Bible Question:

In John 19:28 “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith I thirst. ” How could the Son of Man die? Why did the Anointed One need to quench His thirst?

Bible Answer:

This question about the Son of Man raises two key points that we must talk about. The first relates to fulfilled prophecy and then “Who is Jesus, sometimes referred to as the God-man?”

Fulfilled Prophecy

Scripture tells us that Jesus said, “I am thirsty” in order to fulfill prophecy,

After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.” John 19:28

This is a fulfillment of,

They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Psalm 69:21

Who Is Jesus?

The cults often like to show the following verse to a Christian to prove that Jesus was a man,

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5

Many Christians have struggled with this verse because every Christian knows that Jesus was God. What we must remember is that Jesus was both man and God. Listen to Romans 1:1,

Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord. (NASB) Romans 1:1-4

Notice the passage says Jesus was “born according to the flesh.” Each of us who is alive today has a mother and is made of human flesh and blood. This passage also says that Jesus was the “Son of God.” This expression simply means Jesus was God. Listen to John 10:31-36.

The Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” Jesus answered them, ” . . . do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God‘?” John 10:31-36

Jesus HAD to be both man and God. Jesus would not have died a physical death unless He was a man. He couldn’t have lived a perfect, sinless life unless He was God. He was the perfect lamb of God who by a perfect life and death hastaken away our sin. He had to be God to be perfect – God cannot sin (Heb. 4:15).

The Solid Roots study entitled “Jesus Our Savior” discusses this last point in depth. I would encourage you to read and study the lesson.

Conclusion:

The test of a false teacher such as the cults is as follows:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 1 John 4:1-3

The test is Jesus, who is God, became a human. The cults either want to say Jesus is ONLY a man or that He is ONLY God. Praise God that He was both.

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17