“I THIRST” AND “GIVE ME TO DRINK”
A. C. Craig
These two statements are by the Lord Jesus—“I thirst” and “Give me to drink”. I want to say first of all, dear brethren, that they do not mean the same thing. There might be certain situations where they refer to the same thing. Here they are not the same. They are not intended to be the same. He did not say to the woman, “I thirst”. He did not say on the cross,
“Give me to drink”. He says, “I thirst”, for the fulfilling of Scripture. But He did thirst. It was not merely to fulfil the scripture; He actually thirsted. I want to dwell on that; I want to dwell on it very extensively. What occasioned the Son of God’s thirst? He is not saying, “Give me to drink”. No; He is quoting Psalm 69, not Psalm 22; John hardly deals with that; John draws pretty much from Psalm 69. For instance, “The zeal of thy house hath devoured me”, Psalm 69: 9. That is quoted early in John. Then, “They that hate me without a cause”; that is John 15. And here again, “I thirst”. “They gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink”, Psalm 69: 21. Beloved brethren, what occasioned the blessed Lord’s thirst?
I say again, it is not only that the scripture might be fulfilled. He thirsted!
It is not a question of atonement in John. It is not a question of the trespass-offering, as in Matthew, or the sin-offering as in Mark, or the oblation as in Luke. It is not that. Then there is no darkness. I want to make a point of that. There is no darkness, and there is no rent veil;
it is not that line. John is not occupied with that. All this comes, dear brethren, on that blessed One. May it enter your heart; may it enter mine; “I thirst”. What occasioned His thirst? We do not dwell sufficiently on the sufferings of Christ! I want to establish this truth that I trust we will all value, and may the Lord help me to bring it out. He thirsted, dear brethren, in order that we might come into the gain of a supply wherein we would never thirst. That is John’s line, collateral with the great truth in John of the pursuit of a line to secure His brethren, whom He did find in chapter 20. And there is also the great thought of the woman throughout the gospel, eventuating in John 20. One of the great collateral truths that we have is the divine way whereby we might come into possession of the Spirit.
To me there is not anything greater in John’s gospel than these matters, outstandingly the way divine love has taken that we might come into the possession of the Spirit. I want to establish that fact. It is not only to meet the need. There is that. There is a need on the creature’s part.
But let me say, beloved brethren, that it was in the divine purpose, in the purpose of God, that His people in this dispensation might come into the gain and possession of the Spirit of God.
It is a matter of divine love in its provision that the saints of today should be in possession of an indwelling Spirit. It is a matter of divine purpose. Our need is met? Certainly it is! But it was in the divine scheme that the saints should be blessed with the Spirit. Do you value that?
How did it come to us? By this chapter! It comes to us by way of a suffering Christ.
I am going to count on your knowledge of the types. I am going to refer to Exodus 17. I said
there was no darkness in John. Everything in Exodus 17 in connection with bringing the water out of the smitten rock, everything is done in the sight of the elders of Israel. That is like this chapter in John. There is no darkness. Everything is done in the open in the sight of the elders of Israel. The Spirit of God is here, the Spirit of God is possessed by you and me—
if we have Him. Make sure that you have Him. Make sure! I will come to that point. But He is here; He is possessing the believer on the basis that Christ has suffered. That is Exodus 17.
Moses was told to take the staff with which he smote the river and go to the rock. God says,
“I will stand ... upon the rock ... and thou shalt strike the rock”. The water came out when the rock was smitten. The Spirit of God is obtained on the ground of the sufferings of Jesus. He would not be in you, He would not be here, apart from that, without the sufferings of Christ.
Keep in your mind that in John’s gospel (and it runs through the whole gospel) is the great matter of the saints having the Spirit. A wonderful thing! A marvellous thing! Only the divine mind could have conceived it. I am certain that we do not value it enough. I am certain that we do not understand it enough.
So I begin with this thought that He is here through the sufferings of Jesus. Never forget those two words from the cross, “I thirst”. He is not appealing for something to drink. He is not. He is giving expression to the anguish of His soul. That is the word used by Joseph’s brethren when they come down to buy food the first time, and, unknown to them, they are standing before Joseph, their own brother. They are talking amongst themselves and that is what they say, ‘This has come upon us because we saw the anguish of his soul, and we did not listen’. O, dear brethren, let me appeal to you; let these two words sink into your
heart, that before you or I could have the Spirit that blessed One had that anguish of soul.
Who could tell what was going on inwardly in Him? You think of thirst. I suppose no one here has had the agony of thirst. You read about people being lost at sea and needing water to drink. I am told that the agony of thirst is awful. You think of the anguish of the soul of Jesus! Oh think of God standing on that rock and Moses smiting it. It does not say it was a big rock. I do not suppose it was. The blessed One suffering on the cross was in His own Person God. Why should He say, “I will stand ... upon the rock”? Because it was a divine Person submitting Himself, exposing Himself, to the stroke of judgment, that staff that smote the river. Think of that! That which was used to release the people now smiting the rock.
Mark that down, mark that down in your mind, in your heart, that for us to get the Spirit He must suffer. That rock there means a compressed rock. I am going to refer to another rock and it does not mean that. This rock means a compressed rock. You think of the compression at the cross. No darkness, and there is the Saviour, the Son of God. Think of the awfulness of what He is going through, and He is giving expression to it—“I thirst”. Let us take it in as far as we can that the Spirit has come to us by way of the sufferings of Jesus. Do not forget that.
Value His presence. Give thanks to God for Him. Give thanks to God for the way that Jesus has suffered that you and I might have Him. Do that tonight. Do that tonight before you go to sleep. Give thanks to God for the sufferings of Jesus. Make your Christianity real. Value it and treasure the Saviour that He had to thirst that you might not have to thirst and might not thirst eternally.
Another type I will refer to, another rock
(Numbers 20: 8). First the people are complaining—they are always complaining—but God has greater thoughts in mind than just meeting their need, murmurings and complainings. He works according to His own purpose, His own thoughts, and He has the blessing of His people in mind. So they turn to the rock and this time Moses is told to take his staff and speak to the rock. That is the staff that was laid up before God and overnight it shot into life, budded, bloomed blossoms, ripened almonds and yielded fruit. That was the staff that he was told to take, Aaron’s staff, and go to the rock and speak to it, and it would give its water.
What a suggestion! Now this rock is not a compressed rock, this is a high rock. Is it not wonderful? Oh the accuracy of Scripture!—specially relating to the purpose of God and the divine plan, and how things are to be unfolded. The type helps us in these things, you know.
This is a lofty rock, elevated, pointing not only to Jesus having suffered, but Jesus being glorified.
That is what John 7 says. I am going back through John’s gospel and come to John 7, where He speaks about one who believes on Him, “out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”.
Thus He spoke of the Spirit, but the Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified. He has come from a glorified Christ. Not only a risen Christ but a glorified Christ. He has come from there. You know, the truth is, dear brethren, that the Father gave Him the Spirit. The Father loved Him so much that He gave Him the Spirit (Acts 2: 23). What did He do with it?
He poured Him out. He has come through the hands of Christ. He has come; He is here. He has come here administratively through the hands of Jesus.
‘Speak to the rock’; that is the point. I am not going to bring up what Moses did do. What
he was told to do was to speak to the rock and it would give its waters. What a system of things, beloved brethren, exists. He is at the right hand of God. What a system of supply!
That was a good point today—that in Him there is every supply. You think of Him exalted in His place above. ‘Speak to the rock’. He has this staff. He is not to use it, but he is to have it.
Oh you think of the suggestions lying in that. Life out of death! You think of all this in Jesus.
All that is required now is to speak to the rock. How available He is! What fulness of water was going to come just by Moses speaking to it. Oh, we want to have more contact with a glorified Christ! What fulness of blessing can come to us. He is in the place of glory and the Spirit has come from that elevation. What for? That He might rise up to His own level. Water always does that; we were taught that at school. Water always rises to its own level. The Spirit of God will not be satisfied until all our affections are firmly attached to Christ.
I go back further, all this comes about by the way that God has planned that we might have the Spirit. I go back to John 4. It is preceded by chapter 3, the great truth of the brazen serpent. That is essential. Now I come to something different altogether. I have spoken of the sufferings of Christ; I have spoken of His present place in glory, and now we come to something else, chapter 4, where He is proposing to give the woman living water that will spring up into life eternal. Ah! There is something before that, that is, that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the Son of man be lifted up. The well in Numbers 21 is preceded by the brazen serpent. We come to something now that involves ourselves and our state. What did this mean for Jesus? This meant that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. Before there
could be the giving of living water in John 4 there must be the meeting of the state, going right back to the root, right back to the wicked root. The serpent involved that, the originator of what found its place eventually in mankind, in us. The blessed Son of God has met all that.
Him who knew not sin God has made sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5: 21).
In chapter 8 of Romans He has judged sin in His own Son. How touching that is! Let all this affect us, dear brethren; all this comes into the reason for Jesus thirsting. Think of the meaning of our state, that wretched state. There is all you have done, you young people. Get these things clear in your soul, that what you had done, that guilt, had to be met in the sufferings of Christ on the ground of the sin-offering. God comes out and gives you forgiveness for your sins. But this is not that. The truth of the brazen serpent is not that. What is involved in this is not forgiven. The state, man’s state, the wicked root, is not forgiven, and never was forgiven! It is condemned! It is condemned and removed. Where has He condemned it? He has condemned it in His beloved Son, His own Son. What a cost! There could be no indwelling Spirit, no well of water, without this. This is divine teaching. Open your heart to it! There is the essential meeting of the state and that is met and condemned in Christ. In Romans 8 it is alluded to in view of the pursuit of righteousness. That is one great line of truth. That is the object in Romans in God condemning the flesh in His own Son. It is in view of the pursuit of righteousness.
John’s line is not that. It comes up in John 3 in view, you see, of life and entering into life.
That is the object in John—to enter into life. And Christ had to go this way. The thing had to be condemned, and finally judicially ended and removed. That has been done in Christ. And that is in view of life. You must have that before you have chapter 4. He proposes to the woman that she might have a well of water springing up into eternal life.
What a suggestion! What blessing lies in the possession of the Spirit! He has come through the sufferings of Christ, through Him saying, “I thirst”. This is the way of divine love. This is the way He has gone in His love that we might possess the Spirit. Do you believe that? Do you accept what I have said? All this was necessary before the Spirit of God could be here or could be in us. So never forget that He said, “I thirst”.
I dwell for a few moments now on, “Give me to drink”. That is different entirely. This is now an appeal. And I want to try to make an appeal on His behalf. He did to this woman; He said to her, “Give me to drink”. He did not say, “I thirst”. No. It is never said that He drank. It is never said He drank of the water. But He is saying to her, “Give me to drink”. That is what He is saying today. He is the lonely Jesus. Might I say He has become more lonely, within our own memory—1970 and 1972—He has become more lonely. Fewer are answering to His request. Fewer are answering to His desire. What about you? Are you? He is saying to us,
“Give me to drink”. There is no gospel that brings out His loneliness like John. Off go the twelve into the city to buy provisions, and leave Jesus alone. Off they went in the pursuit of their own matters, their own business. What would they all do there in that city? You might have thought that John would have said, ‘I will stay with You and keep You company’. Not even John.
Oh the loneliness of Jesus! ‘Love in Thy lonely life of sorrow here below’. Do you ever think about that; that Jesus wants you; He wants
your company? You think of them all going off to buy provisions. They left Him alone. Then He says to this woman who appears, “Give me to drink”. Why did He say that? It does not say He was thirsty. No, just, “Give me to drink”. It is His way of approach. But what is involved in it? What does it imply? He would like you in His company. He would like her ministrations. He would like yours. He would like your company. He is lonely. He would like mine. He would like our ministrations. Have you any time to give Him in regard to giving Him something to drink? How much would you surrender? What are you prepared to do?
What exercise are you prepared to show in view of giving Him to drink? Are you so busy with your own things, your own matters, your own pleasure, your own pursuits, that you cannot find time to answer to His request? What a request—“Give me to drink”. Oh let it enter into your heart!
Remember, David longed for a drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem. Not any well. Oh no! divine love has got its own selections. Think of Him selecting you. Think of Him selecting me, of selecting this woman, and saying to such a woman, “Give me to drink”. Oh the grace of the Saviour! Think of how He would condescend and say to the woman, “Give me to drink”. He is saying that today. Would not we in some measure all like to answer to His heart, to fill out His desires? May this make us surrender a little of our own things. “All seek their own things, not the things of Jesus Christ”, Philippians 2: 21. Make an effort!
Think of those three mighties of David (2 Samuel 23). The circumstances were very affecting because the Spirit of God stops to say that the well was surrounded by the Philistines, who were ever so much against them. The circumstances were all adverse. But they managed it.
They broke through.
Let us break through. What a wall of partition is up here. The woman immediately raises it.
You would have thought that the animosity was all from the Jewish side, the orthodox side, but it was not in Jesus. She says that the Jews have no intercourse with the Samaritans. She is surprised at the grace of the divine approach.
O, beloved brethren, may I be found more answering to the desires of Jesus! May I find more time, may you find more time, to answer to His blessed heart. He is lonely. There are few maybe who are prepared to be marked by fidelity, to surrender their time. He would say to us this evening, “Give me to drink”. May we not be found doing things that in any way spoil our liberty in view of giving Him His desires. May we find it in our hearts; may we love Him so much that we are prepared to make a sacrifice to wend our way to the well that we may give Him to drink. Of course, the woman needs a lot of help. He is prepared to wait on her and grant her help. May we be found, dear brethren, ready to respond to the request of Jesus,
“Give me to drink”. How touching it is! I say to you, He would not say that to everybody.
One of the psalms says, “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee”, Psalm 50: 12. He makes a selection, and to think that you might be in a position within His direct gaze and near to Him so that He might say to you, “Give me to drink”. He makes a selection. David made his selection of that well. It was not any well; He is making His selection. He is making His appeal. He is saying to me and to you, “Give me to drink”. May we be more ready to do so, for His name’s sake.
Address at Cullen
13 November 1982