Across the Preacher’s Desk
Is the message of the cross current? What message is there for men and women of the 21st century? Can the events on a hill so long ago affect us now? Can the death of one man by crucifixion affect men and women when thousands can now be killed with one bomb? The answer is yes.
Yes, the message of the cross is current and relevant. There are two short words in John’s Gospel (John 19:28) that show us how current this message is. Those words are when Jesus says, “I thirst.”
Jesus said, “I thirst” because Jesus died as a man. John’s primary purpose was to show the deity of Jesus but in this passage, he shows us the humanity of Jesus. Jesus came to feel what we feel and to know our needs. The human race had sinned and must die.
The fact that Jesus experienced that painful thirst brings new meaning to other passages. Even in our day and age with all its advancements, with cell phones and the internet and supersonic plane travel, people still die without God.
Jesus knows our pain and our temptations. He knows the deep waters we pass through, and he knows the storms that blow through our lives. Yet, through obedience to Jesus’ commands and living His kind of life, the storms can be calmed, and our thirst can be quenched.
What we must do is surrender our stubborn human will to the will of Jesus. We must make Jesus Christ the Lord and Master of our lives. ----- (Biblical interpretations vary among individuals. Columns on faith published by The Light and Champion are the expressions of the submitting author named on each one, and in no way reflect the opinions of The Light and Champion, its staff, or owners.)