Mark 15:36

δραμὼν δὲ : if the wits were heartless mockers, then δὲ will imply that this person who offered the sufferer a sponge saturated with posca (vide Mt.) was a friendly person touched by compassion. For the credit of human nature one is very willing to be convinced of this. ἐπότιζεν might, like ἐδίδουν (Mark 15:23), be viewed as a conative imperfect = offered Him a drink, but John's narrative indicates that Jesus accepted the drink (John 19:30). λέγων refers to the man who brought the drink. In Mt. it is others who speak (Matthew 27:49), and the sense of what was said varies accordingly ἄφες in Mt. naturally, though not necessarily, means: stop, don't give Him the drink (vide on Mt.) ἄφετε in Mk., spoken by the man to the bystanders, means naturally: allow me (to give Him the drink), the idea being that thereby the life of the sufferer would be prolonged, and so as it were give time for Elijah to come (ἴδωμεν εἰ ἔρ. Ἠ.) to work an effectual deliverance by taking Him down from the cross (καθελεῖν α.). εἰ ἔρ.: εἰ with the present indicative instead of the more usual ἐὰν with subjunctive in a future supposition with probability (vide Burton, M. and T. in N. T., § 251).