28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.
Thirst is one of the most basic of human needs and can cause great suffering. Water is of vital necessity to our lives, since it makes up 98 percent of our bodies. Dehydration takes away part of our very being and, in extreme cases, can kill us. Very often, the last desire expressed by dying people is to have something to drink.
Of course, thirst also acts as a metaphor for other human needs. The deepest thirst of our very being is for God, who created us and sustains our existence. As the poet says in psalm 62: “Oh God, you are my God for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you, like a dry weary land without water.” Near the beginning of John’s gospel, Jesus asks the Samaritan woman for a drink, and, now, at the end and in very different circumstances, he asks again. Think about this for a moment, the eternal and omnipotent Lord of the universe has lowered himself for us to the point where he must ask others for water.
God wants to be friends with his creatures (which implies equality) and so asks us to give him back what he has given us. All too often we labor under the idea that we must work to reach God, to earn his forgiveness, but he is entirely about gift. He seeks for us before we turn to him. As C.S. Lewis said “It is a divine privilege always to be less the beloved than the lover.” Of course, we too are thirsty, sometimes without even realizing it and, so, to quench our thirst, Jesus gave us his blood on the cross.
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