Mark 15:23

15:23 They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, ¹  but he did not take it.

Psalms 69:21

69:21 They put bitter poison ²  into my food,

and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink. ³ 

Luke 23:36

23:36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, ⁴ 

John 19:28-30

Jesus’ Death

19:28 After this Jesus, realizing that by this time ⁵  everything was completed, ⁶  said (in order to fulfill the scripture), ⁷  “I am thirsty!” ⁸  19:29 A jar full of sour wine ⁹  was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop ¹⁰  and lifted it ¹¹  to his mouth. 19:30 When ¹²  he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!” ¹³  Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. ¹⁴ 

[15:23]  ¹ sn It is difficult to say for certain who gave Jesus this drink of wine mixed with myrrh (e.g., the executioner, or perhaps women from Jerusalem). In any case, whoever gave it to him most likely did so in order to relieve his pain, but Jesus was unwilling to take it.

[69:21]  ² tn According to BDB 912 s.v. II רֹאשׁ the term can mean “a bitter and poisonous plant.”

[69:21]  ³ sn John 19:28-30 appears to understand Jesus’ experience on the cross as a fulfillment of this passage (or Ps 22:15). See the study note on the word “thirsty” in John 19:28.

[23:36]  ⁴ sn Sour wine was cheap wine, called in Latin posca, and referred to a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion, who had some on hand, now used it to taunt Jesus further.

[19:28]  ⁵ tn Or “that already.”

[19:28]  ⁶ tn Or “finished,” “accomplished”; Grk “fulfilled.”

[19:28]  ⁷ sn A reference to Ps 69:21 or Ps 22:15.

[19:28]  ⁸ sn In order to fulfill (τελειωθῇ [teleiwqh], a wordplay on the previous statement that everything was completed [τετέλεσται, tetelestai]) the scripture, he said, “I am thirsty.” The scripture referred to is probably Ps 69:21, “They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Also suggested, however, is Ps 22:15, “My tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth, and you [God] lay me in the dust of death.” Ps 22:1 reads “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?,” a statement Jesus makes from the cross in both Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34. In light of the connection in the Fourth Gospel between thirst and the living water which Jesus offers, it is highly ironic that here Jesus himself, the source of that living water, expresses his thirst. And since 7:39 associates the living water with the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ statement here in 19:28 amounts to an admission that at this point he has been forsaken by God (cf. Ps 22:1, Matt 27:46, and Mark 15:34).

[19:29]  ⁹ sn The cheap sour wine was called in Latin posca, and referred to a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and was probably there for the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion.

[19:29]  ¹⁰ sn Hyssop was a small aromatic bush; exact identification of the plant is uncertain. The hyssop used to lift the wet sponge may have been a form of reed (κάλαμος, kalamo", “reed,” is used in Matt 27:48 and Mark 15:36); the biblical name can refer to several different species of plant (at least eighteen different plants have been suggested).

[19:29]  ¹¹ tn Or “and brought it.”

[19:30]  ¹² tn Grk “Then when.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[19:30]  ¹³ tn Or “It is accomplished,” “It is finished,” or “It is ended.” See tn on John 13:1.

[19:30]  ¹⁴ tn Or “he bowed his head and died”; Grk “he bowed his head and gave over the spirit.”