Matthew 27:48, commentary and pictures

Straightway at Calvary one ran and filled a sponge with vinegar and put it on a reed of hyssop to lift it for Jesus to drink. It was offered after the darkness lifted, when He revived to feel bodily suffering and thirst, and while bystanders who mistook His cry of forsakenness for a call to Elijah taunted that they should wait to see if Elijah would come to save Him. The offer came from a Roman soldier moved with pity, yet it was the persecutors' last opportunity to show sympathy, which they let pass as their terror abated and they mocked instead of relieving Him. It belongs to the humiliation in which the Son of God suffered shame and agony as a malefactor at wicked hands beyond what any human could suffer, amid darkness over the earth, earthquake and rending rocks, with angels veiled and watching, until He died much sooner than crucified victims usually linger. That sacrifice opened the way of salvation and everlasting life through death for sinners, and its greatness puts all human self-denial in the shade, demanding undivided consecration and self-sacrifice while His followers' hopes were crushed as they saw Him thus treated and laid in Joseph's tomb.

The Drink at Calvary

During the crucifixion one of those present ran at once, filled a sponge with vinegar, put it on a reed and lifted it up for Jesus to drink. The drink was given after the mysterious darkness lifted from His oppressed spirit, when He revived to feel physical suffering and spoke of His thirst. That revival marked the return from spiritual oppression to conscious bodily agony.

The reed was a stalk of hyssop, and the one who offered it was a Roman soldier moved with pity at the sight of Jesus in thirst. When Jesus had cried with a loud voice that God had forsaken Him, some standing by had misunderstood Him to be calling for Elias. The offering of the vinegar was then accompanied by the taunt to wait and see whether Elias, or Elijah, would come to save Him and take Him down from the cross.

That moment was a last opportunity for His persecutors and for the priests to show sympathy and to relieve His suffering. Instead they mocked and refused relief. Once the gloom was removed their terror abated, and their old fear and dread returned that He might even yet escape them.

Suffering, Death and Signs

Matthew 27:48 belongs to the humiliation and suffering of Christ's life and death, suffering greater than any human being could suffer, in which the Son of God endured shame and agony as a malefactor at the hands of wicked men for humanity. When Jesus cried with a loud voice that God had forsaken Him, some standing by misunderstood Him to be calling for Elijah, one at once ran to give Him vinegar on a reed to drink, while the rest said to wait to see whether Elijah would come to save Him. The verse thus contributes to the portrayal of His sacrifice and the mockery and derision He faced, showing Him dying for sinners so they may have everlasting life.

In that suffering He was led away pale, weak and fainting to His crucifixion, in the hands of wicked men and rejected by His own nation clamoring for His blood. He was crowned with thorns, mocked in a purple robe, struck with the reed, and scourged as the worst of criminals while Barabbas was chosen in His place. He was stretched upon the wooden cross with nails driven through His tender hands and feet, treated with derision and insult and mockery as a malefactor and left to die as a criminal, though He was the one believed to deliver Israel, and He hung there those dreadful hours in agony. The sight killed the hopes of His followers when they witnessed Him in whom they centered their hopes of eternal life thus treated, and their affliction and agony at that critical moment cannot be fully appreciated.

The surrounding events were fearful signs in nature and heaven, with darkness over the earth, the sun refusing to behold and hiding its light, earthquake splitting rocks, and nature convulsed and covered in darkness in sympathy with His suffering and humiliation as the Son of God died. Heaven's angels were present watching, yet veiled their faces from the scene, and no command was given for them to rescue Him. His enemies and murderers trembled at the darkness and His final cry as He gave up His life, while spectators witnessed the signs and heard His dying words.

Jesus died at the very moment the mysterious darkness that enshrouded the earth passed away, much sooner than victims of crucifixion who frequently linger days upon the cross. These strange events and fearful scenes of Calvary were reported to Pilate, with conflicting reports reaching him while knowledge that Jesus was really dead was purposely kept from him. The centurion in command of the soldiers at the cross recounted these scenes to Pilate and corroborated Joseph's testimony that Jesus was really dead. This early death surprised Pilate, caused him to believe more firmly that Jesus was innocent and no ordinary man, left him strangely agitated and keenly regretful for his part in condemning one he firmly believed innocent, so that when Joseph boldly begged the body of Jesus for burial Pilate speedily granted his prayer.

In this way the verse is part of the suffering Christ endured in making the sacrifice that opened the way to salvation, showing the hardship endured to show the way of salvation and bring humanity the divine help it needs. It shows the Son of God enduring shame and agony and dying for sinners so that they may have everlasting life. It stands as an example of faith in God's word and righteousness upheld against human power, when Jewish priests and rulers forced the Roman governor to do their will yet their power did not overcome the righteousness upheld by Jesus. The final scenes of the crucifixion to which it belongs are part of the record of the plan of redemption and of the guilt of those who took part in Christ's suffering and death.

Sacrifice and Discipleship

The drink of vinegar on the reed belongs to the suffering and humiliation Christ bore before and upon the cross, and that great cost makes any self-denial asked of His followers small by comparison. He was led away pale and weak and fainting to His crucifixion, stretched upon the wooden cross with nails driven through His tender hands and feet, and hung there those dreadful hours in agony until angels veiled their faces from the scene and the sun refused to behold it and hid its light. In comparison with so great a sacrifice made on the cross of Calvary, all human self-denial is put in the shade, and the church is far behind in the greatest work ever given to mortals.

His sacrifice was too dear and too great to leave room for a divided, half-hearted life, and it demands all, with undivided affections. It calls for separation from the world and from dead, heartless profession, and for transformation by the renewing of the mind. His agony on the cross teaches self-sacrifice, patience under affliction, solemn consecration to God, and preparation for holy work. When the way looks too straight and the self-denial too hard, the question of what Christ gave up proves the way is not too strait.

He in whom the disciples centered their hopes of eternal life was lifted up on the cross and dying as a malefactor in the depths of humiliation. He was in the hands of wicked men and of a cruel mob, rejected by His own nation clamoring for His blood, crowned with thorns, mocked in a purple robe, struck with the reed, scourged as the worst of criminals while Barabbas was chosen in His place, and treated with derision and insult and mockery though He was believed to deliver Israel. Seeing Him thus treated and killed destroyed the hopes of His followers, tried their faith, and caused their hope and courage to fail, giving them cause to mourn and fast. Their affliction and agony at that critical moment cannot be fully appreciated, and after He was taken from the cross and laid in Joseph's new tomb their anguish was terrible because they had lost their Lord.