points to the anguish of his soul; "I thirst" expresses in part the torture of his body; and they were both needful, because it is written of the God of justice that he is "able to destroy both soul and body in hell," and the pangs that are due to law are of both kinds, touching both heart and flesh. It was most fitting that every word of our Lord upon the cross should be gathered up and preserved. The Church, the bride of Christ, was there conformed to the image of her Lord; she was there, I say, in Simon, bearing the cross, and in the women weeping and lamenting. John 19:1-16 - Glory Mocked and Condemned John 19:17-30 - Glory Crucified John 19:31-42 - Glory Buried A. Jesus is condemned to crucifixion. To-day I invite your attention to another Prince, marching in another fashion through his metropolis. He poureth out the streams that run among the hills, the torrents which rush adown the mountains, and the flowing rivers which enrich the plains. Romanists pretend to know; in fact they know the very spot where Veronica wiped the blessed face with her handkerchief, and found his likeness impressed upon it; we also know very well where that was not done; in fact they know the very spot where Jesus fainted, and if you go to Jerusalem you can see all these different places if you only carry enough credulity with you; but the fact is the city has been so razed, and burned, and ploughed, that there is little chance of distinguishing any of these positions, with the exception, it may be, of Mount Calvary, which being outside the walls may possibly still remain. We ought not to forget the Jews. O to be enlarged in soul so as to take deeper draughts of his sweet love, for our heart cannot have enough. No, no; we must not make a cross of our own. Inductive Bible study on John 19. Let me add, that when we look at the sufferings of Christ, we ought to sorrow deeply for the souls of all unregenerate men and women. Includes cross references, questions, verse by verse commentary, outline, and applications on John chapter 19 for small groups. The last expiring word in which he commended his spirit to his Father, is the note of acceptance for himself and for us all. And yet, though he was Lord of all he had so fully taken upon himself the form of a servant and was so perfectly made in the likeness of sinful flesh, that he cried with fainting voice, "I thirst." There can be no shadow of doubt but that our Lord was really crucified, and no one substituted for him. We are in the world, but we must never be of it; we are not to be secluded like monks in the cloister, but we are to be separated like Jews among Gentiles; men, but not of men; helping, aiding, befriending, teaching, comforting, instructing, but not sinning either to escape a frown or to win a smile. Whether a disciple then or not, we have every reason to believe that he became so afterwards; he was the father, we read, of Alexander and Rufus, two persons who appear to have been well known in the early Church; let us hope that salvation came to his house when he was compelled to bear the Savior's cross. He ran and filled a sponge with vinegar: it was the best way he knew of putting a few drops of moisture to the lips of one who was suffering so much; but though he felt a degree of pity, it was such as one might show to a dog; he felt no reverence, but mocked as he relieved. NOTICE the connection, or you will miss the meaning of the words; for at first sight it looks as if our Saviour taught us that it John:6:29 The Marvellous Magnet Did I not describe last Sabbath the knotted scourges which fell upon the Saviours back? John 19:28 J.R. Thomson This is both the shortest of all the dying utterances of Jesus, and it is the one which is most closely related to himself. Perhaps they are your children, the objects of your fondest love, with no interest in Christ, without God and without hope in the world! souls, I do beseech you, by the agonies of Christ, by his wounds and by his blood, do not bring upon yourselves the curse; do not bear in your own persons the awful wrath to come! Can you help feeling how very near Jesus is to us when his lips must be moistened with a sponge, and he must be so dependent upon others as to ask drink from their hand? "I thirst, but not as once I did, The vain delights of earth to share; Thy wounds, Emmanuel, all forbid That I should seek my pleasures there. I think that Roman soldier meant well, at least well for a rough warrior with his little light and knowledge. _Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. They force him without the walls, and are not satisfied till they have rid themselves of his obnoxious presence. The reed was no mere rush from the brook, it was of a stouter kind, of which easterns often make walkingstaves, the blows were cruel as well as insulting; and the crown was not of straw but thorn, hence it produced pain as well as pictured scorn. I am ashamed of some professed Christians, heartily ashamed of them! John preached a sacrificial Saviour, a sin-bearing Saviour, a sin-atoning Saviour. The most Scriptural way to describe the sufferings of Christ is not by laboring to excite sympathy through highly-coloured descriptions of his blood and wounds. Dear fountain of delight unknown! I have now a third picture to present to you CHRIST AND HIS MOURNERS. "I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk; eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." The world has in former days counted it God's service to kill the saints. Was not the Redeemer led thither to aggravate his shame? John Chapter 19 - In-depth, verse-by-verse commentary and Bible study of John chapter 19 in plain English. It showed that he had laid down his life of himself. Some of these were persons of considerable rank; many of them had ministered to him of their substance; amidst the din and howling of the crowd, and the noise of the soldiery, they raised an exceeding loud and bitter cry, like Rachel weeping for her children, who would not be comforted, because they were not. We read, "The soldiers also mocked him, offering him vinegar." Oh! Nor does the grief end here, for have not the best works we have ever done, and the best feelings we ever felt, and the best prayers we have ever offered, been tart and sour with sin? Certain philosophers have said that they love the pursuit of truth even better than the knowledge of truth. "I thirst," ay, this is my soul's word with her Lord. Take up your cross, and go without the camp, following your Lord, even until death. Call to mind his complaint in the fifth chapter of Isaiah, "Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. Our first parents plucked forbidden fruit, and by eating slew the race. They place the cross upon Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country. So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. The sinful find our conversation distasteful; in our pursuits the carnal have no interest; things dear to us are dross to worldlings, while things precious to them are contemptible to us. Are you lukewarm? See how man at his best mingles admiration of the Saviour's person with scorn of his claims; writing books to hold him up as an example and at the same moment rejecting his deity; admitting that he was a wonderful man, but denying his most sacred mission; extolling his ethical teaching and then trampling on his blood: thus giving him drink, but that drink vinegar. Justice must fly the field lest it be severe to so deserving a being; as for punishment, it must not be whispered to his ears polite. Mine is adorned with garments crimsoned with his own blood. You have been ill, and you have been parched with fever as he was, and then you too have gasped out "I thirst." First, we shall look upon them as THE ENSIGN OF HIS TRUE HUMANITY. You see there the multitude are leading him forth from the temple. Separately or in connection our Master's words overflow with instruction to thoughtful minds: but of all save one I must say, "Of which we cannot now speak particularly." Commentary on John 19:31-37 (Read John 19:31-37) A trial was made whether Jesus was dead. The next time we are in pain or are suffering depression of spirit we will remember that our Lord understands it all, for he has had practical, personal experience of it. These solemn sentences have shone like the seven golden candlesticks or the seven stars of the Apocalypse, and have lighted multitudes of men to him who spake them. Complain not, then. IV. Spurgeon left this earth for his heavenly hope in 1892. Did not the prophecies say that man would give to his incarnate God gall to eat and vinegar to drink? Therefore while he thirsts give him to drink this day. He pitied the sufferer, but he thought so little of him that he joined in the voice of scorn. Add to Cart. I show unto you a more excellent way. Brother, thirst to have your children save. Though Simon had to bear the cross for a very little while, it gave him lasting honor. Simon had to carry the cross but for a very little time, yet his name is in this Book for ever, and we may envy him his honor. Hate sin, and heartily loathe it; but thirst to be holy as God is holy, thirst to be like Christ, thirst to bring glory to his sacred name by complete conformity to his will. I like to think of our Lord's saying, "It is finished," directly after he had exclaimed, "I thirst"; for these two voices come so naturally together. Jesus said, "I thirst," and this is the complaint of a man. Say not that the comparison is strained, for in a moment I will withdraw it and present the contrast. The Lord bless you, for Jesus' own sake. There is bread upon your table to-day, and there will be at least a cup of cold water to refresh you. All this is a blessed clog upon us, and a means of keeping us more near the Lord. 1. She craved full flagons of love though she was already overpowered by it. I am glad the world expects much from us, and watches us narrowly. He who stood in our stead has finished all his work, and now his spirit comes back to the Father, and he brings us with him. Mark then, Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. In your chamber let the gasp of your Lord as he said, "I thirst," go through your ears, and as you hear it let it touch your heart and cause you to gird up yourself and say, "Doth he say, 'I thirst'? What knocks he for? If he was so poor that his garments were stripped from him, and he was hung up upon the tree, penniless and friendless, hungering and thirsting, will you henceforth groan and murmur because you bear the yoke of poverty and want? Neither in torture of body nor in sadness of heart are we deserted by our Lord; his line is parallel with ours. The sorrow of these good women was a very proper sorrow; Jesus did not by any means forbid it, he only recommended another sorrow as being better; not finding fault with this, but still commending that. They prefer a ceremonial pompous and gaudy; the swell of music, the glitter of costly garments, the parade of learning all these must minister grandeur to the world's religion, and thus shut out the simple followers of the Lamb. You have, then, no true sympathy for Christ if you have not an earnest sympathy with those who would win souls for Christ. When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. To-day I invite your attention to another Prince, marching in another fashion through his metropolis. 19:1-18 Little did Pilate think with what holy regard these sufferings of Christ would, in after-ages, be thought upon and spoken of by the best and greatest of men. It is done. I differ from them greatly, but I will say this, that next to the actual enjoyment of my Lord's presence I love to hunger and to thirst after him. My heart shall not be content till he is all in all to me, and I am altogether lost in him. It is not fit that he should live." The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. A phantom, as some have called him, could not suffer in his fashion: but Jesus really suffered, not only the more refined pains of delicate and sensitive minds, but the rougher and commoner pangs of flesh and blood. Henceforth, also, let us cultivate the spirit of resignation, for we may well rejoice to carry a cross which his shoulders have borne before us. How great the love which led him to such a condescension as this! How near akin the thirsty Saviour is to us; let us love him more and more. It does not often happen that five or six thousand people meet together twice; it never does, I suppose; the scythe of death must cut some of you down before my voice shall warn you again! In fact, the tendency is to exalt man above God and give him the highest place. All nations gathered about my Lord, both great and mean men clustered around his person. Go ye, then, like the Master, expecting to be abused, to wear an ill-name, and to earn reproach; go ye, like him, without the camp. He thirsted for water doubtless, but his soul was thirsty in a higher sense; indeed, he seems only to have spoken that the Scriptures might be fulfilled as to the offering him vinegar. This is unfortunate, since his works contain priceless gems of information that are found nowhere except in the ancient writings of the Jews. A river of the water of life, pure as crystal, proceedeth to-day out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, and yet once he condescended to say, "I thirst," before his angelic guards, they would surely have emulated the courage of the men of David when they cut their way to the well of Bethlehem that was within the gate, and drew water in jeopardy of their lives. IV. So numerous has the family of man now become, that there is a death every second; and when we know how very smell a proportion of the human race have even nominally received the cross and there is none other name given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved oh! 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