John 19:30 - The Sixth Word from the Cross, Part One

 

We were looking at Jesus' word from the cross, "I am thirsty," but it's closely tied to what happened next.

28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28–30, New Living Translation)

If Jesus knew that "it is finished," why did He bother to say He was thirsty and drink some sour wine, first? If He needed to parch his thirst in order to talk, why not just say, "It is finished."

Jesus said "it is finished" only after He had knowingly fulfilled one, last prophecy--from Psalm 69:21- the prophecy of drinking that sour wine.

Earlier in the Garden Jesus had prayed,
“My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Matthew 26:39, NLT) In drinking that sour wine, it was as if Jesus was drinking the dregs of that cup of crucifixion. He suffered everything possible in an execution reserved for capital offense criminals.

Scripture uses the metaphor of a race. Jesus ran His race all the way to the end because there was joy yet to come, beyond the finish line. 

No matter what suffering it cost Him, Jesus was going to see it through. So I pray a paraphrase from Hebrews 12...

Father in Heaven,

In battling sin, the Bible tells us that we haven't fought temptation to the point of shedding our blood. When we feel like giving up and giving in, capture our attention with the vision of Jesus being tortured to death by His enemies. Jesus did all this so He could write the story of our faith, from beginning to end. Fill our minds with the example of how Jesus finished the race. We want to finish like He did and not lose heart. In Jesus' precious name we pray, Amen. (KJC paraphrase of Hebrews 12:2-4)

Photo: Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia winning the 2015 Boston Marathon (Japan Times)