The thirst of the Saviour - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst!
John 19:28

The thirst of the Saviour
The Lord Jesus suffered agonising physical thirst while hanging on the cross. In Psalm 22:15, He expressed it as, “My tongue clings to My jaws”. He must have been very thirsty during the hours on the cross. Yet, He declared only after the three hours of darkness were over and everything was finished: “I thirst!”

The motive for this statement was not primarily the Saviour’s unbearable thirst but His intention to fulfil the Scriptures. The prediction in Psalm 69:21 had not yet been fulfilled: “And for my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.” He referred to this because this passage had not been fulfilled until then.

The Lord Jesus was also “thirsty” in another way. How He longed for fruit from His sufferings! The Saviour desired that lost souls would be saved. This thirst of His soul is satisfied, expressed differently in Isaiah 53:11: “He shall see the labour of His soul, and be satisfied.”

The Lord Jesus knew yet another “thirst”. He longed to leave the world and return to heaven. How He rejoiced at the prospect of going back to the Father as a true Man! This desire is hinted at in Psalm 63:1:

“My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.”

Today’s reading: Exodus 23:1-19 · Luke 9:10-17