering a God who is not dead, but who is living, one who doesn't lie in the grave.
[60:53] This is not a funeral service today. This is not an act of remembrance remembrance on its own, that's part of it, but we're coming and we are fellowshipping with God through Christ by his spirit at his table.
[61:12] because his thirst has been quenched. So let's never forget this, friend, that it's only at the cross we can get relief.
[61:31] That's why we're doing this in remembrance of him, because he remembered us, he thirsted for us, he died for us, the just for the unjust.
[61:43] And you know, in this picture what we see is where sin begins and where sin ends. Spurgeon, interestingly, he made the point that sin began with the mouth of appetite.
[61:56] Of course, Adam took of the fruit and ate of it. Yet the power of sin was also ended by the mouth of Jesus.
[62:08] when he cried out, I thirst. When he cried out, it is finished. Those words that echoed around the cross showing forth that the battle was over and that the victory was won.
[62:29] But the irony in all of this, and time has gone, is that although our thirst has been quenched, in another way, our thirst is even greater than ever.
[62:41] Because today, friends, what do we do? Do we not thirst and hunger after righteousness? And we'll say that in just more about that in a moment.
[62:51] We thirst and we hunger after righteousness, a thirst that leads us to come daily and to drink. To drink so that as we read in John 7, our hearts will in turn flow with rivers of living water.
[63:10] That's what's within us today. Fountains and rivers of living water. The time is gone. We'll have a word of prayer. Lord, our God, we thank you for this thirst, a thirst that has met out every need in Christ, that you, O Lord, took to yourself the weaknesses of the flesh so that we in Christ might have life eternal.
[63:42] Forgive us, O Lord, for losing sight of the glorious implications of the cross of Calvary, for becoming sidetracked and bogged down in that which, when all is said and done, has no bearing on eternity.
[64:01] O Lord, help us to be focused on you. Help us, even at this time, to see you through your word, by your spirit.
[64:12] For Jesus' sake. Amen. Friends, we're going to ask that question now as we come to the Lord's table. Who is the Lord's table for?
[64:25] Lord's table for? This is, of course, traditionally known as the fencing of the table. But we're not trying to put a fence up around the table that's so high that we can't get over it.
[64:41] That's not what we're trying to do here. We're just trying to see who should be at the Lord's table today. And in many ways, that question has already been answered because the Lord's table today is quite simply for those who thirst.
[64:57] Those who thirst and hunger after righteousness. If that is due, you should be at the Lord's table. And we read of that in Psalm 42. That vivid picture.
[65:09] As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God.
[65:21] What a picture we have here. A deer coming, panting, dehydrated to the water, longing for a drink. A picture that so clearly shows forth what it is for you and me to be a true child of God.
[65:36] One who pants after their Saviour, whose soul thirsts after their living God. Is that you? Do you thirst after Jesus?
[65:48] That the only thing, or rather the only one who gives you true and lasting satisfaction is Jesus. Well, if that is true, you should be at the table.
[65:58] Not because you're strong, not because you're the finished article. I think I've alluded to this over the weekend. We are in danger as a church of making out that God's people are perfectly polished.
[66:14] finished. That's not true. It's not true for all of us gathered here. We come with our weaknesses, our infirmities, our struggles.
[66:27] But that's why we come. We come not because we are worthy, but we come rather because we are thirsty.
[66:38] we want to drink by faith of that wine. We want to bow our hearts in humble praise and adoration, acknowledging that this cup of faith, this strengthening ordinance, and that's what it is.
[66:57] It's here to strengthen us. It's ours only because he thirsted, because he drank every last drop of the wrath of God.
[67:08] for you and for me. That's why we're here. We come to be refreshed and renewed.
[67:19] Horatius Boner knew something of this when he said, I heard the voice of Jesus say, Behold, I freely give the living water, thirsty one, stoop down and drink and live.
[67:35] I came to Jesus and I drank from that life-giving stream. My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him, in him.
[67:52] And so today, friend, if you live in him, if your soul is thirsty after him, you come to the table, even if you haven't come as of yet.
[68:03] As David said, this is not the free church table, this is the Lord's table. You come, you come, because this is a table for sinners, a table that shows forth the wonder of a saviour, a table at which we are to stoop down and to drink so that our soul will be revived.
[68:30] So as we sing Psalm 118 together, if you're yet to take your place at the table, if you're visiting with us, or you're yet to profess the Lord as saviour, but you feel compelled to do so, now is your time to come forward.
[68:45] Psalm 118 at verse 15, in dwellings of the righteous is heard the melody of joy and health, the Lord's right hand doth ever valiantly.
[68:58] We'll sing down to the end of verse 21, to the praise of God. In dwellings of the righteous is heard the melody of joy and health, the Lord's right hand doth ever valiantly.
[69:30] The right hand of the mighty Lord exalted is on high, the right hand of the mighty Lord doth ever valiantly.
[69:54] I shall not die, but live and shall the works of God discover.
[70:07] The Lord hath me chastised sword, but not to death give no word.
[70:20] O set ye open unto me the gates of righteousness, then will I enter into them, and I the Lord will bless.
[70:43] this is the gate of God by it, the just shall enter in, thee will I praise for the we heard, and has my safety been, that stone is made dead cornerstone, which builders did despise, this is the doing of the Lord, and wondrous in our eyes.