A Sponge Filled with Vinegar - Matthew 27:48

Matthew the apostle wrote, “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calls for Elias”, and in chapter twenty-seven and verse forty-eight of his book, Matthew wrote how, “one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar” where we read:

And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar,

and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

The verse reads, “And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, ...” Matthew began words, “and straightway” which means “and immediately and in that instance” “one of them ran” or “a certain one of the people standing before Jesus' cross ran with haste”, “and took a sponge” which means “and lay hold of, procured and apprehended an absorbing sponge”, “and filled it with vinegar” or “and soaked or supplied the sponge with a mixture of sour wine or vinegar and water which the Roman soldiers were accustomed to drink”. Matthew shared how one of the people standing before Jesus as He hung on the cross ran to obtain an absorbent sponge and soaked it in “a mixture of sour wine and water”.

The verse continues “... and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.” Matthew added the words, “and put it” or “and fixed and placed the sponge” “on a reed” which means “on a stick or rod made from a reed”, “and gave him to drink” or “and furnished Jesus the sour wine to imbibe”. Matthew shared how the person who soaked the sponge in “vinegar”, placed it upon a stick to reach up to Jesus so that He might “drink” from the sponge.

When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we may see this as an act of kindness from this person, or perhaps they wanted to keep Jesus alive and without suffering so they could see what would happen with Elijah. Whichever the case, this act fulfilled another scripture concerning the Messiah found in Psalm chapter sixty-nine and verse twenty-one where we read, “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Over and over again Jesus fulfilled over three hundred prophesies concerning the Christ, and because this person offered Him “vinegar”, Jesus once again proved Himself to be “the Savior of the world”. Let all who read these words imagine giving Jesus this sponge filled drink and later realizing, they are offering this drink to the living God, Savior and Creator of the world who gave His life so they might have a personal relationship with Him.

Next time Matthew wrote, “the rest said, let us see whether Elias will come to save him”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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