Daily Devotions
John
John 19:16-42 "THE FIRST DRINK OFFERED TO JESUS"
Day 317 – John 19
THE FIRST DRINK OFFERED TO JESUS
A careful study of the Gospels revealed that Jesus was offered a drink on two occasions. The synoptist Matthew noted the first occasion.
“And when they had come to a place called
Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull,
they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall
to drink. But when He had tasted it, He
would not drink.”
Matthew 27:33-34
The synoptist Mark also wrote about this incident in his Gospel. He wrote,
“Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh,
to drink, but He did not take it”
Mark 15:23
The word “gall” refers to the taste of the wine. It was bitter to the taste. Mark noted that myrrh was also added to the sour wine. Myrrh was known to have many medicinal values, one of them was a narcotic effect.
All who were crucified were given this pain-killing bitter-sour wine. The presence of myrrh was meant to deaden the pain of being nailed to the cross. One can imagine the two thieves availing themselves to this narcotic sour wine. To drink deeply from this wine would be the most natural, and involuntary reaction a normal human being would make.
However, both Matthew and Mark were careful to note that when Jesus tasted this drink, He refused it! If He dulled the pain, He would not have fulfilled what the Scriptures demanded as the requirement of His atonement. If His suffering was muted, and Jesus felt no pain whatsoever, what would be the significance of His dying on the Cross of Calvary?
Jesus knew that He had to endure the pain somehow. He had to bear the pain as best He could, and find victory! What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus!
THE SECOND DRINK OFFERED TO JESUS
It is interesting to note that John recorded that there was a second drink that was offered to Jesus. John wrote and said that Jesus cried out,
“I thirst!”
John 19:28
The second drink was offered to Jesus in response to His “request” to slake the terrible thirst that He felt. John wrote,
“Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting
there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine,
put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.”
John 19:29
Mark wrote,
“Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of
sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him
to drink, saying, ‘Let Him alone; let us see if
Elijah will come to take Him down. ‘”
Mark 15:36
Matthew makes this scene a little clearer when he wrote,
“Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge,
filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and
offered it to Him to drink. The rest said, ‘Let
Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save
Him. ‘”
Matthew 27:48-49
A simple request for a little wine to quench a burning throat that is so dry, you can scarcely speak. A normal human act of kindness in response, for after all the sour wine was available. The vessel of sour wine could well be indicative that this was the cheap kind of wine that the soldiers drank to slake their own thirst. It was nothing very special! But even then, there were those who seized every opportunity to mock Jesus. They would even deny Him having a last drink if they could. They totally misunderstood what Jesus said and meant, when He said in Aramaic,
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”
Matthew 27:46
They twisted the word “Eli” to mean “Elijah”. The word “Eli” was really a reference to God (“El”= God; “i”= My; Thus “Eli” meant “My God”). Jesus spoke Aramaic. It was His mother tongue. It was the language of the heart. In times of great duress, it is not uncommon to see people under intense pressure speak in their own mother tongue. That was exactly what Jesus did. However, His evil enemies mocked Him further by referring the word “Eli” to Elijah. They were mocking Jesus right to the very end.
WHY DID JESUS TAKE THE SECOND DRINK?
The first drink was refused because it would have dulled or deadened the acute pain that He had to endure for the sake of fulfilling God’s plan of redemption! Obviously, Jesus knew in His spirit that He had fulfilled all that was required of Him by His Father.
He was now ready to take the second drink, not because He wanted to deaden His pain at the last moment. He wanted His parched throat and lips to be wet so that He could do two more things – audibly!
He was preparing to pray audibly to His Father. He was also planning to end His stay on the Cross on a victorious note! Just a little sip would suffice.