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After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth. (John 19:28-29)
I wonder about the sour wine they offered Him. Because we can take that two ways—as a kind of mockery, the way it is in Psalm 69:21, which may be the Scripture that Jesus was fulfilling. Or we can think of it as an act of mercy—because the sour wine is most likely posca, something Roman soldiers drank—and it’s supposed to taste that way. They are sharing their own drink with Him, to make him a tiny bit more comfortable.
Either way, Jesus accepts it. It’s the last thing He does before dying.
Why? I think it ties up with something He said right after giving His disciples Communion for the first time. He said, “I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes” (Luke 22:18). Now, with Jesus’ death just moments away, God’s kingdom is breaking into our world with a rush—this hour, this very moment, into our darkness and sin. And when Jesus rises from the dead on Sunday, the glory of the Kingdom will shine like the sun—and we who trust in Jesus will live in it, in joy and blessing, forever.
WE PRAY: Thank You, Lord, for bringing Your kingdom to us. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- What do you think of, when you think about the kingdom of God?
- How does it show itself even now, on earth, before we die?
- How do we get into God’s kingdom as citizens? What does Jesus have to do with it?
Lenten Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
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