Quenched (3/19/2023)

Jesus and His Final Words: Lived Out - Quenched (John 19:28-29, John 4:1-15, John 7:37-39, Revelation 22:1-3)

There is nothing like thirst to put on display the vulnerability of our human condition. Thirst is a metaphor that permeates the story of faith. From the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai to Samson the great judge, we all thirst. It is a picture of our longing for God. Jesus, however, is the source of a water that quenches every thirst. When you read of his life - and the promise he offers to others - one should marvel at the fact that he was thirsty. Jesus chose to be thirsty. He chose to take on frail humanity. He who is eternal took on the frailty of human existence. To the woman at the well, he offered an eternal spring. She was thirsty and longed for this water. At the great water festival of Jerusalem, Jesus stood up when the waters would have flowed down the streets of the holy city, and he declared that he himself is the source of living water. Water is a picture of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Through baptism, water is the picture of new life, life refreshed. Through the waters of baptism, he quenches our thirst. Like the Ethiopian eunuch, when we come to faith - we cry out, "Here is water!" Water is also our destiny. In John's final vision of eternity, he sees the river of life - flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Has your thirst been quenched?