I thirst. This may be the shortest statement by Jesus in the New Testament. To the practicing Christian, it deserves no less importance than anything else He said. Indeed, its brevity draws attention and curiosity.
Was it merely a statement of fact—I thirst? Surely the man hung on a tree was parched. Until vinegar was forced upon Him, Scripture accounts for no slaking, nor any other thing that might be called relief but for Simon. (“They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.”) How to deny a soldier with one hand on a sword, and the other clutching a whip?
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