John 19:28

‘After this Jesus, knowing that all things are now finished that the Scripture might be accomplished, says “I thirst”.'

‘All things are now finished that the Scripture might be accomplished' (compare Matthew 26:56). We cannot even begin to comprehend the fullness of these words, nor the depth of the things that had to be accomplished. He had bruised the Serpent's head (Genesis 3:15), He had made Himself an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10), He had been wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, He had borne in Himself the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:5), He had brought healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2). He had made Himself the all-sufficient Redeemer of mankind (Isaiah 59:20; Jeremiah 50:34). He had perfected for ever those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). To comment properly on this verse we would need to go through the Bible verse by verse and chapter by chapter to reveal all the ways in which He fulfilled them. But what mattered most was that all that had to be done had been done. Thus the specific Scripture in mind may have been Psalms 22:31, suggested by the later cry ‘it is finished'.

Now He was free to think of His own needs. “I am thirsty”. Was this a plea for something to assuage His bodily need, or was it a cry to the Father in His longing for His Father's presence (Psalms 42:1), a longing that could only be satisfied when He was fully restored to His Father? He had experienced the sufferings and desolation of the world, and now He knew its thirst (see Psalms 42:2, ‘My soul thirsts for God, for the living God').

Many link ‘that the Scripture might be fulfilled' with ‘I thirst', but in our view it fits far better with the previous phrase (compare Matthew 26:56). There is no example in John or anywhere in the New Testament where ‘that the Scripture might be fulfilled' is followed by, ‘he says'. Always it is followed immediately by the direct quote or by ‘which says'.

For the context reference should be made to Psalms 69:21 where the Psalmist says, ‘in my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink', compare John 2:17 where the same Psalm is in mind.

The Psalmist in Psalms 22:15 also knew this thirst. There is no question but that that Psalm figured heavily in thoughts about the crucifixion and that Jesus saw Himself as going through a similar experience to that of the Psalmist. He quoted the first verse, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46), He quoted the last verse “It is finished” (‘he has done it') - (Psalms 22:30). He was scorned by the crowds (Psalms 22:7), He was poured out like water and all His bones were out of joint (Psalms 22:14), He declared His great thirst (Psalms 22:15) and His clothes were divided up (Psalms 22:18). But in neither case does the Psalmist specifically say, ‘I thirst'.