Okay, turn with me in your Bibles.
We are working following the Lord's order as the Apostle John
was led by the Holy Spirit to record them for us. So in John
chapter 19 verse 28 We read, and after this, after
the declaration of his love and care for his mother and the responsibility
of his disciple John, after this, Jesus, knowing that all things
were now accomplished, finished, completed, That the scripture
might be fulfilled, saith I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full
of vinegar, and they filled the sponge with vinegar, and put
it upon Hyssop, and put it to his mouth. Why? What is the meaning of all of
this? If you, like me, have wondered
for a long time, and for me it's been many years and I believe
the Lord's given me some light on this very recently, but have
you wondered why in Matthew's Gospel and in Mark's Gospel it's
said in Matthew 27 verse 34, they gave him vinegar to drink
mixed with gall And when he had tasted thereof, he would not
drink. Mark 15 says they gave him to
drink wine. Vinegar is just sour wine. Wine
mingled with myrrh, but he received it not. And here in John 19,
30, he's asking. And they give him, and he receives
it. That's extraordinary isn't it?
And what an extraordinary event and what an extraordinary time
and what an extraordinary situation for this to be there. Obviously
the Lord Jesus Christ is revealing the fact that in His thirst He
is a real man. And he was bone of our bones
and flesh of our flesh and he went through this world with
all the trials and troubles of all of humanity. And therefore
there is not a single moment or a single event or a single
thought or a single anguish that you ever have where you can say,
the Lord Jesus Christ didn't know about this. He was touched
with the feeling of our infirmities, Hebrews. forces. He was touched. He was moved with compassion
by the feeling of our infirmities. So he is a real man. He is a real man on the cross
of Calvary. And first is a picture of the
spiritual need. It's a picture of dissatisfaction,
isn't it? It's a picture of someone being
in need. And the Lord said in the temple,
he said, if any man thirsts, let him come to me and drink. But now the Lord Jesus Christ,
hanging on the cross of Calvary, in the place of the ungodly,
he suffers thirst. And it's a picture, no doubt,
of the result of sin and the sense, the torment and the travail
of sin in this world. If you ever want to read a picture
in the Bible that's not a picture, it's just a reality. In Luke
chapter 16 it speaks of the rich man and Lazarus. And the rich
man was tormented in hell. He was applauded on this earth. and tormented in hell, and he
prayed, Father Abraham, send Lazarus down here that he might
just dip his finger in water to quench my thirst. In hell, he lifted up his eyes,
being in torment. Send Lazarus. He says, I'm tormented
in this flame. There's no doubt that that's
part of the picture that's being revealed here is that the Lord
Jesus Christ was really suffering the wrath of God Almighty on
the sin. The moment Galatians 3 verse
13 says that the Lord Jesus Christ was made a curse. Christ has redeemed us, Galatians
3.13, from the curse of the law being made a curse for us, for
it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. As that cross was lifted up from
the earth and the Lord Jesus Christ was separated from the
earth, and in that place he was separated from his Father, God
made him, 2 Corinthians 5.21, God made him sin for us, who
knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him. So no doubt they are part of
the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ and a part of the revelation
of the fact that He became what His people were, that they might
be made what He is in the very righteousness of God. But I want
us to look further and I'd like you to open your Bibles to Numbers
6 and I will give you some verses lead us into what the scriptures
are saying about the Lord Jesus Christ. It said of Him, He shall
be called a Nazarene. Matthew 2.23 says, He came and
dwelt in the city of Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by the prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene. The Lord Jesus Christ was conceived
in Nazareth. He was born in Bethlehem, he
died in Jerusalem, but he was conceived in Nazareth. It was
in Nazareth that the Holy Spirit came upon Mary. Nazareth was
a despised place, a contemptuous place. That's why when the Lord,
when Philip finds Nathanael and Nathanael's
under the fig tree and Nathanael says, we found the one that the
prophets did write about, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And the first words out of Philip's mouth, can anything good come
out of Nazareth? Can anything good come out of
this place which is so insignificant and so despised in the people? The word Nazarite means separated
one. It's one that's set apart and
consecrated to the worship and the service and the obedience
of God Almighty. He's a separated one. The Lord
Jesus Christ prayed in his high priestly prayer, he says in John
17, he says, for their sakes I sanctify myself that they might
be sanctified through the truth. He separated himself. He separated
himself. He was separated by God Almighty
from all eternity. He shall be called a Nazarene.
What was the sign on the cross above him? Jesus of Nazareth,
King of the Jews. They wrote it in contempt of
him, to mock him. But God wrote it that the scripture
might be fulfilled. and our Lord Jesus Christ shall
be called a Nazarene. So let's turn to Numbers chapter
6 and it's a long chapter and finishes in the most glorious
way, but I want us to see something of what the Lord Jesus Christ
was going through on the cross of Calvary according to the scriptures,
and I want us to see that what he said in John 19 was, Jesus,
knowing all things that were now accomplished, that the scripture
might be fulfilled. Every last jot and tittle of
the scriptures must be fulfilled. It must be accomplished in the
Lord Jesus Christ. It must be fulfilled. And it
will be gloriously fulfilled on the cross of Calvary. So turn
with me. We know that Samson was a Nazarite.
We know that John the Baptist was a Nazarite from his mother's
womb. This is a law that is given here in great detail. And we
must remember that the Lord Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law
at the prophets. Every time you go to the law
of God in the scriptures, every time you read the law of God
in all of those books of Moses and all of the other applications
of it throughout the Old Testament, it's always fulfilled in the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's what he said, isn't it?
Knowing all things, the scripture might be fulfilled, and this
scripture is fulfilled in remarkable ways in the Lord Jesus Christ. So let's read some of these verses
and I'll make comments occasionally as I go along. But as we read
through it I want us to see that where it speaks of offering and
where it speaks of atonement and where it speaks of sacrifice
and where it speaks of consecration and set apart to God, These really
happened in Israel to some people. You could be a Nazirite for a
short period of time or you could be a Nazirite for a long period
of time. But let's read. And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,
When either a man or a woman shall separate themselves, to
vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves under the law, he
shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink
no vinegar of the wine or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall
he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes or dried. All the days of his separation
shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the
kernels even to the husk. This is complete separation.
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor
come upon his head until the days be fulfilled in which he
separateth himself unto the Lord. He shall be holy. and shall let the locks of his
head grow. All the days that he separateth
himself unto the Lord, he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean
for his father or for his mother. If they happen to die, he is
not to be involved in the process of burying them. for his brother
or for his sister when they die, because the consecration of his
God is upon his head. All the days of his separation
he is holy unto the Lord. If any man die very suddenly
by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration, then
he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing. He will
be humbled. And on the seventh day he shall
save it, and on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, two
turtle doves, or two young pigeons to the priest to the door of
the tabernacle of the congregation, and the priest shall offer the
one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and
make atonement for him. Atonement's in the blood. For he that sinneth by the dead,
and shall hallow his head that same day. And he shall consecrate
unto the Lord all the days of his separation, and shall bring
a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering, but the
days that were before shall be lost because of his separation. There are so many pictures of
the Lord Jesus Christ. When he was raised up upon Calvary
3 and he bore the sins of all of his people, what's the wages
of sin? Death. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
contact with death on the cross of Calvary. And this is the law of the Nazarite,
when the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought
under the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and he shall
offer his offering unto the Lord, one he Lamb of the first year
without blemish for a burnt offering, one you Lamb of the first year
without blemish for a sin offering. Every time you read of a sin
offering or a sacrifice in the Old Testament, all of them, whether
it's Abel coming before the Lord with the blood of a lamb, in
Genesis 4 you can read about it, God accepted Abel and his
sacrifice. From the blood that was shed
in the garden to cover the shame of Adam and Eve, to all of the
blood throughout all of the Old Testament economy, it all points
to one blood, of one person, at one time, in one place, on
the cross of Calvary. All of it. He'll be brought to the door
of the tabernacle of the congregation and he'll offer his offering
unto the Lord, one helam. What did John the Baptist begin
the public ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ by declaring? Behold the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world. And it's a lamb, verse 14, he
shall offer his offering unto the Lord. One he lamb of the
first year without blemish. Without blemish for a sin offering
and one ram without blemish for a peace offering. Where sin is
atoned for, there is peace with God. If God has dealt with my
sin, I have peace with God. and a basket of unleavened bread,
cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened
bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering and their
drink offerings. And the priest shall bring them before the Lord,
and he shall offer his sin offering and his burnt offering, and he
shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of a peace offering unto the
Lord with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer
also his meat offering and his drink offering. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the priest, the Lord Jesus Christ is the offering,
the Lord Jesus Christ is the altar, all of these are pictures
of him. And the Nazarite shall shave
the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of
the congregation and shall take the hair of his head of his separation
and put it in the fire. All of the glory and all of the
union of him with all of his people who are one with him has
to be put in the fire. And the priest shall take the
sodden shoulder of the ram and the one unleavened cake out of
the basket and one unleavened wafer, and he shall put them
upon the hands of the Nazarite after the hair of his separation
is shaven. And the priest shall wave them,
shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. They'll be presented
before the Lord, a wave offering. Waving is the acknowledgement
of sin and it's the acknowledgement of the sacrifice. It's the lifting
up of that sacrifice. This is holy for the priest,
with the way-breast and the heave-shoulder. And then listen to this verse,
which is what I want us to take note of in John 19, verse 28. Jesus, after this, Jesus, knowing
that all things were now accomplished, it's finished, all of the work
of the Nazarite has been done, all of the bearing of sin, all
of what was there read in picture form, in type form, all things
were now accomplished as the scripture might be fulfilled,
I thirst. Listen to this, verse 20 of Numbers
6. And the priest shall waive them. The Lord Jesus Christ is held
up before all this world as his sacrifice. There he is, separated
between heaven and earth, separated and cursed according to the law
of God, made sin, contact with death, Why did he not drink wine? He
was a Nazirite, separated unto God. Why did he drink wine just before
he gave up the ghost? It's finished. All things are
accomplished. The true Nazirite is here gloriously
before us. He was completely separated.
This is the law. of the Nazarite who hath vowed
and of his sin offering unto the Lord for his separation because
that his hand shall get according to the vow which he vowed. When
did the Lord Jesus Christ vow? When did he make a promise? Before the foundation of the
world he made a promise. That's when he made a promise. We'll read about it later on,
but in John Chapter 6, in his prayer in John 17, he prays for
those that the Father gave him and they were given into his
hands before the foundation of the world, and he made a promise
to God Almighty, and he made a promise to all of his people,
I the Great Shepherd will die for my sheep and I will bring
them all back home to you and they will be holy in your sights. And the great cry of the gates
that we read in Psalm 24 is the cry of those gates opened when
the Lord not just comes in himself but brings all of his sheep with
him. Listen to how Numbers chapter
6 finishes. I just love these verses. After
the Nazarite's vow has been completed, and after the Nazarite is enabled
by the law to drink wine. Verse 22, And the Lord spoke
unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his son, saying,
On this wise shall ye bless the children of Israel, saying unto
them, The Lord bless thee and keep
thee. You read John chapter 17 and
you'll see these verses just come to light in John chapter
17. The Lord bless thee and keep
thee. The Lord make his face to shine
upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance
upon thee, and give thee peace. What a blessing. What a blessing
as a result of the finished work of the Nazarite. He couldn't
drink wine as he entered that vow, and he could drink wine
at the completion of that vow. things are finished nor all things
are accomplished that the scripture might be fulfilled I thirst but
listen to how this blessing finishes and they shall put my name upon
the children of Israel I will be their God and they
will be my people. We have his name. Believers and children of God
here, we have his name put upon the children of Israel. His name
is who he is. His name is the reality of the
being behind all the other names, isn't it? who shall call, whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The Lord Jesus Christ, when he
met Paul on the Damascus Road in Acts chapter 22, as Paul recounts it three times
in the book of Acts, he recounts what happened to him. And it came to pass, verse 6
of Acts 22, and it came to pass that as I made my journey and
I was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone
from heaven a great light around about me. The Lord bless you
and keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine
upon you. And I fell to the ground and
I heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? And I answered, who art thou,
Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus
of Nazareth. It can easily be translated inaccurately,
I am Jesus the Nazarite. I am Jesus the Nazarite. And he says in verse 10, he says,
and I said, what shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto
me, arise, go into Damascus, and there it shall be told you
all the things which are appointed for thee to do. You're gonna
be my witness. You wicked, rebellious, self-righteous,
legalistic sinner. You are going to be, for the
rest of your days, a trophy of grace, and my name shall be upon
him. Paul's, if you're still in Acts,
you turn over a page to Acts chapter 24. The accusation that
was brought against Paul, and may that accusation be brought
against all of us. accusation they made against
him, we have found this man a pestilent fellow. This is a pest. He's
been a pest. He's a pest to the religion of
the Jews. He's a pest. a pestilent fellow and a mover
of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader
of the sect of the Nazarenes. Isn't it lovely to be in the
sect of the Nazarenes? I hope that is helpful to you
as briefly as we had to go through it. But our great King and our
great God and our great Saviour was separated. He separated on
the cross. He separated as our mediator. He's separated and consecrated
as our king and our shepherd and our provider. He's separated
as the man who keeps and fulfills all the Word of God. Don't you
love the fact that when you go to the Bible, as 2 Corinthians
2 says, all the promises of God Him. We have a finished salvation. We have an accomplished salvation. We have a perfect salvation. And I'm so thankful. that is
written in words. And I can go back and say, this
is what God says again and again and again. It is accomplished. It is finished. May the Lord
bless those words to your hearts. Let's have a break and we'll
come back and look at John chapter 19 verse 30. It is finished.