John 19:29 kjv
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
John 19:29 nkjv
Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.
John 19:29 niv
A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips.
John 19:29 esv
A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.
John 19:29 nlt
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.
John 19 29 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Psa 22:15 | My strength is dried up like a potsherd... You lay me in the dust of death. | Christ's suffering, prophetic thirst. |
| Psa 69:21 | They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. | Direct prophecy fulfillment. |
| Matt 27:48 | Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine... | Synoptic parallel to the event. |
| Mark 15:36 | Then one ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed... | Synoptic parallel, method of delivery. |
| Luke 23:36 | The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, | Another synoptic account of offering wine. |
| Exo 12:22 | And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood... | Hyssop in Passover ritual (blood application). |
| Num 19:6 | And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, | Hyssop in purification rites for defilement. |
| Ps 51:7 | Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. | Hyssop in ritual cleansing, spiritual purification. |
| Lev 14:4 | The priest shall command to take for him who is to be cleansed two live clean birds... with cedar wood and scarlet and hyssop. | Hyssop in cleansing of leper. |
| John 19:28 | After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, said, "I thirst"—that the Scripture might be fulfilled. | Immediate context, stated purpose of "I thirst". |
| John 1:29 | The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" | Jesus as the Passover Lamb. |
| 1 Cor 5:7 | Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump... For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. | Christ as the true Passover Lamb. |
| Isa 53:5 | But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him... | Prophecy of Christ's suffering. |
| Zech 12:10 | "And I will pour on the house of David... Then they will look on Me whom they pierced." | Prophecy of piercing, part of crucifixion. |
| Lam 4:4 | The young children ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them. | Imagery of thirst/deprivation. |
| Mark 10:45 | For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. | Jesus' purpose of sacrificial death. |
| Heb 2:17 | Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest... | Jesus fully identified with humanity in suffering. |
| Heb 9:14 | how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God... | Christ's blood as ultimate purification. |
| Col 2:14 | having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us... having nailed it to the cross. | Cross ending legal requirements. |
| Rev 1:5 | ...and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, | Christ's cleansing blood. |
John 19 verses
John 19 29 Meaning
John 19:29 describes a pivotal moment during Jesus' crucifixion where He is offered a drink of sour wine just before His death. Following His cry, "I thirst," observers placed a sponge soaked with sour wine onto a hyssop branch and extended it to His mouth. This act, while appearing to alleviate suffering, profoundly fulfilled Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah's final moments, emphasizing Jesus' full experience of human suffering and His identity as the ultimate Passover sacrifice.
John 19 29 Context
John 19:29 occurs within the narrative of Jesus' crucifixion. This verse immediately follows Jesus' pronouncement, "I thirst," which is presented in John's Gospel as a direct fulfillment of Scripture (John 19:28). The scene is set on Golgotha, where Jesus has been nailed to the cross between two criminals. Roman soldiers and various observers are present. The offering of sour wine, a common and cheap drink for soldiers (often called posca), would have been readily available at such an execution site. John’s inclusion of this specific detail, especially the "hyssop branch," is highly deliberate, pointing not only to the physical reality of Jesus' suffering and the fulfillment of specific Messianic prophecies but also connecting His death deeply to the symbolism of the Old Testament Passover and the sacrificial system, highlighting Jesus as the ultimate Lamb of God whose blood purifies from sin. The very next event in John's account is Jesus' declaration, "It is finished," followed by His giving up His spirit, signifying the culmination of His redemptive work.
John 19 29 Word analysis
- A jar: (Greek: skeuos) Implies a container, highlighting the immediate availability of the sour wine. Its presence signifies the opportunity for prophecy to be fulfilled.
- of sour wine: (Greek: oxos, ὄξος) This was a common, cheap, diluted wine or vinegar, frequently consumed by Roman soldiers and the poor as a thirst quencher or basic sustenance (posca). It was not necessarily an act of cruelty but the customary drink at the time, although it was offered in fulfillment of prophecy rather than out of compassion. The specific mention in Psalm 69:21 gives it profound prophetic significance in the context of the Messiah's suffering.
- was standing there: Simple statement of fact, indicating readiness and providence for the unfolding events and fulfillment of Scripture.
- so they put: This refers to the people present, likely the Roman soldiers, possibly prompted by onlookers, responding to Jesus' "I thirst."
- a sponge: (Greek: spoggos) A common household item used for soaking up liquids, practical for delivering the wine to a man on a cross. This is consistent across synoptic accounts.
- full of the sour wine: Emphasizes that it was adequately saturated for the purpose of giving a drink.
- on a hyssop branch: (Greek: hyssopo, ὑσσώπῳ) This detail is unique to John among the Gospels (Matt and Mark mention a reed, kalamos). Hyssop in the Bible, though typically a small, short plant, was ritually significant. It was used in:
- Passover (Exo 12:22): For applying the blood of the sacrificed lamb to the doorposts, symbolizing protection from God's judgment. John consistently presents Jesus as the true Passover Lamb.
- Ritual Purification (Lev 14:4, Num 19:6, Ps 51:7): For sprinkling water or blood in ceremonies for cleansing from defilement or sin.
- and held it to His mouth: Direct action indicating the physical engagement with Jesus in His final moments, serving to complete the narrative and prophetic requirements. This act satisfies both Jesus' physical suffering ("I thirst") and the divine plan.
John 19 29 Bonus section
The act described in John 19:29 can be seen as the penultimate event leading to Jesus' triumphant cry "It is finished" (John 19:30). By taking the sour wine, Jesus fulfills the last prophecy He was destined to fulfill before His death. This detail reinforces the intentionality and precision of God's plan of salvation, executed flawlessly through Christ's suffering and sacrifice. It highlights that even in His profound agony, Jesus remained sovereign, conscious of and compliant with the divine blueprint for redemption. His acceptance of the hyssop-delivered wine signifies the final, specific act of obedient submission that fully inaugurates the new covenant of grace.
John 19 29 Commentary
John 19:29 meticulously records the moment Jesus' physical suffering reached a specific point—thirst—and how it was met with an act deeply embedded in biblical prophecy and symbolism. The sour wine (oxos) represents not only the common fare of the era and the indignity of crucifixion but specifically fulfills Psa 69:21, underscoring the completeness of Christ's suffering for humanity. Crucially, the hyssop branch transforms a mere detail into profound theological significance. Unlike the synoptic Gospels' mention of a simple "reed," John's specific inclusion of hyssop connects Jesus' death directly to the Passover Lamb whose blood was applied with hyssop (Exo 12:22). This implies that Jesus' blood, shed on the cross, is the ultimate fulfillment of the Passover sacrifice, providing cleansing and salvation for all who believe. The scene culminates the profound physical and spiritual suffering Christ endured, satisfying prophecy and setting the stage for His declaration, "It is finished," indicating the completion of His redemptive work and the establishment of the New Covenant.