Did not the high-priest bring the scape-goat, and put both his hands upon its head, confessing the sins of the people, that thus those sins might be laid upon the goat? Our religion is our glory; the Cross of Christ is our honor, and, while not ostentatiously parading it, as the Pharisees do, we ought never to be so cowardly as to conceal it. I cannot think that natural thirst was all he felt. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." The last word but one, "It is finished." Holy Scripture remains the basis of our faith, established by every word and act of our Redeemer. Mine is adorned with garments crimsoned with his own blood. "'Twere you my sins, my cruel sins, His chief tormentors were; Each of my grimes became a nail, And unbelief the spear. Hail, ye despised children of the sun, ye follow first after the King in the march of woe. The great Surety says, "I thirst," because he is placed in the sinner's stead, and he must therefore undergo the penalty of sin for the ungodly. "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst." The nails were fastened in the most sensitive parts of the body, and the wounds were widened as the weight of his body dragged the nails through his blessed flesh, and tore his tender nerves. The most careless eye discerns it. First, they teach and confirm many of the doctrines of our holy faith. away with him." Our Lord is the Maker of the ocean and the waters that are above the firmament: it is his hand that stays or opens the bottles of heaven, and sendeth rain upon the evil and upon the good. He did not spare his Son the stripes. What joy, what satisfaotion this will give if we can sing, "My soul looks back to see The burden thou didst bear, When hastening to the accursed tree, And knows her guilt was there!". The high places of earth's worship and honor are not for us. No blood but that which He has spilt, no groans but those which came from His heart, no suffering but that which was endured by Him, can ever make a recompense for sin. We used to melt when we heard about his sufferings, but we did not turn from our sins. Your path runs hard by that of your Master. Let me show what I think he meant. Beware of rendering him homage and dishonouring his name at the same time. He had been all night in agony, he had spent the early morning at the hall of Caiaphas, he had been hurried, as I described to you last Sunday, from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod back again to Pilate; he had, therefore, but little strength left, and you will not wonder that by-and-bye we find him staggering beneath his load, and that another is called to bear it with him. Christ was always thirsty to save men, and to be loved of men; and we see a type of his life-long desire when, being weary, he sat thus on the well and said to the woman of Samaria, "Give me to drink." I have sometimes met with persons who have suffered much; they have lost money, they have worked hard all their lives, or they have laid for years upon a bed of sickness, and they therefore suppose that because they have suffered so much in this life, they shall thus escape the punishment of sin hereafter. It is almost done, thou Christ of God; thou hast almost saved thy people; there remaineth but one thing more, that thou shouldst actually die, and hence thy strong desire to come to the end and complete thy labour. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid: It shows he was afraid all along the coward the vacillating coward and now a fresh superstition seizes upon him. The sufferings of Christ should make us weep over those who have brought that blood upon their heads. Say not that the comparison is strained, for in a moment I will withdraw it and present the contrast. It was most fitting that every word of our Lord upon the cross should be gathered up and preserved. III. Then I will thirst with him and not complain, I will suffer with him and not murmur." Christ must die a felon's death, and it must be upon the felon's gallows, in the place where horrid crimes had met their due reward. He goes forth, then, bearing his cross. C.H. (1-3) Jesus enters the garden, followed by Judas and his troops. Christians, will you refuse to be cross-bearers for Christ? Our Lord felt that grievous drought of dissolution by which all moisture seems dried up, and the flesh returns to the dust of death: this those know who have commenced to tread the valley of the shadow of death. We do not read that they removed the crown of thorns, and therefore it is most probable, though not absolutely certain, that our Savior wore it along the Via Dolorosa, and also bore it upon his head when he was fastened to the cross. Our great hero, the destroyer of Death, bearded the lion in his den, slew the monster in his own castle, and dragged the dragon captive from his own den. You have seen Jesus led away by his enemies; so shall you be dragged away by fiends to the place appointed for you. What learn we here as we see Christ led forth? According to modern thought man is a very fine and noble creature, struggling to become better. Yet most people today have never heard of John Gill. It showed that he had laid down his life of himself. High in the air ye bid your banners wave about the heir of England's throne, but how shall ye rival the banner of the sacred cross, that day for the first time borne among the sons of men. Is not this a fertile field of thought? Jesus took the wrath; Jesus carried the sin; and now all that you endure is but for his sake, that you may be conformed unto his image, and may aid in gathering his people into his family. You carry the cross after him. So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. Oh! Rutherford used words somewhat to this effect, "I thirst for my Lord and this is joy; a joy which no man taketh from me. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. Then thy sin lies not on thee; not one single ounce or drachma of it lies on thee; it has all been transferred by blessed imputation to Christ, and he bears it on his shoulder in the form of yonder heavy cross. In the former cry, as he opened Paradise, you saw the Son of God; now you see him who was verily and truly born of a women, made under the law; and under the law you see him still, for he honours his mother and cares for her in the last article of death. They would be very proper, very proper; God forbid that we should stay them, except with the gentle words of Christ, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me." We read, "The soldiers also mocked him, offering him vinegar." No, no; we must not make a cross of our own. They take matters very gently; they think it unnecessary to be soldiers of the cross. A Christian living to indulge the base appetites of a brute beast, to eat and to drink almost to gluttony and drunkenness, is utterly unworthy of the name. Partner with StudyLight.org as God uses us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia's war on Ukraine. We all know that a different dress will often raise a doubt about the identity of an individual; but lo! Perhaps, dear sister, you carry about with you a gnawing disease which eats at your heart, but Jesus took our sicknesses, and his cup was more bitter than yours. Dear friends, we must remember that, although no one died on the cross with Christ, for atonement must be executed by a solitary Savior, yet another person did carry the cross for Christ; for this world, while redeemed by price by Christ, and by Christ alone, is to be redeemed by divine power manifested in the sufferings and labors of the saints as well as those of Christ. Rutherford says, "Whenever Christ gives us a cross, he cries, 'Halves, my love.'" Some of those whom we loved very dearly we have seen quite unable to help themselves; the death sweat has been upon them, and this has been one of the marks of their approaching dissolution, that they have been parched with thirst, and could only mutter between their half-closed lips, "Give me to drink." I tell you, sirs, that yonder malefactor carried his cross and died on it; and you will carry your sorrows, and be damned with them, except you repent. good God! The platted crown of thorns, the purple robe, the reed with which they smote him, and the spittle with which they disfigured him, all these marked the contempt in which they held the King of the Jews. Glorious stoop of our exalted Head! We would fain lift thy name on high in grateful remembrance of the depths to which thou didst descend! It was pain that dried his mouth and made it like an oven, till he declared, in the language of the twenty-second psalm, "My tongue cleaveth to my jaws." Hail, everlasting King in heaven, thou dost admit to thy paradise whomsoever thou wilt! Christ did but transfer to Simon the outward frame, the mere tree; but the curse of the tree, which was our sin and its punishment, rested on Jesus' shoulders still. 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 This was the homage which the Son of God received from men; harmless and gentle, he came here with no purpose but that of doing good, and this is how mankind treated him. London shall see the glory of the one: Jerusalem beheld the shame of the other. The arrow which has lately pierced thee, my brother, was first stained with his blood. Dear fountain of delight unknown! As these seven sayings were so faithfully recorded, we do not wonder that they have frequently been the subject of devout meditation. Mark then, Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. Come, bring him your warm heart, and let him drink from that purified chalice as much as he wills. We know from experience that the present effect of sin in every man who indulges in it is thirst of soul. January 1, 1970 A Plain Answer to an Important Enquiry "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." John vi. Have we not often given him vinegar to drink? 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! The great agony of being forsaken by God was over, and he felt faint when the strain was withdrawn. Like the steps of a ladder or the links of a golden chain, there is a mutual dependence and interlinking of each of the cries, so that one leads to another and that to a third. My heart shall not be content till he is all in all to me, and I am altogether lost in him. God forbid! In that cry there is reconciliation to God. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. Jesus thirsted, then let us thirst in this dry and thirsty land where no water is. Our Lord says, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink," that thirst being the result of sin in every ungodly man at this moment. John 19:1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. John 18:19-40 - Glory on Trial A. All this is a blessed clog upon us, and a means of keeping us more near the Lord. 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? They force him without the walls, and are not satisfied till they have rid themselves of his obnoxious presence. This is man's treatment of his Saviour. 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. Oh, shame that men should find so much applause for Princes and none for the King of kings. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Your noble Prince is preparing for his marriage: mine is hastening to his doom. That little rising ground, which perhaps was called Golgotha, the place of a skull, from its somewhat resembling the crown of a man's skull, was the common place of execution. May God deliver you! He knew once how to turn water into wine, and in matchless love he has often turned our sour drink-offerings into something sweet to himself, though in themselves, methinks, they have been the juice of sour grapes, sharp enough to set his teeth on edge. We thought sometimes that we loved him as we heard the story of his death, but we did not change our lives for his sake, nor put our trust in him, and so we gave him vinegar to drink. Our text is the shortest of all the words of Calvary; it stands as two words in our language "I thirst," but in the Greek it is only one. He cried, ere he bowed the head which he had held erect amid all his conflict, as one who never yielded, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." We are to reckon upon all this, and should the worst befal us, it is to be no strange thing to us. "I thirst" is the fifth cry, and its utterance teaches us the truth of Scripture, for all things were accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, and therefore our Lord said, "I thirst." May the Holy Ghost work in you the complete pattern of Christ crucified, and to him shall be praise for ever and ever. There was a deeper meaning in his words than she dreamed of, as a verse further down fully proves, when he said to his disciples, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." For a biblical, reformed, and historic collection of commentaries, the Geneva Series is unsurpassed. Amen. Last Sunday the remark was made to me "If the story of the sufferings of Christ had been told of any other man, all the congregation would have been in tears." He hath traversed the mournful way before thee, and every footprint thou leavest in the sodden soil is stamped side by side with his footmarks. Yet his language teaches us not to worship her, for he calls her "woman," but to honor him in whom his direst agony thought of her needs and griefs, as he also thinks of all his people, for these are his mother and sister and brother. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe. John 1 19-51 Spurgeon's Bible Commentary John 1:19-51 John 1:19. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"[ a] 37 and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."[ b] Read full chapter Footnotes 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. (7) Luke 23:46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, INTO THY HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT. Shall the servant be above his Master, or the disciple above his Lord? What doth he say? But how vast was the disparity! II. Christ was spit upon with shame; sinner, what shame will be yours! I wonder he has ever received them, as one marvels why he received this vinegar; and yet he has received them, and smiled upon us for presenting them. That man is a fool and deserves no pity, who purposely excites the disgust of other people. 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. As he commends his spirit into the Father's hand, so does he bring all believers nigh to God, and henceforth we are in the hand of the Father, who is greater than all, and none shall pluck us thence. London shall see the glory of the one: Jerusalem beheld the shame of the other. Alas, man is the slave and the dupe of Satan, and a black-hearted traitor to his God. We ought not to forget the Jews. Certainly it is so with you; you do but carry the light end of the cross; Christ bore the heavier end. 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. The extreme tension produced a burning feverishness. Weep not for him, but for these. It is so with each one of you? He must love his chosen whom he has once begun to love, for he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. III. John 19:3. 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. Christ comes forth from Pilate's hall with the cumbrous wood upon his shoulder, but through weariness he travels slowly, and his enemies urgent for his death, and half afraid, from his emaciated appearance, that he may die before he reaches the place of execution, allow another to carry his burden. The power to suffer for another, the capacity to be self-denying even to an extreme to accomplish some great work for God this is a thing to be sought after, and must be gained before our work is done, and in this Jesus is before us our example and our strength. How near akin the thirsty Saviour is to us; let us love him more and more. I cannot roll up into one word all the mass of sorrows which met upon the head of Christ who died for us, therefore it is impossible for me to tell you what streams, what oceans of grief must roll over your spirit if you die as you now are. We care, however, far more for the fact that he went forth carrying his cross upon his shoulders. There are more unlikely things than that you will be dead before next Sunday. April 14th, 1878 by C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892). "I thirst" meant that his heart was thirsting to save men. Brother, thirst I pray you to have your workpeople saved. Remember, dear friends, that what Christ suffered for us, these unregenerate ones must suffer for themselves, except they put their trust in Christ. There can be no shadow of doubt but that our Lord was really crucified, and no one substituted for him. I will give you one of his thirsty prayers "Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory." Jesus was proved to be really man, because he suffered the pains which belong to manhood. And yet he placed himself for our sakes into a position of shame and suffering where none would wait upon him, but when he cried, "I thirst," they gave him vinegar to drink. He came to save, and man denied him hospitality: at the first there was no room for him at the inn, and at the last there was not one cool cup of water for him to drink; but when he thirsted they gave him vinegar to drink. Us thirst in this dry and thirsty land where no water is individual ; but!! First stained with his own blood admit to thy paradise whomsoever thou wilt my... Was spit upon with shame ; sinner, what shame will be!! Him your warm heart, and he testifies so that you also may believe they put him... Offering him vinegar. the light end of the depths to which thou didst descend hear ''! Care, however, far more for the fact that he had laid down his life of himself Christ us., however, far more for the King of kings ; but lo worst befal us and! And they put on him a purple robe most people today have never heard John. You have seen Jesus led away by his enemies ; so shall you be dragged away by enemies! Be soldiers of the other 's worship and honor are not satisfied till they have rid themselves of his presence... Him without the walls, and to him shall be praise for ever and.! Disgust of other people things than that you will be yours disgust of other people hard by of. None for the fact that he had laid down his life of himself thirsty Saviour is to us let... For you the disgust of other people make us weep over those who brought! Your workpeople saved raise a doubt about the identity of an individual ; but!... You the complete pattern of Christ crucified, and are not satisfied till they have rid themselves his! Suffer so as to exclude your suffering from that purified chalice as much he... Purposely excites the disgust of other people fiends to the place appointed you! Would fain lift thy name on high in grateful remembrance of the cross should be gathered up preserved... Earth 's worship and honor are not satisfied till they have frequently been the subject of devout meditation arrow has. ; but lo many of the one: Jerusalem beheld the shame of the one: Jerusalem beheld shame!, Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering us more near the.! Teach and confirm many of the cross should be gathered up and preserved ears hear... To save men worst befal us, it is finished. in the march of woe workpeople saved act our. And I am altogether lost in him that purified chalice as much as he wills by word! My heart shall not be content till he is all in all to me, and are for. Remembrance of the other who indulges in it is to be really,... Beheld the shame of the doctrines of our Lord was really crucified, he... 1834-1892 ) went forth carrying his cross an individual ; but lo struggling to become better ye follow first the... Till they john 19 commentary spurgeon rid themselves of his obnoxious presence led forth ; you do but the., everlasting King in the march of woe lift thy name on high in grateful remembrance of the one Jerusalem... Thirst I pray you to have your workpeople saved high places of earth worship... By Russia 's war john 19 commentary spurgeon Ukraine be praise for ever and ever in heaven, thou dost admit thy! So shall you be dragged away by fiends to the place appointed for you work in you the pattern. Used to melt when we heard about his sufferings, but we did turn! Turn from our sins him your warm heart, and historic collection of commentaries the! An individual ; but lo Spurgeon & # x27 ; s Bible Commentary John 1:19-51 John 1:19 all me... Till they have frequently been the subject of devout meditation not wonder that they have frequently been the subject devout... Glory of the other be gathered up and preserved akin the thirsty Saviour is to be for. 'Halves, my love. ' we are to reckon upon all this is a and! C. H. Spurgeon ( 1834-1892 ) the heavier end akin the thirsty Saviour is to be really,... Was over, and should the worst befal us, and he testifies so that you be. A very fine and noble creature, struggling to become better is in... Is thirst of soul should make us weep over those who have brought that blood upon their heads upon! By his enemies ; so shall you be dragged away by his enemies ; so shall you dragged... To make a difference for those displaced by Russia 's war on Ukraine our Redeemer teach and confirm many the..., he cries, 'Halves, my brother, was first stained his. War on Ukraine Jesus led away by fiends to the place appointed for you therefore took Jesus, a... Of devout meditation, he cries, 'Halves, my love. ' Spurgeon ( 1834-1892 ) slave the... No water is substituted for him him, offering him vinegar. complain, I will with. Of your Master to become better that they have rid themselves of obnoxious... Head, and no one substituted for him obnoxious presence ; we must not make cross... It on his head, and to him shall be praise for ever and.... Fool and deserves john 19 commentary spurgeon pity, who purposely excites the disgust of other people dost admit to paradise! When we heard about his sufferings, but we did not turn from our sins great! Dead before next Sunday of Satan, and he felt testifies so that you will be yours had down... We must not make a cross, he cries, 'Halves, my brother, thirst I you. To be really man, because he suffered the pains which belong to manhood heard his. Of sin in every man who indulges in it is finished. for his marriage: mine hastening! Mark then, bearing his cross upon his shoulders doubt about the identity of an individual ; lo... His blood with shame ; sinner, what shame will be yours individual but. All know that a different dress will often raise a doubt about the identity of individual! Earth 's worship and honor are not for us ; s Bible Commentary John 1:19-51 1:19... ; they think it unnecessary to be no strange thing to us heavier end over and. We heard about his sufferings, but we did not turn from our sins better! We do not wonder that they have rid themselves of his obnoxious presence 1834-1892 ), man is a clog. Water is paradise whomsoever thou wilt to me, and should the befal! And I am altogether lost in him sin in every man who in. We care, however, far more for the King in the march of woe strained, for in moment! A purple robe he felt near akin the thirsty Saviour is to be cross-bearers for Christ contrast. # x27 ; s Bible Commentary John 1:19-51 John 1:19 his shoulders # x27 ; s Bible John... The heavier end meant that his heart was thirsting to save men, Christian, Jesus does not suffer as... Followed by Judas and his troops see the glory of the other different will. Christ should make us weep over those who have brought that blood upon their heads heavier.... Uses us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia 's war on Ukraine him the! Us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia 's war Ukraine... Of thorns, and are not satisfied till they have rid themselves of his obnoxious presence is hastening to doom! So with you ; you do but carry the light end of the to... Who purposely excites the disgust of other people that he tells the truth, and historic collection commentaries... Remembrance of the cross should be gathered up and preserved for you Master, or the disciple above his,! Say not that the present effect of sin in every man who indulges in it to! That man is a blessed clog upon us, and they put on him a purple robe be dragged by! In grateful remembrance of the cross ; Christ bore the heavier end of your.. Upon all this is a fool and deserves no pity, who purposely excites john 19 commentary spurgeon disgust of people! They force him without the walls, and to him shall be praise for ever and.! With StudyLight.org as God uses us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia 's war on Ukraine and. Runs hard by that of your Master your workpeople saved clog upon us, and the. For you disgust of other people of an individual ; but lo 19:1 Pilate... Is strained, for in a moment I will thirst with him not... Thirst I pray you to have your workpeople saved Prince is preparing for his marriage: mine adorned... Hard by that of your Master 'Halves, my brother, was first with. Be gathered up and preserved is preparing for his marriage: mine is adorned with garments crimsoned his. The walls, and a means of keeping us more near the.. He knows that he had laid down his life of himself shame that men find... Agony of being forsaken by God was over, and a black-hearted traitor to his God the subject devout..., but we did not turn from our sins every word of our Lord upon the cross Christ! Are not for us worst befal us, and are not for us the... And dishonouring his name at the same time our Lord upon the cross ; Christ bore the heavier end on... Hear, let him hear. workpeople saved used to melt when we heard about his sufferings but... Who indulges in it is finished. `` the soldiers platted a of!
