This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

We're in day four of our look together through John chapter 19, this chapter
that's filled with pictures of what Jesus has done for us. We started the
chapter by looking at the pictures of Jesus being tortured, Jesus being
ridiculed. As we walk through the chapter, we've seen the picture of him
carrying his own cross, being put on the cross.

It happened at the foot of the cross, carrying for others even while he was on
the cross. In John chapter 19, beginning in verse 28, we see an eleventh
picture, the picture of a drink of sour wine, verses 28 and 29, "Later, knowing
that all was now completed, and so that the scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus
said, 'I am thirsty. ' A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge
in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and they lifted it to
Jesus' lips.

Jesus cried out, 'I thirst to fulfill the scripture. I am thirsty. ' Simple
human words, real humanity, real suffering.

I wonder if you and I could be transported back to the cross. I wonder if you
were given the job of head water bearer. One of the soldiers pulls you aside and
gives you the order, 'Look, that one in the middle, if he gets thirsty, it is
your job to give him a drink.

I have no doubt that you would do your best to immediately and tenderly meet
Jesus' need. He's dying for you on the cross. The least you could do is give him
a drink.

You would trip over yourself at the slightest opportunity to quench his thirst.
" Well, let me remind you and me both, Jesus still has thirsts, not for water,
spiritual thirsts, and we get to be his water bearers. You and I are the ones
who have the means and the assignment to quench those thirsts.

What does Jesus want? What does he say he thirsts for? I think his desires are
expressed throughout the Bible, but nowhere better than in the prayer we looked
at a few weeks ago, the prayer recorded in John chapter 17.

In John 17, Jesus says, "I'm thirsty for you to have life. " You quench Jesus'
thirst, his desire for you to have life when you come to him and give your life
to him in faith. In John 17, Jesus prayed, "I am thirsty for you all to be one.

" We quench his thirst when we're unified with fellow believers, when we do the
hard work to be unified with fellow believers. In John 17, Jesus said, "I'm
thirsty for you to have joy. " We quench his thirst when we choose joy, and it's
true, joy has to be chosen sometimes.

Jesus says in John 17, "I'm thirsty for you to grow. " As I get to know him
better and better, I'm quenching that thirst that he has. Jesus says in John 17,
"I am thirsty for you to be with me.

" That is not yet quenched, but it will be one day as I've come to him. So the
question I have is, how are you doing as a water bearer? Vinegar on a pole like
they gave him that day, that doesn't cut it.

They just found it was available, the quickest, most available, easiest thing
they could do, and they gave him that. They didn't give him their best. You and
I, we have an opportunity to give him that which is most precious, what is best.

Our hearts, our minds, our time, our lives. Jesus thirsts. And from the cross,
you and I realize that he quenched our thirsts, he met our needs.

And I want to live my life in such a way that the desires of Jesus Christ for my
life begin to be fulfilled as I look forward to heaven. Jesus thirsts, that's
picture number 11. Picture number 12, Jesus died, John 19, 30.

When he'd received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished. " And with that, he
bowed his head and he gave up his spirit. Notice he gave up his spirit, they
didn't take it from him, he gave up his spirit.

And right before he died, right before he gave up his spirit, decided the moment
of his death, he says those words that are so familiar, "It is finished. " What
do you hear when you hear those words, "It is finished"? Even not thinking about
the cross, what do you hear?

It all depends on the circumstances. It could mean the meal is done, it's
finished, or the project is complete, we finished it. Or it could mean the
relationship is over, it's finished.

It could mean a lot of different things. What do you hear when you hear Jesus
saying, "It is finished"? Make sure that you do not hear words of defeat and
failure.

Jesus was not saying, "My life is over, it's finished. " He was saying, "My life
is complete. " Remember the circumstances.

Remember who Jesus is. And then you can hear what Jesus is saying when he says,
"It is finished. " When Jesus says, "It is finished," it's the cry of a
carpenter, it's the shout of a shepherd, it's the voice of a victor.

It is the cry of a carpenter. Jesus had certainly used these words many times in
his younger days in the family carpentry shop. Everyone understands the joy of
coming to the end of a project.

You look it over and you say, "Finished, done. " Jesus looked at his life from
the cross, looked at his purpose for coming to this earth, and he saw that the
work of our salvation had been completed, finished. On the cross, the final
nails were pounded into the work of our salvation.

They were pounded into his hands. On the cross, the final timbers were raised in
the work of our salvation. They were raised with him, crucified upon them.

It is finished. It's the cry of a carpenter. It's also the shout of a shepherd.

At the end of the long task of gathering his sheep back into the fold at the end
of the day, a shepherd would say, "Finished. I've got them all back in. " Some
of the sheep came willingly, others had become entangled and thorned, and some
had strayed.

But he'd get them all back in. The good shepherd would seek them all, and he'd
get them safe in the fold, and he'd say, "It's finished. " Jesus is the great
shepherd.

And on the cross, he was gathering all of his sheep safely into the fold. And I
believe he could see this from the cross. He saw the lost and the confused that
he would find.

He saw the thorns of life that he would free you from. He saw the rebellious
strays who would become his loving disciples. All of them, all of us, gathered
safely into his arms, finished.

The cry of a carpenter is the shout of a shepherd. It's the voice of a victor.
The war is won.

This word finished. It had to do with the victory that came when a war was won.
And the death of Jesus on the cross defeated the enemies.

The enemies of sin, the enemies of Satan, the enemies of death, the enemies of
evil. We haven't seen the complete victory yet, but it is guaranteed. It is
finished.

It is completed. Do not let the fact, do not let the fact that they've won a
battle or two over you lately cause you to come to a place of despair. The
victor in this war is already decided.

It's just a matter of time. It is finished. And saying that, Jesus gave up his
spirit.

He decided he would die. Jesus knew it would come next. He knew he was looking
forward in a few days to a resurrection.

But this day on the cross, he was able to say it was finished, even though there
was a resurrection to come. Because his death for us and all that that meant was
finished in this moment. So I encourage you in prayer today to take a minute to
tell him thank you.

Jesus, thank you. And you might even get practical about this. And to express to
him one victory that his death has brought into your life.

Just bring to mind one joy that's come to your life because of what he did for
you. It may have to do with your family. It may have to do with a habit that was
eating your life alive and you've been able to put aside.

It may have to do with a new purpose that you found for life, a new meaning, a
new ability to serve others. There's a hundred things that you could picture.
Right now, picture one or two or three of those victories, those joys that have
come into your life because of what he did this day for you.

And Jesus, we thank you. We thank you. We thank you that it's finished.

We thank you that you completed it. You lived your life for us and you gave your
life for us. We praise you in your name, Jesus.

Amen.