Episode Details

I Thirst

7 Words, John 19:28, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 04/13/2025

Text

John 19:28, ‘After this, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”’

Introduction

What do you think of when you think of Jesus? When you consider the person and work of the man from Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth, what comes to mind? Do you imagine god coming to earth, but his humanity being a sort of super-humanity, impervious to the difficulties that face us as mere mortals? Or perhaps you think of a Jewish carpenter, who lived an exemplary life, and thus came to be thought of as divine by those who followed. A great example figure.

Establishing and teaching the correct biblical understanding of who Jesus is and what he did was the central concern of the early church, and it should remain our central concern today. The teaching of the Bible on this subject is helpfully summarized in the three so-called Ecumenical Creeds. These are the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Chalcedonian definition. They are referred to as Ecumenical because they are considered by all three major branches of Christianity - Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant - to be accurate summaries and statements of the faith once of all delivered to the saints. The brother of Jesus, Jude, teaches us in his brief letter (v3) that we must contend for this faith which has been handed down. But how can we contend for that which we do not know?

The short answer is, we can’t. So if you are ever wondering “why does Will talk so much about Jesus being truly God and truly man”, here is your answer: the church has always talked a lot about this. To the extent that we fail to emphasize either the true divinity, the Godness, of Jesus; or his humanity, his likeness to us in both body and nature: to that extent we are failing to be truly Christian. True Christianity always gives full weight to both realities.

So we’re clear, this sermon is going to be doctrine heavy. I try to bring doctrinal themes into the sermons on a regular basis, especially as they arise from the text. But this morning that is going to be overt and explicit. I will conclude the sermon with the Chalecodonian definition I just mentioned, as well as a section from the Athanasian Creed, which also has its origins in the early church. But before we go anywhere, I want to read the section on Jesus from the Nicene Creed:

We believe…in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

begotten from the Father before all ages,

God from God,

Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made;

of the same essence as the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven;

he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,

and was made human.

He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered and was buried.

The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.

He ascended to heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again with glory

to judge the living and the dead.

His kingdom will never end.

That, to my mind, is well worth reading at the front end of this sermon, for two reasons: 1) it is gloriously true, and is always worth reading, pondering, and rejoicing in. 2) It serves as a good segue into the meat of the sermon today.

I. John shows Jesus as the Divine Word made Flesh

Some of the most famous words in the Bible are found at the front of John’s gospel.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the