I Am Thirsty

This is Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee, Senior Pastor of Manmin Joong-ang Church in Seoul, Korea. I wish for your life to be filled with God’s love and blessing. I want to share God’s grace with you through this message titled “I Am Thirsty.” The prophecies we find in the Bible were recorded by those who were inspired by the Holy Spirit as they were spoken from God. Regarding the prophecies on the sufferings of the Messiah, Psalm 69:21 says, “They also gave me gall for my food And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” The prophecies of the Bible have been fulfilled as they were spoken. When Jesus was hung on the cross and said “I am thirsty”, people put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and put it up to Jesus’ mouth. Why did Jesus, the Son of God, say that He was thirsty? The execution by crucifixion was so terrible that a man who had flesh and body was hung on a cross, he could do nothing but suffer unbearable pain and severe thirst. However, when Jesus said, “I am thirsty” he did not mean a fleshly thirst. There is deep spiritual meaning in what he said. He has redeemed all men from their sins through the payment of His blood, so He wished that anyone who hears these words of His being cried in earnest would quench His thirst by paying back Him for the price of His blood. That’s why all the children of God should take the responsibility when listening to the voice of our Lord Jesus saying, “I am thirsty” to hear and to pay back the price of His blood. What shall we do in detail to return that price He paid? Above all, we should guide the many people who do not know the Christ and who dwell in darkness to our Lord. That is paying back the price of His blood because Jesus took the cross to save those who do not know God and fall into hell. So, when a soul is evangelized and gains salvation, God is so pleased and will reward us for evangelizing that soul in heaven. Secondly, we can pay back the price of Jesus’ blood when we expand the kingdom of God by giving Him whatever offerings as we can. Thirdly, our fervent prayers for the kingdom and righteousness of God can quench His thirst in our repaying the price of His blood. Through fervent prayers we can receive the strength from above and by that strength we can lead as many souls to the path of life and fulfill our God-given duties. We have been saved through the love of our Father God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. May each of you pay back the price of our Lord’s blood by prayers, evangelization and various offerings, in the name of our Lord I pray! Amen.