Mark 15:36Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

One individual hastily gathered a sponge filled with vinegar and offered it to Him to drink, intending that the acrid taste of the vinegar would lead to His demise.

Pay attention, for you will be tested. Among all the prophecies regarding Him is this: They served me gall for sustenance, and for my thirst, they provided me with vinegar (Psalm 68:22). The details of this were revealed to us through the Gospel. Initially, He was offered bile; He took it, tasted it, and rejected it. Later, while on the cross, to ensure that all the prophecies were realized, He declared, I thirst (John 19:28). They brought a sponge soaked in vinegar, attached it to a branch, and offered it to the Crucified One. He accepted it, proclaiming, It is finished (John 19:30). What does It is finished signify? All that was prophesied about My suffering has been fulfilled; what further purpose remains for Me here?

Alongside the many afflictions endured by the Lord, He now faced a severe thirst, resulting from a significant loss of blood, signaling imminent death for the crucified figure. Overcome by this new anguish, the Divine Sufferer exclaimed: ‘thirst!’ This expression of distress had been prophesied as noted in Psalms 69:22, and it prompted one of the soldiers to act. He quickly soaked a sponge in vinegar, placed it on a hyssop branch, and offered it to Jesus’ lips. The centurion did not intervene to prevent his soldier’s compassion, as he grew increasingly drawn to the crucified Innocent, gaining respect for Him with each passing moment. However, Jesus’ adversaries displayed their cruelty yet again.

Who were those who exclaimed, “Elijah says”? Given that one of those individuals offered a drink to the Miserable One, and the Roman soldiers forbade anyone from providing assistance to the crucified, we must note that, as St. John clearly states, the soldiers had a vessel full of vinegar from which they offered a sip to the Divine Sufferer (John 19:29). Therefore, it is apparent that the soldiers referred to Christ with the words, “This Elijah says.” This assertion is further validated by the understanding that the soldiers, not the Jews, were unlikely to grasp the Syro-Chaldean words of the Savior addressed to the Father. The Jews believed that the great prophet Elijah would appear before the Messiah's coming.

Even in that moment, the adversaries of Jesus found a way to ridicule Him. When a soldier stationed by the cross heard Jesus utter something, believing He was asking for water, he hurried to the vinegar jar, soaked a sponge, and brought it to Jesus. The chief priests intervened, saying, “Wait, do not give Him anything to drink!” While the Evangelist Matthew concludes his narrative of Jesus' cry, the Evangelist Mark elaborates by highlighting the soldier's reaction. The soldier, undeterred in his responsibilities, replied, “Hold on! Do not interrupt me…” After he had offered Jesus the sour wine, he remarked, “Now, if you wish, let’s see if Elijah will descend to take Him down.”

During this time, Christ endured indescribable torment, and in that moment, worn down by His suffering, He uttered in a strained and sorrowful tone, ‘I thirst.’ One of those present soaked a sponge in a nearby container filled with a mix of sour wine and water, a common drink among Roman soldiers, and placed it on a hyssop branch, bringing it to the parched lips of the Suffering One, derisively asking, ‘Let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.’

The precise nature of the beverage present in the clay vessel at the crucifixion remains uncertain. Farrar proposes that it was a mixture known as posca, comprising water, vinegar, and eggs, which was frequently consumed by Roman soldiers. Conversely, Friedlieb, disputing this view, suggests that it was merely vinegar, a substance readily available during crucifixions and used to provide some sustenance to the suffering. Regardless of the specifics, one witness to Christ's words, a Jew according to Friedlieb, took a sponge attached to a stalk of hyssop, dipped it into this undoubtedly sour liquid, and offered it to the parched lips of the Lord. Hyssop flourished abundantly in the Jerusalem region, typically not exceeding a foot in height. This clearly illustrates how lowly the cross of Jesus was, as someone standing on the ground could reach the lips of the crucified with such a diminutive hyssop branch.

He offered Him a drink, as it is written: In the account of Matthew, others are noted as speaking. However, this does not negate the possibility that the soldier who provided the Lord with a drink also echoed the same scornful words. This behavior may have stemmed from his own coarse nature, or if he extended this gesture out of genuine sympathy for the Lord, it might have been a feigned act—motivated by a desire to escape the mockery of those unrefined individuals who often deride altruism. Such is the challenge faced by the righteous when they perform acts of love and mercy amidst those who lack understanding.