Also, please excuse the vulgar nature of the title, but soon, it will all make sense. Plus, in my opinion, alliteration is awesome. (See what I did there?)
I have a routine I go through at work. I listen to the Newspring Church app in the morning and ESPN Radio in the afternoon. If you've never listened to/watched Perry Noble online, I would suggest you do so. (Download from the app store or check out newspring.cc) His transparency and relevant nature are so refreshing.
Two days ago I was listening to a message series from October 2011. Clayton King, the teaching pastor of Newspring, gave five symbols from the Old Testament that were realized at the crucifixion of Christ. I could go through all five but the last one was, by far, the strongest and most impacting.
Let's read the scriptures together:
John 19:28-30
The Death of Jesus
28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.
Jesus had already been beaten, ridiculed, carried His cross, was nailed to it and was now about to die.
"I am thirsty," Jesus says. After going through such torment and knowing that the end of His earthly life was near, perhaps Jesus desired a touch of water on His tongue as a ever-so-temporary respite from His suffering.
With the representation of Roman officials and soldiers, it would almost be a certainty that someone had water to drink.
Would any of the Roman soldiers offer a taste of water as literally Jesus' last wish?
Unfortunately, no.
What they gave him epitomizes what we humans still offer to God as if what we have is valuable to Him other than our hearts.
Check out verse 29 above. They gave him sour wine on a sponge attached to a hyssop branch.
Sour wine. Not a very good thirst quencher, eh?
Is this basically one last cruel prank?
No.
Let's dig deeper.
The Old Testament connection to the hyssop branch would've been very noticeable to Orthodox Jews since it was the same instrument commanded to put blood on the doorposts of the Israelites' home right before the Passover. The blood of the sacrificial lamb that they were to slaughter was to be the symbol for God to spare, save or pass over that particular home.
This was the final sign from God before the Israelites were to be released from captivity in Egypt.
Jesus, in the totality of His power, did the same thing for humanity on the cross. His blood sacrifice covers all of our sin; past, present and future.
That, of course, is powerful but what I heard next blew my mind!
Stay with me.
Hyssop branches, sponges and sour wine (or wine vinegar) were used as a specific cleaning system for a particular reason.
Even in those days, it was common for Roman officials and wealthy alike to go to bath houses. If you're young, you may not even know what a "bath house" is.
Like that pictured above, it would be a place to bathe, relax and socialize. It would be like going to the YMCA, laying in a pool, roasting in a sauna and hanging out in the locker room with other guys.
In those days there weren't toilets as we have them that magically made our poop disappear in a forgettable abyss of waste. Toilet paper wasn't invented until the 1500s.
What was a rich or influential man to do?
Who would clean the stench from his backside for him?
Servants would.
What would they use?
You guessed it. A sponge doused in wine vinegar.
The wine vinegar was used as a cleaning agent and the sponges would simply be rinsed in it after every use.
You may be thinking, "The setting of the crucifixion was hardly a bath house, so why was wine vinegar there?"
Aside from being a basic cleaning system, it's common for people to defecate (or poop) on themselves after death. When you die you lose control over your sphincters and the ability to withhold gas and excrement (or poop).
Is it becoming clearer now?
Instead of offering Jesus water at his request, they offered him dirty wine vinegar that had been used to wipe others' @$$es!
Imagine that!
Jesus, the Son and Lamb of God and Savior of the world got a mouth full of crap before He died. The last thing he tasted was the waste of humanity, which, I could surmise, is exactly what He felt like!
Sometimes I feel like that's me. When I don't get what I want, I question God. I tell Him all the things I've done to deserve something better than I've received.
Essentially, I'm saying my deeds should be worth something to Him when my "good deeds" are like filthy rags to Him. (Isaiah 64:6, Phillipians 3:8) Or filthy sponges.
When I sin or when I complain, I now have the symbolism of my disregard for Jesus' worth being like putting my $h*+ in his mouth.
Anything less than praise, adoration and love for Jesus is the same, in my opinion, as what the Roman soldiers did that day. Simply put.
What do you think? Does this revolutionize, in a sense, the way you look at the crucifixion?
Hit me with your thoughts. Thanks for reading. Love you all!
