Im Thirsty

John 19:28–30

“Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that 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.”

Today on this Good Friday service I want to preach to you a message titled: “Im Thirsty”

Friends, would you help me preach this today, would you look to your Neighbor and say: I think I need a drink because IM THIRSTY.

Lets Pray: Lord, Jesus on the Cross 2 thousand years ago you said the words, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” These words point to the abundance of Grace you have for the world. Even when you were tortured, mocked and shamed you still extended Love and forgiveness. Today we thank you for your Sacrifice that sets us free from the bondage of Sin, guilt and shame. There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. Today I pray we are reminded of our desperate need of your Holy Love. In Jesus name, Amen.

I remember reading about this story that really is the reason I don’t like taking road trips anywhere.

In 2017, a man named Mick Ohman set out for what was supposed to be a scenic drive through the Arizona desert. He had a half-full water bottle, two beers, a soggy sandwich, and some crackers — hardly survival gear.

His car broke down in the middle of nowhere. No cell service. No one around for miles. As the sun beat down and his supplies dwindled, his thirst became overwhelming. He drank what little water he had. Then the beers. Then he considered drinking from a nearby creek, even though he knew it wasn’t safe. Eventually, he drank his own urine just to survive.

Three days in, sunburned, dehydrated, and delirious, a dirt biker finally found Mick and brought him to safety.

When Mick was finally rescued he was asked what it felt like.

He said:

“It’s scary how quickly you get desperate. You’ll drink anything… just to feel relief.”

Here’s what’s wild about that:

This isn’t just a story of survival — it’s a mirror of the human condition.

Because when we’re pushed to the edge — when the thirst gets real — we’ll reach for anything to make it stop.

We’ll settle for whatever’s in front of us.

Just to feel something. Just to feel full. Just to feel relief.

Why?

Because thirst doesn’t lie. It tells the truth about what you lack.

It exposes your need. And on the cross, Jesus did the same.

With two words — “I thirst” — He didn’t just show His pain.

He was revealing ours.

Ladies and gentleman: We are thirsty.

Not just in our mouths — but in our souls.

And Jesus knew that.

He didn’t just endure the nails.

He endured the need.

The dry mouth. The cracked lips. The parched throat.

But more than that — He carried the ache that lives in us — the ache for meaning, for peace, for purpose, for wholeness, for God.

Point 1: Physical Thirst, Spiritual Need

When Jesus said, “I thirst,” He was fulfilling prophecy — yes.

He was revealing His humanity — yes.

But He was also showing us something deeper:

That God came down to us and stepped into our brokenness completely.

He didn’t just die for us —

He felt with us.

He thirsted with us.

And in doing so, He exposed the longing in every human heart — the thirst that no relationship, no success, no substance, no achievement can ever satisfy.

Only Jesus can quench that kind of thirst.

But the thirst goes deeper.

Yes — we hunger, we ache, we feel pain.

But our greatest need isn’t physical…

It’s spiritual.

There is a gaping hole inside every soul not rooted in a relationship with Jesus.

And I don’t say that from a distance — Im not preaching to you and in this with you.

I say that from experience.

I know what it feels like to walk through life dry.

To smile on the outside while shriveling on the inside.

To look for meaning — and come up empty.

To try and fill the void with everything… and still feel nothing.

And that’s the problem.

We’re thirsty… but we’re reaching for the wrong wells.

We try to satisfy a God-sized thirst with man-made solutions.

But hear me: What’s sour to the soul can never satisfy it.

Just like the soldiers offered Jesus sour wine on the cross,

the world offers us cheap substitutes for what only God can give.

And we keep drinking… hoping it’ll help.

But it only leaves us emptier.

Point 2: Sour Wine, Worldly Solutions

On the cross, Jesus was offered sour wine — vinegar — a bitter, poor excuse for comfort.

And in that moment, we see a picture of our own lives yet again:

How often do we drink from wells that only disappoint?

How often do we chase comfort in what can’t heal us… peace in what can’t save us?

The sour wine of this world can dull the pain — but it can’t heal the wound.

Only Jesus can.

In the Gospel of John we see Jesus have a conversation with a Samaritan woman by a well. You would think Jesus showed up to this well because he was thirsty. But i don’t believe that was the purpose of this meeting. I believe this was a divine appointment. He wasn’t only thirsty he was on a mission. To capture the heart of this Samaritan woman the same way he is on a mission to capture your heart here today.

John 4:7–15

“When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep.

You see this is why i don’t believe he showed up to this well because he wanted some water. He didn’t even have the tools needed to get the water. He showed up because he knew someone else was THIRSTY!

don’t mistake his question because the truth is he didn’t come to take from her he came to give.

Folks listen closes, even on this Good Friday, I need you to understand that this Jesus still shows up for you because he knows you thirst!

Lets keep reading…

Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Stop right there, she was quick to do what we all do. She was quick to say, what? I need that! Please I don’t want to thirst anymore. I don’t want to show up to this well anymore. but she’s thinking physically.

You see you have to understand why this was so important for her. Earlier in the story it says that she was getting water at about noon which would have been the hottest time of day when no one else would be out getting water from the well. The text is making it clear to us that she doesn’t want to be seen by her community.

Why?

Well lets keep reading..

John 4:16–26

“He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

This is why I love the bible ladies and Gentleman because its like a tele novela! Im telling you its like a Spanish soap Opra! The Tension, the awkwardness. Its all right there! And Jesus loves this woman so much that he isn’t scared or hesitant to step into the tension for the sake of her SOUL!

You see, earlier I said how Jesus exposes our need on the cross, with the words, I THIRST…

Here we see him confront and expose the nature of our problem yet again. Sin is our problem and HE - Jesus is our need our saviour and safety from sin. whether we realize it or not.

This woman was considered by her community to be damaged goods. She had a terrible reputation so much so that she gave up on the institution of marriage all together.

The man she was now living with, sleeping with was not her husband!

Man after man couldn’t satisfy. Relationship after relationship couldn’t fill the void. And if we’re being honest with the text, we have to acknowledge that this woman wasn’t just a sinner — she was also a sufferer. In that culture, as a woman, she had little power, little voice, little choice. She was likely passed around, discarded, and devalued — not just because of her mistakes, but because of a system that treated her like property, not a person.

Still, I imagine with each new relationship, there was a flicker of hope:

“Maybe this one will stay. Maybe this one will love me. Maybe this time I won’t be left empty.”

But every time… she was left dry.

Every promise fell short.

Every connection left her craving.

She was dehydrated by false hopes — parched from chasing fulfillment in all the wrong wells.

And can we be real?

We do the same thing.

how many of us are living the same story?

We sip from the well of money…

We gulp down attention…

We run to sex, to success, to status…

But still, we’re left thirsty.

Dry.

Empty.

Because here’s the truth:

You will always be thirsty until you drink from the well that never runs dry.

Jesus doesn’t avoid her shame — he steps right into it.

He doesn’t dance around her sin — he exposes it.

Not to condemn her, but to heal her.

Not to humiliate, but to restore.

This encounter ends with Jesus revealing who he is to her

John 4:25–26 “The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.””

He tells her:

“I am he — the one you’ve been waiting for.”

3. Salvation Sealed, Thirst Quenched

On the cross, Jesus cried out “I thirst” so that you wouldn’t have to thirst anymore.

He took the sour wine, so you could receive the living water.

He endured the agony of separation, so you could experience the joy of salvation.

He died parched, so you could live filled.

And tonight — your thirst can be quenched.

Not by religion.

Not by trying harder.

Not by getting your act together.

But by receiving what he freely gives.

Living water.

Eternal life.

Salvation.

And just like that woman at the well, all you have to do is say:

“Sir, give me this water.”

Salvation call:

Friends hear me close, Jesus didn’t die with a whisper.

He didn’t take his last breath with a whimper of defeat.

No — he shouted it. The other 3 gospel accounts tells us that he died with a great shout on his lips..

John 19:30 says, “It is finished.”

In the original language, the word is Tetelestai.

This wasn’t just any word.

It was a word stamped on official documents to show that a debt had been paid in full.

It was written on receipts when a transaction was complete.

It was declared in the marketplace when the final payment had been made:

Tetelestai — It is done. It is covered. It is complete.

This was not a cry of despair — it was a declaration of victory.

This wasn’t Jesus saying “I’m finished.”

This was Jesus saying “The work is finished.”

Sin has been paid for.

Shame has been dealt with.

The thirst of your soul can finally be quenched.

What started with “I thirst” ends with “It is finished.”