TETELESTAI

SEVEN STATEMENTS FROM THE CROSS

IT IS FINISHED, JOHN 19: 30

TETELESTAI (teh-TELL-ess-tie)

I'm certain I don't have to tell you that the language we speak today in good ole Chilton County was not the language spoken by Jesus nor was it the language in which John wrote his gospel. 

Although there were many languages and dialects spoken in that time, there were three predominant languages: Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.  The people of the region in which Jesus lived spoke Aramaic.  It resembled the Arabic language more than it did Hebrew. 

When we studied last weeks lesson on the words from the cross "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me" we saw that the soldiers and locals standing around the cross did not understand them.  They thought Jesus was calling for Elijah.  The reason for that is that Jesus was speaking in Aramaic and that was not a language the people of the Jerusalem area and especially the Roman soldiers understood.   

Aramaic and Arabic are not a beautiful sounding language like I consider the French or the British accent languages to be.  They are a harsh and guttural language.  When spoken correctly this language sounds like the speaker is clearing their throat. 

Although Jesus spoke in Aramaic He most assuredly read, understood and spoke Hebrew the language in which the Old Testament was written.  We see Him taking the scroll in the temple and reading from the Old Testament.  He most likely also spoke and understood a little Greek as well.  Even the uneducated in other countries speak one or two languages.  Only in the U.S. do we consider ourselves privileged enough to only  speak one language.

When John wrote his gospel he wrote to the non-Hebrew, Greek speaking people so his gospel was written in Greek. So the word or phrase in our study tonight is actually an English translation of a Greek translation of an Aramaic word. 

Once again we see that this phrase or quote is only included in John’s gospel.   

·         Matthew related it like this:  (Matthew 27:50):  "Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit"

·         Mark described it this way:(Mark 15:37):        "And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last"

·         And Luke's version was like this: Luke 23:46:        "Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last."

This is the last statement from the cross that we will study next week.

As we have already discussed, this does not mean that one writer was right and one wrong.  It simply means that this particular aspect of the crucifixion was interrupted differently by four different men, writing in four different times to four different types of people from four different perspectives.

It takes a complete phrase in our language to translate this one word in Greek.  The phrase we are studying tonight is "It is finished".  In Greek the word is Tetelestai. 

Often in the English language one word may have many meanings.  Some say that for this reason English is one of the hardest languages to learn and understand for people who are non-English speaking people. 

Can you think of an English word that has several meanings?

Consider the word “light”.  Look at all the things we can refer to with this word.   Light can mean:

·         The dispelling of darkness or the absence of darkness (God has shown His light into the world)

·         A lamp, or other illumination device (Turn on the light)

·         A means of starting a fire, especially with a cigarette, (hey, buddy can you give me a light)

·         Something that is not heavy (oh, it’s not heavy it’s very light)

I’m sure there are other meanings and other words but you see what I’m getting at.

Now let's look at some of the ways this word  “tetelestai” was used.  

1. The word is used by an artist.  It is the word that a painter or a sculptor would use when he had completed his masterpiece and presented it for approval.  He starts out with a blank canvas and spends hours creating the exact image that he sees in his mind.  When he has completed the painting or work of art he says “tetelestai” meaning "This is my submission,  I can add nothing to it.  It is complete.  It is the best that I can do”.   

2.  It is also a word used by builders.  When a builder is handed the plans for a house or building and he gathers his building materials and follows the plans and does the work,  then when he completes the job, he  is ready to “hand over the keys”  if you will and says “Tetelestai”  or I have followed these plans to their  completion. 

3. It was used in accounting or bookkeeping.  In those days, like today, if you purchased a piece of land or an ox or calf and you used your “credit” for the purchase it might take you a long time to pay off that debt.  But when the debt was paid, the creditor would take his pen and write “tetelestai” across the document.  This was your written receipt.  In this case“Tetelestai” would mean that your debt had been “paid in full”. 

4.  And finally the word was used in a legal sense by jailers and judges. When a man was sentenced to serve time for a crime which he had committed, he was placed in the cell or dungeon to serve out that time.  He spent his days and nights in that cold, dark, hard place until his debt to society had been paid.  Then when his allotted time was complete and he had served all the time necessary for him to be released, the jailer would open the cell door and hang a sign over the cell that said, “tetelestai”; meaning this man has paid his debt for his wrong. 

Pastor Gary read a story once about an art teacher who gave an assignment to his students. Their assignment was to paint a portrait of the king.  Each student was given the easel, paints, brushes and all the things necessary to paint the kings likeness.  They each begin the tedious job of combining colors and producing the brush strokes necessary for their representation of the king. 

When every student was finished the art teacher walked through the studio looking at their work.  Many of these students had never seen the king.  They had only seen paintings by others of him.  Many had only seen him from a distance; they had never been up close to him.  So although each painting was similar, there were a lot of differences in them as well.

After completing his rounds and taking his time to view the work of his students the teacher walked to the front of the room and addressed the class. “Students, you have not done a very good job.  The person you have just painted is the king of your country.  He is the most important man in this land.  He is the man responsible for your well being and for keeping you and your families safe.  He is someone you should know and love.  I know the king and he is my friend.  We grew up together and I love him.  If you had loved him more you would have painted him better”  

Of course that statement applies to the way we serve God and the way we portray Him to the world.  Sometimes the God that others see in our lives is not painted in a very clear light.  If our lives are a portrait of Jesus I’m sure the world sees a very blurry picture.  The colors run and the lines are not clear.

But when Jesus painted our salvation that day on Calvary He did a masterful job.  Oh, the instruments that He used might have been crude, and the studio in which He painted might have been primitive but the planning and care and love that He put into the portrait has never been matched. 

                 

Using His own blood as the paint, Jesus spoke from Golgotha “Tetelestai”, “I have completed the painting. There is nothing that can be added. It is the best that I can do.

*******

In the seventh chapter of Matthew Jesus told the story of two men who were builders.  You can always tell a good builder by the way he starts out building his house.  Since I’ve been trying to build my barn I’ve talked to several men who claim to be builders.  Some will look at what I’m doing and sort of laugh politely.  “You are not going to do it like that are you”? They will say. 

Those who know what they are doing will explain to you the importance of using a good fastening system, strong construction materials and a firm foundation.  Those who are “jack-legs” like me will try to go about the building process by using short-cuts. 

Jesus said that one man built his house upon the sand and the rains descended and the floods came and beat upon his house and it fell like one of Keva’s cakes. 

But the other man took pains and built his house upon a rock and because of the firm foundation; his house was able to withstand the storms. 

What a construction process that took place that day just north of Jerusalem!  Jesus took some rough timbers and three nails and on that rocky ground built a salvation that will stand the test of eternity. 

He took His Father’s plans and laid them out on the table and followed them to the “T”.  Do you remember that statement that He made concerning the prophesies?  He said that they had all been completed.    He completed the building that day in just six hours but it was a strong, secure, stable building and when He was finished with it He called out, “tetelestai”, “I’ve followed the plans.  The (building) work is complete”.

*****

Can you remember the first car you ever bought?  I can. It was a 1946 Plymouth, 4 door sedan.  It was built like an army tank and actually it was almost the same green color as an army tank.   It had a flat head 6 cylinder engine and a back seat big enough so that you could have planted an acre of corn there.  I looked at the document that I was signing when I bought that old car and I thought, “There is no way I can ever pay this much money back”.  I was sixteen years old and of course only working after school and on the weekends.  The cost of the car?  $100.00, ten dollars down and ten dollars a week.  It seemed like forever.  I owed so much and I owed it for such a long time, how could I ever really pay what I owed?  Ever felt that way?

But oh, when that final week came! It was Friday afternoon and I got my pay check.  I cashed it and about 3 o’clock I walked into that office and laid down the last $10.00 that was owed on the car. The man behind the desk took out the document on which my payment records were kept and wrote across the front, “Paid in full”.  That old Plymouth was mine.  What a great feeling.  I had the receipt.  It belonged to me.  I kept that old receipt for a very long time. 

Your sin debt and my sin debt was massive.  I owed so much and I owed it for such a long time.  I could not have made the payments.   I remember the words, “The wages of sin is death”.  But about 3 o’clock one Friday afternoon in a place I’ve never seen, in a country I’ve never been to, a man I didn’t know at the time, loved me enough to walk into God’s office and with the cash in hand He laid the price of my sins on the desk and the Father took a big ole pen full of love and mercy and wrote “Paid in full” across the front.  And if that don’t fill your bucket you better check it for leaks. 

*****

I’ve encourage you many times over the years to “remember” where you came from.  I’ve shared with you the importance of “going back” in your mind to the place where you were when you were not a Christian.  Oh, I know it is not a pleasant place.  It is a dungeon.  It is a dark, cold, hard, lonely, place. It is a place not fit for man.  It is a place intended to cause you grief.

But go back there from time to time so that you can remember. Remember how bad it was.  Remember how lost you were.  Remember how hopeless you felt.

Then in your minds eye, picture that day when a meek, kind, loving 33 year old Middle Eastern man suffered the torments of the cross from you and with His last drop of blood wrote above your cell door, “tetelestai”.  The sin debt was paid, the jail door swung open.  You could go free.

But in closing tonight let me tell you something that will completely nullify that selfless, merciful, act preformed by Jesus that day.  You can look at what He has done for you, you can see the word written above your cell door, you can hear the gospel of grace that is preached to you and taught to you over and over again…and you can sit there in your cell and never, ever go free, because the choice is yours.

You can sit in your cell and eat bread and water for the rest of your life or you can choose to sit at the marriage supper of the Lamb.  You can fill your soul with spiritual “manna” and never hunger or thirst again or you can nibble at the crumbs that fall from the table.  But the choice is yours. 

You can sit there in the darkness, covered by your selfishness and desires and habits and long for the sun and the Son and never step out into the light and accept the pardon that has been offered, when the entire time, hanging there over your cell door is the pardon.  Tetelestai.

 On an old wooden sign, hanging on three nails, written in the blood of the Son of God is a word that tells you and the world that sin no longer has dominion over you.  It’s a simple word spoken so many years ago, but a word filled with so much meaning that you and I will never understand it south of heaven.

People are not able to hold you in that cell.  Satan himself is not strong enough to keep you locked in there.  You hold the key to your own cell and you are there because you choose to be there.  Jesus painted the picture, built the house, paid the debt and wrote it over your cell door and because He loved you so much, He pulled Himself up against the pain of the nails and drew what would be one of the last breaths He would ever take before dyeing for us and with all the strength He could muster, He yelled out from the cross, TETELESTAI!   IT IS FINISHED!

FACT OR FEELING?

SEVEN STATEMENTS FROM THE CROSS

MATT. 27:46 / MARK 15:34

FACT OR FEELING?

In the newspaper business there is a standard formula that a writer will follow when telling a story.  Whether it is an account of a bank robbery or a chronicle of little Johnny’s birthday bash, there are five questions that should be answered in the story. 

***WHO-WHAT-WHEN-WHERE-AND WHY? ***

The readers want to know who little Johnny is, what happened to him, when it happened, where the event took place and why it occurred.  The next time you read a newspaper article notice to see if the writer included all of these points in his piece of writing. 

In most stories the first four questions are fairly easy to answer.  It simply requires a little research.  But the fifth question takes either a lot of honesty on the part of the character or a lot of speculation on the part of the writer. 

The story of the crucifixion is much the same.  Let’s look at it. 

To Jesus the question regarding “who” would have to die was clear.  Before the Garden of Eden was created, Jesus Christ knew He would have to die for the sins of mankind.  Before there was a tree big enough to be a cross, Jesus knew He would have to hang on one and suffer for you and I.  Before there were hills and mountains which contained iron ore to form spikes, Jesus knew He would feel the burning pain in His feet and hands.  Before there were men and women for whose sins He would have to die, Jesus knew it was His life that would be the sacrifice.  He was the “who”. 

The “what” was also evident.  Death was God’s judgment for sin.  A spotless, sinless, innocent life must be offered for the atonement of sin.  Hebrews 9:22 tells us that “...Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin”.  God is, if anything, a Just God, a consistent God and His rules will not change.  Death of The Lamb was imminent.  Jesus’ death was the “what”.

The “when” had been foretold for many years.  There were prophesies that had foretold of the events and happenings that were to take place.  There were “hoops” to jump through and things that had to happen.  In John 19:28 we are told that Jesus knew these point that had to be met.  He knew the “I’s” that must be dotted and the “t’s” that had to be crossed.  It says that “Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished that the scripture might be fulfilled”.  Jesus knew the “when”. 

The “where” was a common place.  Calvary was not a special place that was chosen just for Jesus.  They didn’t look over Jerusalem and find a unique spot for His crucifixion.  Many men had died there.  Many more would no doubt loose their life there following Jesus’ death.  The place of the skull, Golgotha, Calvary was a common killing ground.  It was ground that had soaked up the blood of many men.  This place no doubt was well known to the Jews, the Romans and to Jesus.

 Can you imagine how many times Jesus and His disciples had walked down this road leading into Jerusalem from the North?  Don’t you think that many times they passed as crucifixions were being carried out?  It was a common thing for criminals to be executed here.  Can you imagine the thoughts that tortured His mind as He passed by this place?  No doubt, Jesus certainly knew the “where” of Calvary. 

But the “why”, the final question was the one that tortured Jesus the most.  In our scripture Jesus cries out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”.  You see He knew the answer to all the other questions but the “why” escaped Him at that moment.   

 Do you realize that Jesus was not the first to utter these words?  In Psalms 22: 1 David was filling the role of a prophet when he wrote, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  Look at all the direct references to the events of Jesus’ death on the cross in Psalms 22. Let’s read this portion of scripture together.

David could not have known about the cross.  You see the cross had not been invented during David’s life time.  David lived between the years of 1040-970 BC.  The cross as a form of execution was invented by the Persians between 300 and 400 BC.  David could not have even imagined what death on a cross was all about. But by God’s grace and wisdom he picked up his prophetic telescope and peered down through the 1100 years or so and saw Jesus hanging on the cross and wrote down the words that He would say and the things that He would experience.

"Why have you forsaken me"?   Let’s look at the word forsaken a bit.  In Hebrew, the language that David spoke, the word is “Azab”.  It means to loosen, “cut loose”, relinquish or to leave destitute.  In Greek, the language of the New Testament, the word is much longer and I can’t spell it or pronounce it.  But its meaning is “to leave behind”.

The “why” was torturing Jesus more than the nails.  He felt “cut loose” from the grace and fellowship of His Father.  I’ve heard many explanations for this scripture as I’m sure you have.  I have listen to teachers and preachers explain this scripture to mean that God could not stand to look upon sin, especially sin carried by His own Son.  So God turned His back on Jesus as He hung there causing Jesus to feel “left alone”.

I’m not sure I can buy that.

I clearly remember when I walked away from God.  I distinctly remember actually telling God, "Go away and leave me alone".  I lost my wife, my family, my job, my church and it seems every thing else I had.  But you know what?  My father and mother never once turned their back on me.  Isn't that amazing?  I was wrong.  I was hurting people.  I was rebelling against God and every form of authority that I knew but my earthly Father and Mother refused to turn away from me.
 

If I accept the fact that a Holy and righteous God could not and would not look on Jesus as He “put on” our sins and carried them to the cross, if I believe that God turned His back on His own Son, then I must accept the fact that when I am in my sin, and you are in your sin, God will not look on us either.  I will have to believe that my cries for help and the screams from my “cross” will, at least temporally go unheeded as well. I don’t know if I am theologically correct in my belief or not, but I just can’t believe that is true.

Thus far in our study, we have seen Jesus speak four times.

·         Luke 23:34 -“Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. Were these the words of Jesus the Son of God or Jesus the man? I think clearly that this was The Son of God asking His Father for mercy for the sinners.

·         Luke 23:43 – “Today you will be with me in paradise”.  This was God’s Son making a “lovers promise” to a sinner saved by grace.

·         John 19: 25-27 – “Mother behold they son.  (Son)Behold they mother”.  These are words from the man Jesus showing love and compassion for His Mother and His friend.

·         John 19:28 – “I thirst”.  Again we see Jesus in the physical, the man, thirsting for water.

His statements thus far have shown us that it is both the God and the man who hangs there not one or the other. 

If you accept the fact that in our scripture tonight it is Jesus, the Son of God speaking then you have to accept that God actually turned away from Him, a sinful man (even though that man was taking on the sin of others).  But if you embrace the thought that the man that uttered these words was Jesus the human, the physical, Galilean, then you can understand that He cried out because He “felt”, “cut loose”, and “left behind”. 

I believe that this sentence, screamed from the parched lips of Jesus, forced from the burning lungs of that 33 year old man simply prove what the scripture says in Hebrews 4: 15.  We are told that He was “…in all points tempted like as we are…” . 

You’ve felt that haven’t you?  

• As a Christian teen, others in your group were doing this or that, having fun, living wild and free and yet you choose not to do that, so you were left out and left behind.
• As a loving husband or wife whose spouse found “someone new” you felt “cut loose”.
• Perhaps as an older person your health, technology, events and even your family leave you because you can’t keep up and you feel desolate. 

If you’ve felt it, if I’ve felt it, if we have had to go through it and JESUS DID NOT FEEL IT then the scripture we have just read IS NOT TRUE.  Jesus had to feel that burning pain of alone-ness in order to be in all ways tempted like we are.  

Jesus “felt” just like you and I have felt.  But the question that stuck in my mind is; “Was it a fact that God actually turned His back on Him”?

As a human, as a Christian, there will be times when you will feel deserted.  You will feel that “gut wrenching” left behind pain.  But do you expect God to turn His back on you?  NEVER! 

 Let’s look at the illustration Isaiah gave to the Hebrews in chapter 49.  The Hebrews at that time felt like God had deserted them.  In verse 14 it says “Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me” But Isaiah responds in verse 15, (NIV)"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! “

That would be hard to imagine, that a mother could forget her baby.  Even in our day and time when we hear of mothers leaving their children on the church or hospital steps, it still seems awful to us.  But Isaiah says, if that is possible, if that actually can happen, God tells us  “I will not forget you”.

So here is my take on this statement.  I understand as I write this that some, perhaps many will not agree with me.  That's ok too. You can take it as warped theology or misguided redneck psudo-intellect but I think that the man Jesus was "feeling" forsaken that day.  Among all the other "feelings" and temptations and torments that He faced, He had to face this feeling as well.  Why?  Because you and I would face it someday too. 

Was it a fact that God had forsaken Him?  In my humble opinion, I don't think so.  I don't think my God will ever turn His face away from me.  If God and I are separated, it is I who will walk away, not God.  It is I who will turn my back, it is I who will drive a wedge between us, not God. God hates sin but since the beginning, the creation of man, God has unquestionably loved him.  And that love is eternal.  Will He punish sin. Absolutely. Will He allow us to make our own choices?  Certainly.  But I don't think He will ever turn His back on us.  I don't think He will ever forsake us.   

I know Jesus felt that He had been forsaken.  I know that in the past, I have felt forsaken.  I feel sure that you will someday feel forsaken as well.  But I believe that is a feeling, not a fact. 

 

I THIRST

SEVEN STATEMENTS FROM THE CROSS 

JOHN 19:28

“I THIRST”

By this time in our study you have already been made aware of the physical torture which Jesus endured on the cross for each of us. Tonight’s simple little scripture once again gives us evidence of His physical condition.  The signs and symptoms that Jesus exhibited that Friday afternoon were a precursor to death.  The condition of thirst is one of the prime signs and symptoms of the condition of shock. 

As the body enters into the condition of cardiovascular collapse, God has designed it to try and take care of itself.  The body will compensate for the injury and will try to keep the body functioning as it should.    One method of doing that is by “shunting” the blood and body fluids from a place where they are not needed to a place where they are needed.

For example, the body will push the blood and fluids located in the skin and cause them to move toward the vital organs.  The blood gives the skin its warmth and color.  That is why a person entering into shock will become pale, cool and clammy.   

Another example is thirst.  The fluids in the mouth are shunted back toward the vital organs.  This leaves the patient with “cotton mouth” or thirst.

Lest you think that Jesus endured the cross by means of “supernatural”, God-like, miraculous powers; John explains to us that Jesus was thirsty.  John was standing near enough to the cross to hear the words come out of the parched lips of the Savior.  He was eye-witness to the fact that the Savior, who had created all the waters on the earth; was dying for just one sip of that cool water, and none was offered.     

 The physical Jesus, the man Jesus, the human Jesus had entered into that condition of cardiovascular collapse.  His circulatory system was shutting down and he was experiencing the condition of thirst.  He was feeling that Insatiable need for fluids. 

**************

But as I thought and prayed about this little two word portion of scripture I came to the conclusion that the thirst Jesus was experiencing was more than physical thirst.  Oh, yes He was burning up. He was craving “just a cup of cool water” to relieve the burning in his body, but there was more.  Jesus was thirsty for more. 

Let’s consider some of the “thirst” that Jesus experienced.

1.  THE SALVATION OF THE LOST: Already in this series we have seen that Jesus came to “seek and save that which was lost”.  That was His purpose.  When He met a man on the street, or talked with a woman by the well, His desire was to share that “living water” with them. I believe that He could see them in their lost state and He was “thirsty” to share the good news with them. 

As Christians, who are supposed to be Christ-like, that should be our thirst too.  We should not be comfortable passing people on the street without somehow sharing Jesus with them.

 

 Many years ago when I was stationed in Yorktown, Virginia, I felt this burning desire to share Jesus with others.  I made God a promise at that time.  I told God, “I will not let one day pass in which I don’t share Jesus with someone”.  That sounds like an honorable desire doesn’t it?  Well, that promise and desire succeeded in making me live a very defeated life for a while.  You see there were days that would go by in which I did not have the opportunity to speak to someone about Christ.  And when I would have one of those times, when I would go through a day or two and not share Jesus verbally, then I felt defeated.  I felt like I had lied to God and that I was sinning.   

 I don’t know if it is practical or not, that we verbally share Jesus with someone each day, but I want to have that thirst don’t you?  I wish that I could love them enough to be thirsty for their souls.  Jesus was.

2.  THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE BELIEVER:  I believe with all my heart that Jesus came to set us free.  Not only did He come to set me free from the guilt of sin but He also came to set me free from the chains of sin.  It was not His intent to come and live an example for us that He did, die the death for us that He died, send His Holy Spirit to us to empower us and make us Holy and then just to watch us go back to being what we were before with the excuse of “ Well, I’m just human”.  There should be a Holy difference between you and a non-Christian.  Not because of your power but because of the power within you. 

It is not the desire of God that His children, His family, people called by His name should live a life chained to the habits, and obsessions and proclivities of sin.  Holiness is the desire of God, no, much more than that, Holiness is the command of God!  Jesus hung there on that cross that afternoon and was thirsty for the time when “rivers of living waters” that would flow from those who surrendered to His will. 

3.  LOVE UNENDING:  When you have been around the church as long as I have (Some of you might say when you have been anywhere as long as I have) you will naturally see people “come and go”.  I’m sure you know people who have had “an experience” with God.  Perhaps they have confessed their sins, made a public confession, started coming to church and working for the kingdom and yet…where are they now? 

You may know of someone who was once a vibrant, on fire servant for God at one point and now they have totally gone in the opposite direction.  There have been folks, who have stood in our sanctuary and testified of the saving grace of God, but now they are gone and not living the life they promised to live.   Oh, there are a lot of excuses for people like that.  They might blame it on: 

·         Their parents

·         Their teachers

·         Their church

·         Their pastor

But the truth is those are excuses.  If a person turns from God it is a choice just as tuning toward God is a choice.

 

When you sign on with God’s army it’s forever.  You don’t sign on and then get old and say, “I’ve done my part.  Let someone else work for a while” or “I’ve done enough this year. Let someone else do something “.  God doesn’t need “part-time” Christians.  He doesn’t need “week-end” Christians.  He wants Christians who are willing to “sign on for the long haul”. 

There is a Southern gospel song that says “When He was on the cross, I was on His mind”.  I wonder if while He hung there in torture that Friday afternoon, He could see me.  I wonder if He looked down through the corridors of time and realized that the thought would come through my mind that “I’ll just throw up my hands and quit”.  If He did, then I made Him thirsty.  Just like my sins caused Him to have to go to the cross, my weakness, my laziness, my attitude of “it’s too hard”, made Him thirsty for Christians who will not quit!    

REFUSING THE SUBSTITUTE:  In Matthew 27:34 we are told that even though Jesus was thirsty He refused to accept the easy way out and He refused the substitute for what He really needed.

Normally, the Romans would give a cup of wine to the condemned prisoner.  This was to help him endure the pain a little.  I guess you could call it the compassion of the executioner.  But Matthew says that when Jesus tasted what they offered Him that He refused to drink it. The Son of God needed a drink of water and the world offered Him something else.  They offered Him sour wine and bitter tasting gall.  He refused to accept a substitute.

The church today seems to offer people a lot doesn’t it?  Look at some of the bigger churches around us or some that advertise on the internet.  They offer nursery programs, children’s programs, “middlers” and pre-teens, youth programs, music programs, senior adult programs, programs for unwed mothers, programs for single parents, meetings for drug abusers, home missions, foreign missions, and just about any activity that you could name. (No wonder we old people turned out so awful.  We didn’t have any of that stuff when we were growing up in church.  All we had was good Christian people who loved us). 

In the little church where I grew up, I don’t think we even had a children or youth program.  But I can remember clearly my Dad putting us in the car and driving over to the home of a man and woman who had lots of kids that he was trying to get into church.  He took a baseball and bat and some old baseball gloves on Sunday afternoon and we played baseball out in their cow pasture.  That’s been well over 50 years ago and I can still remember the fun we had to this day.    

I remember him taking a group of young boys on a hike.  We hiked from one exit to the other when the new I-65 was being built.  We walked along what is now being used by thousands of cars each hour.  Then it was just a cleared off strip of land that a bunch of young boys and a middle age man play on.  No program, no budget, no planning session, just a Christian man who loved the kids and wanted to do something with them.

We mentioned a few weeks back that people are leaving the church in “droves”.  Churches are changing their names from Baptist, Methodist, and Nazarene to something more “catchy” in order to woo those people back into the fold.  But I don’t believe it is the lack of programs that are causing people to leave the church. I don’t believe it’s the name on the church that is keeping people out.   I believe it is the fact that we are not offering them the “real thing”.  I believe we as a church are offering them substitutes. 

They are thirsty for Salvation and we are offering them church membership.  They are thirsty for a holy heart and we are offering them “situational ethics”.  They are thirsty for fellowship and we offer them “programs”.  They are thirsting to death for love and we offer them services.

I’ll use a Lucado quote here.  “Religion pacifies, but never satisfies.  Church activities might hide a thirst but only Christ, The Living Water can quench the thirst”.

And you know what?  Just as Jesus would not accept the “fake” relief for His thirst, neither will our world accept the fake relief we offer for their thirst. 

 Folks your loved ones and my loved ones, your neighbors and my neighbors, your co-workers and my co-workers are thirsting to death for someone to love them.  Do we dare offer them a fake solution to their need?  Dare we offer them “sour wine” when what they need is the pure, clean water from the river of life? 

CONCLUSION:  Where will that “water” come from?  Let me tell you a story. (John 7)

The Jewish people of Jesus’ day held many celebrations.  One in particular was called the Feast of Tabernacles.  It was a celebration commemorating the blessing that God has given them during the year.  It also is a time when the Hebrew people remember when they were delivered from bondage in Egypt. 

It is celebrated on the 15^th day of the 7^th month. (September-October of our year).  It is similar to our Thanksgiving.  There are several things done during this celebration.  The people all live in “booths” for seven days.  These booths must be constructed out of something that grows from the ground.  Tree branches, corn stalks, and palm branches are examples of the things that they use. 

The people celebrated this event by sleeping in tents or booths all week long to remind themselves that their ancestors were nomads, wonderers, and pilgrims.  Each day of this special week, the priest would walk to the Pool of Sloam which is a stone pool fed from the Gihon springs.  He takes a golden pitcher which he fills with water and slowly walks back to the temple through streets lined on both sides with people there to celebrate this occasion. 

When the priest entered the temple he would walk around the altar and pour out the water at the base of the altar. He would do this once a day for seven days.  On the last day of the celebration, the great day, he would make the trip to the spring 7 times.  Seven times he would walk down the people lined streets and seven times he would pour out the water around the altar.

I wonder how many times in His life Jesus had stood among the crowd and watched this reenactment.  But this day, the day John tells us about in John chapter 7, was special for Jesus.   This would be the last time Jesus would ever see this celebration held while He was on earth.  In six months from this time, Jesus would be led down these same streets carrying a cross beam. He would be led to a hill called Calvary and there He would die for the sins of these very people.  So Jesus felt a desperate need to divert His countrymen’s attention from the past to what was about to happen. 

We normally think of Jesus as a quiet, reserved teacher.  But in this case He could stand it no longer.  John tells us that “Jesus stood and cried out”.   Normally, when a teacher or Rabbi taught he sat down and his “talmed” or followers would sit around him to listen to his teaching.  We see Jesus in this setting many times during His ministry, but not today.  He stood.  And He shouted. 

The word used here is the same word used in other occasions in the Bible.  It was used when the blind man desperately shouted to gain Jesus’ attention and ask for healing.  It was used when Peter, who had been walking on the water, started sinking in the storm and cried out to Jesus to save him.  It was used when the demon possessed man shouted from the clutches of the demons that held him to ask Jesus to free him.   

 

Jesus stood, and shouted.  “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me, and drink”.  Don’t worry about the traditions.  Don’t worry about the ceremonies.  Don’t fret about the rules and regulations.  Come to Me if you are thirsty.  Come to Me if your soul is dry.  Come to Me if you have a crusty heart. 

And when you do what will happen?

Jesus said that those who come to me, “He that believes in me….out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”. (John 7:38)

That living water is supposed to be coming from us.  Oh, not that we can do anything by ourselves. Jesus is that living water.  He is the solution to the problems of our world.  But we are the conduit.  We are the pipes that bring that living water from its source to the place where it is needed.  We bring Jesus to a thirsty world. 

I heard a good illustration of that just this morning.  Someone said that “what the hand is to the glove, The Spirit of God is to our lives”.  It is our lives, hands, feet, mouth that do the touching but it is His hand, His Spirit that does the work. 

It’s pretty obvious that the world is thirsty.  It’s pretty obvious that people are dying for that water that living water that Jesus spoke about.   It should be clear to us that Jesus was and is thirsty to share that water with those in need.  What is not clear is my state of thirst.  Do I want what Jesus wants?  Do I want it bad enough?  Am I thirsty enough to share the Word with the world?  Are you?

God make us thirsty.