“Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ 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. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:28-30)
Jesus had finished drinking from the cup of suffering for our redemption, and now he was thirsty. He drank, then he voluntarily died.
As we read John’s account of the crucifixion we notice that he leaves out some pretty major details and includes some minor ones. John wrote his account late in life, probably near the end of the first century. His audience was primarily non-Jewish Christians of the Greek culture.
Gentile believers then were heavily influenced by Greek philosophy as we western believers are today, that’s why John’s gospel runs counter to our religious thinking. While the Jews placed their value in their piety, or sin management, the Greeks valued their knowledge, whether received through education or mysticism. You know, deep stuff.
Greek philosophy had infected the first century church, and they had no problem believing in Christ’s divinity. It was his humanity they were struggling with. They had a hard time believing that the holy creator of all things could come in the form of earthly flesh and blood, because the visible was considered base and only the invisible was good. John called that philosophy the antichrist spirit of his day.
That’s why he wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” (1John 1:1), and “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist…” (1John 4:2,3) Try throwing that term around today. They’ll put you in a straitjacket.
Many Christians of John’s day were impressed with the Gnostics, the wizards of smart, the “knowing ones”.
The incarnation is the greatest stumbling block to western thinking. God coming completely to our broken world and becoming one of us, and leaving no place to go or nothing to do to get closer to him makes it too simple. His kingdom is now as close to us as the nose on our face. Our problem is we’d like to stay at a comfortable distance where life is more predictable.
His generosity to the uneducated working class has always been an offence to those who want to climb the spiritual ladder. The problem is God came down the ladder and there’s no reason to climb up. That’s why it’s lonely at the top.
Western style Christianity gives us only two options: Cold cerebral knowledge that doesn’t transform anyone, where the only miracle performed is making time stand still on Sunday mornings. Or the alternative, which is mysticism and a “deep” pseudo-spirituality which has nothing to do with Jesus and what he taught, and I’m talking about Christians, not New Agers.
How about this detail of the story: “…one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” (v.34) John’s story is filled with symbolic details, showing that Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament scripture and that he meets us at our need.
Blood and water are what Jesus provided for our salvation, death and life. The blood that soaked the dust that day was human blood–sinless, yet human. And he paid for our redemption with his blood. (Jesus is still human today, and is forever human, and he taught us how humans are to live. That’s why I’m not fond of the saying, “Hey I’m only human!”)
We are to value every day in this life, living in the kingdom here and now, and displaying the life of God in our ordinary world. There’s no greater calling.
The water symbolizes the new eternal quality of life that he gives us now and forever. He washes us with his word through the power of the Holy Spirit and makes us clean from our worldy ways and gives us not an improved life but a brand new life.
So John in his gospel account is telling us westerners that Jesus is the Son of Man who thirsted, bled, died and resurrected, and gave us a new, full life that will continue through eternity.
“The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.”
