Considering how the next two Last Words are so close to each other, I decided to discuss them both at the same time.
“I thirst.”
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 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.
John 19:28-29
Take note of two things.
First, before Christ said that He thirsted, the soldiers already offered Him ‘wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it’ (Mark 19:23). A quick Google search gives us pictures as to why Christ refused it: Wine may have been mixed with myrrh (1) to dull the pain, (2) to preserve the wine, or (3) to increase the pain, as it apparently has torturous effects upon people experiencing severe dehydration.
Second, and more importantly, Jesus said He thirsted AFTER ‘knowing that all was now finished’. But what WAS finished?
Let’s paint a picture of what’s been going on so far, based what observations we’ve made, and what revelations have come to light.
Simon the Cyrene was forced to carry the cross for the condemned Jesus. As He walked, Simon followed, and the multitudes who were mourning were following Simon. To these multitudes, Jesus warned them, ‘…if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?‘; We deduced that Christ was saying, if they (the soldiers, and all who came against Him) were doing this to Him, what more will they do to those who followed Him, especially when He is gone?
At the third hour (which I’m assuming would probably be around 9am in our clocks), the beaten and exhausted Jesus was nailed to the cross, and He was lifted up, cross and all, to die a painful and humiliating death. The scribes, high priests, rulers, soldiers, and even one of the criminals crucified with Him were seemingly united in their disbelief, as observed through their mockery (scoffing Him specifically from His claims and words), and their taunting (for Him to save Himself).
Here we begin with the first Last Word. The crucified Christ said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” In a nutshell, the Son of God was asking Him to forgive them – not to take vengeance on them, or to chastise them – because, in their sin, ‘they know not what they do’.
As mentioned earlier, one of the criminals joined the rest of the mob in mocking and taunting Jesus… But the other crucified criminal rebuked him, pointing out (1) that they deserved to be nailed to the cross as a consequence for what they did, and (2) ‘this Man has done nothing wrong’.
It’s not known how the other criminal responded to his rebuke. After speaking of their sin and proclaiming Christ’s sinlessness, he called Him by name, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’; He then responded to him with the second Last Word, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
It wasn’t just an angry mob watching as Christ suffered. In fact, Jesus’ mother, Mary, and at least one disciple – notably, John, ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’ – were both close to Him at the cross. In the midst of the chaos, He spoke the third Last Word – placing them into the each other’s trust, He said to Mary, ‘Woman, behold your son!’, and to John He said, ‘Behold your mother!’
At the sixth hour (or noon), Mark notes that ‘darkness covered the land’, and at the ninth hour (approximately 3pm), Christ said the fourth Last Word: “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
That’s what I have so far, in terms of putting it all in chronological order; But based on the 4 Last Words we’ve tackled, here’s what we see so far:
- The Son of God’s heart to forgive all, among them, those who condemn, mock, and taunt Him, and those who watch in mourning and lamentation, noting how with sin comes confusion along with death.
- The fundamentals of repentance (understanding who we are, who God is, and our need for a Savior), and of salvation (Guaranteed union with Christ, now and forever).
- The grace of God seen from another angle – Christ identifying those who were close to Him for who they really were, with the intent of taking on His responsibility alone; for He could only handle it alone.
- The ultimate wage of sin – separation from God, Life, and Light, resulting in darkness and death.
So what was finished?
The Son of God became sin and drained its cup of consequences, darkness, death, and all, down to the dregs, and guarantees salvation (unbreakable union with Him, now and forever) to whoever comes to realize who they are, who God is, and eventually believes in Him, even if they condemned, mocked, taunted, or otherwise doubted Him.
Simplifying further
The Son of God became sin and offers salvation to all who come to repentance.
If this all sounds familiar that’s because we’ve been hearing John 3:16 a lot, now for good reason, apparently.
To emphasize it all, Christ said, “I thirst”. The soldiers, knowing that He refused the wine and myrrh earlier, dipped a sponge with sour (old) wine and ‘held it to His mouth’.
We know we drank some of it, because the next verses say He ‘received it’. Why?
The only reason that comes to mind goes back to when He spoke to the disciples regarding old and new wineskins, and old and new wine. In Matthew 9:17, Christ specified how only new wine is put into new wineskins, but if new wine is poured into old wineskins, the latter is ruined, and the former is spilled.
Those were the only two situations He mentioned at the time. At the cross, and with the sour wine, I believe Christ was demonstrating that, by His crucifixion, He became old wineskin (sin), to take on old wine (death).
“It is finished.”
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:30
It was only AFTER Christ drank the sour wine, when He said it is finished. He said it – for good measure, for all the world to hear, and wonder.
To this day, so many centuries and millennia later, we still meditate on Christ, His work, and all it entails. We would come up with all sorts of realizations and revelations, most often than not praising Him, if not going deeper..
..But one thing we could all agree upon is that He has FINISHED all He had set out to do in the flesh, at the cross.
The Son of God was finished. He became sin and offered salvation for all who would come to repentance. With His body He became the old wineskin and willingly took the old, sour wine – He drank, then He proclaimed – It truly was finished.
Let us pray.
Father, we thank You for Jesus, because only He finished what we could not even imagine to start – repentance, and salvation. We reflect on a seemingly minor detail – His drinking of sour wine – and we are amazed at just how much Christ has accomplished in His time here in this reality… But we are also filled with joy, knowing that, by His word, He has confirmed it – It is finished.
We praise You and give You thanks, Father. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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