John 19:29

‘There was set there a vessel full of sour wine. So they put a sponge full of sour wine on hyssop and brought it to his mouth.'

Near the cross was a vessel of sour wine. ‘Sour wine' was soldiers' wine and it was natural that the escort would have wine there to satisfy their needs and keep out the cold. It may therefore be that it was one of the soldiers who took pity on Jesus. But what a vivid picture we have here. The Saviour of the world, having died for the redemption of the world, receives from it cheap, sour wine when they should have laid the world at His feet. Yet we must not denigrate the act. It was remembered in Heaven.

‘On hyssop'. Because hyssop as known to us does not have a long stalk it has been suggested that a pike or javelin was used (necessitating a slight change in the Greek). But a long stalk would not be necessary. Jesus would be hung just off the ground and easily reachable. Besides the term hyssop may have been loosely applied to more than one plant, and part of the significance here is what hyssop indicated for it was connected with sacrifice and with the Passover (Exodus 12:22).