Prophecy
What can we learn from Jesus when on the Cross on Calvary's Hill that near the end of His life, He said, "I thirst"? Most likely we just read over this verse in John 19 without delving into it further.
I have had the opportunity to do just that. Before I realized it, God was showing me alot more than I ever bargained for and I would like to pass this along.
"After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, 'I am thirsty'" John 19:28
Not only did Christ accomplish all that was prophesied but fulfilled what the Scriptures had said hundreds of years before His birth.
This fulfilment of prophecy goes back to the very beginning...in the Garden. It was God's first promise to Satan that one day he (Satan)would bruise the heel of the woman's seed (Jesus) but He (Jesus) would crush his (Satan's) head. Already the plan of redemption through the Messiah was set in motion 2,000 plus years before it ever happened.
First I want to discuss this prophetic message in more detail. It was Satan who bruised Jesus' heel by thinking he defeated the Lord by having Him crucified at Golgatha. With Jesus out of the way, he would now rule and reign throughout the earth. He thought he stopped Christ from spreading the "good news" which represents the foot. The foot signifies our service. This just proves how prideful this sneaky and vile creature is. He didn't believe God's promise. In the days of king David, Jesus' ancestor, there were giants in the land. These were the product of Satan's fallen angels taking women for sexual procreation. There was one such Philistine giant named Goliath who was a product of this abomination. Young David stood up to this giant and told him he came to kill him and chop off his head. This giant's head was buried at the crucifixion hill, thus getting its name, the Skull or Golgatha. This wicked Philistine's head was now being crushed under Christ's foot as He finished all the work of His Father!
Now, this takes me to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. If you recall, the Lord told His people to apply blood from a passover lamb on the doorposts with a hyssop plant. When He came to take the lives of all the first born males in the land, He would pass over the blood, thus saving them from death. Then God commanded Moses to keep this statute for all generations by making a feast called "Passover". It requires a young lamb for a sacrifice. No leaven bread was to be eaten for seven days. Leaven implies sin. This unleaven bread was to be dipped in sourwine, or vinegar to remind them of the pain and persecution they went through. In other words, God never wanted them to forget the place He brought them out of. Passover is still a highly celebrated feast among Jews today.
Christ was offered two different drinks. The first was a gall vinegar. This was mixed with myrrh as a type of medicinal purpose. It was given to create a drugged stupor. But this drink, Christ refused. He wanted to face death head on, with a clear head, to feel every pain inflicted upon Him. This too was His prophetic calling. The Word says that He (Jesus) counted it all joy,even death on the Cross. This was His mission field being fulfilled.
Now, this brings me to the second drink offering.
"A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth," John 19:29
This is the reminder to God's people of the deliverance through the wilderness from Egypt. This is the bitter cup of wrath. What was that 'bitter cup'? It was God's judgment on a world of sinful people who committed every heinous crime against a holy God. Instead of us having to take this drink and dying an eternal death, Christ came as the Lamb who was slain, it was His blood that was shed to save us. Now, when God see us covered in Christ's atoning blood, He passes over us.
Christ was crucified during Passover. The bitter wine that He took was applied to the hyssop plant. Everything that was set into motion long before Christ ever walked the earth was fulfilled, down to the very last detail. That last detail is wrapped up in those words, "I thirst."
We read in Psalm 69, verse 21 this very same thing. This psalm along with Psalm 22 are the most frequently quoted throughout Scripture. The author, who tradition assigns to David, but very well could have been credited to Hezekiah, Jeremiah, or even an unknown Jew who desired to rebuild the temple after the exile. But this psalm describes a person in the depths of despair, suffering greatly in every possible way because of his faithfulness to God. Some parts of this psalm foreshadow the sufferings of Jesus.
"They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst." Ps.69:21
From this passage, we can read in John 19 that Christ had to fulfill every last detail, down to the sour wine!
So now what are we as Chrisians to take from all this? Well, since Christ is the living water, the One Who tells us we will never thirst if we drink of Him, drank the bitter cup of God's wrath in our place.
After He spoke those words, He then said,"It is finished" and gave up the spirit.
Christ's atoning death and resurrection is the only reason we can be saved. He took our punishment, He was the Lamb Who was led to the slaughter and never said a word. He accepted every sin and sickness in His bruised and beaten body on our behalf. This is the free gift of Grace. If you have never accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior this would not apply to you. One day all unrepentant people will have to drink that bitter cup of wrath for themselves. No one except Christ can take that away. Knowing this now, why would you want to test God? His Word is truth, His Word is life. What God has said has not changed. If His prophetic Word has not yet been fulfilled, it will be...make no mistake about it.
Accepting Christ is a heartfelt cry for repentance from all sin. Sin is what separates us from any hope of heaven. It does promise eternity spent in hell. If you want to be a part of God's family all you have to do is admit that you are a sinner and ask Him for forgiveness. He is faithful and just to forgive them all. If you believe that Christ lived and died and rose again to conquer sin, death and hell, then confess that to God too. If you were sincere and meant every word, He has just welcomed you into His family.
But it doesn't end there. Now there is work to do. This is reading His Word, learning from a teacher or preacher, finding support in a church that celebrates Jesus and applying this to your life. That's it, but the benefits far outweigh the chances of not knowing Him.
May God bless you abundantly.
We don't know what this world is coming to...
but we do know Who is coming to this world!
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