The Sour Wine was mixed with Gall...


This is the story of LOVE. As I read about this love each day my knowledge seems to be transcending to even greater thresholds. This kind of love cannot be compared with anything else, so I must share the story.

"And when they had come to the place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mixed with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink it." Matthew 27: 34. Also, "And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of the skull. Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it." Mark 15:23

Why, you may ask! WHY DID HE REFUSE???

I just learnt about the secret to 'wine mixed with gall,' or as Mark puts it, 'wine mixed with myrrh.'

Did you know that wine is used to deaden PAIN? I did my research and found out that there is something in wine that depresses the central nervous system (CNS), and hence causes 'pain relief.' That was the first thing they put into the drink..."wine." Obviously you can tell that the soldiers who crucified Jesus were humane enough to want to deaden His pain just a little bit. But Jesus tasted it and refused it.

But then they took it even a step further. Did you know that a combination of "sour wine and gall" is MEDICINAL? Did you know that it served as an anesthetic back in ancient times? A drink that could serve the purpose of alleviating one's pain? Today, I present the fact that the Bible records that they offered an anesthetic to Jesus, so that it could alleviate and decrease the pain He felt when a crown of thorns pierced His head and when they drove huge nails through His two hands and feet. But the Bible records that Jesus refused the sour wine mixed with gall/or mixed with myrrh. This makes me understand that He did this for me and you. No, let me put it this way. He wanted to feel EVERY SINGLE BIT OF "PAIN," so that His blood will mean so much more to us.

Wikipedia defines what exactly myrrh is:

"Myrrh is a red-brown resinous material, the dried sap of the tree Commiphora myrrha, native to Somalia and the eastern parts of Ethiopia. Myrrh is currently used in some liniments, healing salves that may be applied to abrasions and other minor skin ailments. It is also used in the production of Fernet Branca. Fernet Branca is a bitter, aromatic spirit made from 27 herbs and spices, including myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and saffron, with a base of grape alcohol. The recipe is a secret, and was created by the young Maria Scala in 1845 in Milan as a medicine."

The dictionary defines gall as "a digestive juice secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder; aids in the digestion of fats." Further research showed me that "Gall" was poisonous liver bile. It was mixed with sweet wine and given to deaden the pain of dying.

He refused the drink. There's a mystery to that statement. He opted out of "deadening His pain." He wanted to FEEL IT!!! He felt EVERY SINGLE PAIN just for ME and YOU...do you get it, or is it just me? I don't want to even try to imagine how much pain He must have felt because I have scars on my body, and I know I felt pain. But the thoughts of nails driven through my hand (or a crown of thorns piercing my soft skull) makes me sweat and makes my blood boil. No one needs to tell me that I am IMPORTANT to God.


***Never have I seen or heard of a love greater than this. Have you?***

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! Thanks for sharing the 'sour wine and gall' analysis. It has brought a new light to this story.

And I was just thinking as I am reading your post that it is crucial that I live everyday as an expression of thanks for such manner of love that is unfathomable.

Very encouraging and uplifing post. Have a great weekend.

Jennifer A. said...

Oooooohhh thanks Niyi. I learnt this concept this morning during a training conference...I was just so touched by the fact that He refused an opportunity to make His pain lighter...

Same to u N, have a beautiful weekend...

Anonymous said...

Wow! Just wanted to share a song the choir at the Potter's House sang today - "No Greater Love".

I first heard that song rendered by the CLC Youth Choir.

Anyway, it really fits in with this post. There were a couple of lines that got me(and the congregation) screaming:

1. Jesus went to calvary to save a wretch like you and me; THAT'S LOVE

2. They hung him high, they stretched him wide, He hung His head, for me He died; THAT'S LOVE.

3. But that's not how the story ends. Three days later, He rose again; THAT's LOVE.

Thinking about the 'sour wine and gall' analysis you shared with us and listening to this song again, refreshed my soul.

Have a great evening.

Zoe Believer said...

He took the pain..just because He loved me. Indeed there is no greater love than this. I think this serves as a reminder for me anytime I want to be ungrateful or feel unloved that my Redeemer paid the ultimate sacrifice for me.

It is no longer I that lives but CHRIST that lives in me. Gal 2:20

Remain blessed Jaycee and may your wisdom increase.

Dave said...

Thanks for the insights of wine mixed with gall etc. I agree with you re- Jesus feeling the pain which to me is incomprehensible-- but another effect of anesthetics is that they tend to impact being able to think clearly. Could it be that in addition to experiencing pain, Jesus did not want to compromise His ability to commune with His Father right up to His last breath, and not risk in any way the Atonement--basically "He died in our place so that we can life in His place!" Praise God!!

jhazmyn said...

I just read this and all i can say is...How much can I thank You Lord for all that You have done for me....No greater love than this

Jennifer A. said...

@Jhazmyn...that was how I felt when I learned about this...:)

Anonymous said...

Jaycee you are a powerful writer!!not to lie o.. i only read the last paragraph and it was still powerful and it hit home!!!

Anonymous said...

Yes, wine deadens pain. It's called alcohol. Alcohol depressed the central nervous system and has been used as an anesthetic for hundreds of years as well as opium, other potions, and more recently, nitrous oxide, chloroform and ether. Have you ever had a drink?

As far as why it was written Jesus refused to drink at Golgotha, the scribes made it so it would harmonize with the previous text. See Matthew 26:29, at the Last Supper Jesus predicted he would not drink wine again until he does so in the kingdom of the Father. In fact, a lot of manuscripts claim it was vinegar he was given and not wine. That is a change that may have been made by the scribes to more conform to the text in Matt 26:29. But whichever Bible version you have says he tasted it. Interesting. I wonder what your version says in Matt 26:29 after Jesus distributed the cup of wine to his disciples??

Lesson here is that the Bible, whether or not you want to believe it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, was written by humans. Many of which had their own agendas and beliefs at the time. I would recommend some books on historical christianity and books on textual variants/textual criticism to get a real understanding of the canon of the Bible. In Paul's first letters, for example, he was basically fine with women being treated as equals in the Church, allowed to talk and even teach. In fact, Junia was a FEMALE and 'foremost among the apostles' according to Paul. But later scribes edited that out since they felt women should be submissive, subservient and serve as 'childbearers' staying at home.

It is my recommendation, that you educate yourselves further and investigate some things on your own. Bart Ehrman comes to mind. Also, Elaine Pagels. Who am I to recommend anything? I'm no one. I'm just another human being who wants to learn and not just yield to another's beliefs. That's all. Take it or leave it. It's up to you.

Anonymous said...

In fact, none of you may be interested in this at all but the King James version was not given by God but was a translation by a group of scholars in the early seventeenth century who based their rendition on a faulty Greek text from the twelth century - one of the worst of the manuscripts that are now available!
Simply, all the versions are based on texts that have been changed in thousands of places and in many instances do completely changed the intended meaning of the original authors. Sometimes by accident, or due to fatigue or lack of competence, but other times though they did mean to make changes, as when they wanted the text to emphasize precisely what they themselves believed, for ex. about the nature of Christ, the role of women in the church or about the 'wicked' character of their Jewish opponents.
Live and learn.
Best,
~j