## 💡Big Idea >- ### Takeaways and Next Steps - ## 📖Bible Passage >[!NOTE]+ Matthew 27:33-34 >When they came to a place called "Golgotha", that is to say, "The place of a skull," they gave him sour wine to drink mixed with gall. When he had tasted it, he would not drink. ## Points - This detail might not seem important but it is. - Scripture says that Jesus was offered wine three times - once before He was crucified - twice while hanging on the cross - 1. Jesus was given a sponge which was dipped in wine, but He refused this also. - This morning we look at the first time that Jesus was offered wine - [[Matt-27#v33|Matthew 27:33]] - Who offered Him the drink? Most likely the Roman soldiers - It was intended as a mercy to Christ. The wine was a sedative for Him. - It was a custom in the Roman army to offer condemned criminals a final drink - [[Mark-15#v23]] - [[Prov-31#v6|Proverbs 31:6-7]] : Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish, and wine to the bitter in soul. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. - Jesus refused to drink this wine - He refused it not rudely, or proudly, but firmly - He first tasted[^1] the wine, but did not drink. - Why not? Wouldn't He appreciate something that could lessen His suffering? - It was certainly not because He disdained this act of mercy and kindness. - Jesus graciously accepted previous kindnesses. - He accepted the water from the Samaritan woman at the well. - He accepted Simon of Cyrene's help carrying the cross. - The answer is because Jesus chose not to have his senses dulled. - He chose to endure the full pain of the cross and God's wrath. - He offered Himself as a *living* sacrifice, and this He could not do as unconscious. - Christ was both the sacrifice **and the priest**. - In the levitical law, priests were strictly forbidden from entering the temple while under the influence of alcohol. - Christ was also the sacrifice paying for the original sin. - Adam was conscious and willful of his sin and disobedience. - Likewise, Christ, the second Adam must suffer and pay the price of sin, conscious, sober and in full awareness of God's wrath upon sin. - Even in the kindness of the soldiers, underneath it, was the schemes of Satan. For the devil was attempting to make Christ's work on the cross unacceptable to God. - If Jesus was under the influence of the drink, He would've been delirious while on the cross. - We would not have heard the beautiful intentional things that Jesus said[^2] while on the cross: - Jesus said to the repentant sinner: "Today you will be with me in paradise" - When Jesus quoted Psalm 2 on the cross. - When Jesus appointed John to take care of His beloved mother. - When Jesus declared *it is finished* - No criminal would have refused the sedative. It would have been a mercy (though small), which would make the punishment at least a little more tolerable. - Jesus hung on the cross, not as an incomprehensible babbler, but as a King. - Jesus: *No one takes my life, but I lay it down willingly* [[John-10#v17|John 10:17-18]] - It is terrible to say, but in Hell, there are no sedatives or narcotics. Nothing to dull the pain of punishment. - Jesus took the punishment willingly, because we sinned willingly. - ❓: Have you ever sinned willingly, knowing that what you are doing is wrong? - **But we, fearful of our sin, take on *spiritual narcotics*, distractions and vices to dull our sense of conviction, fear, and guilt.** - We act as if God does not see our sin. - [[Ps-50#v21|Psalm 50:21]] But God sees our sins, and will rebuke us. - **But God not only convicts us of our sins, He also provides for us the Savior, in Himself** - Jesus: *Should I not drink of this cup?* - i.e. *If I don't drink of this cup [of wrath], then you must drink of this cup* - Jesus sacrifice was complete: - He did not blemish Himself and thus make Himself an unacceptable sacrifice to God. - He experienced all the fullness of human life and death - We sinners, might be tempted to say, "Jesus, doesn't understand me and what I'm going through." This is wrong. - [[Heb-04#v15|Hebrews 4:15]] : *For we don't have a high priest who can't be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.* - [[Heb-02#v17|Hebrews 2:17-18]] - We can rest assured knowing that our Savior is a friend, who truly does understand and care for our sorrows. ## Application - --- ## Further Study - Was the *sour wine* given to Christ intended to be further mocking and ridicule, or was it meant to be a mercy to Him? - What is the symbolic meaning of the wine given to Christ, given that Christ said that He would not drink of the fruit of the vine? --- ## 💬Discussion Questions 1. # Footnotes [^1]: Why did Christ taste the wine? Because He did not know what it was until He tasted it. But upon knowing what it was, He rejected it. [^2]: the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross.