Matthew 27:34 and Mark 15:23 talk of Jesus’ account that He was offered mixed with myrrh to deaden the pain. The response of Jesus was not to receive it. Why did Jesus not receive it? The event fulfilled Psalm 69:21, in which the ESV uses poison instead of gall in the KJV. I was looking at what this gall was. It would be important to look into the commentaries and other sources to find out what it was. That’s why trying to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in a whole year, is a terrible idea.
The NIV MacArthur Study Bible gives his revelation on gall, perhaps why the ESV uses poison instead of gall. Yes, it was poisonous and an interesting detail is this. Gall was a poisonous herb. It serves as a metaphor for betrayal. Friends who should provide sustenance for the psalmist have turned against him. Gall in sour wine was offered to Christ while He was also on the cross (Matthew 27:34).
Never Thirsty offers this explanation as to what Jesus was offered to drink before the crucifixion:
Mark 15:23 says the wine was mixed with myrrh. The gall or myrrh, which was used in perfume and for embalming, was probably a narcotic. It would either help to numb the pain or it “is an invitation to commit suicide.” This wine was offered to Jesus before He was crucified (Matthew 27:34-35; Mark 15:23-24). This wine could have been given to Christ in a cup.
Gall would be viewed as some kind of agent of euthanasia if that’s the case. Dr. John F. MacArthur called it a narcotic, maybe because gall was used like opium, during the opium war. The Jews had a custom based on Proverbs 31:6, which was administering a pain-relieving medication, to deaden the pain. MacArthur suggests that the lessening of the pain may not diminish the efficacy. However, I hold in view that it would. Jesus already agreed with the Father to drink the full cup of wrath. Jesus prayed, “Not My will but Thine.” in the Garden of Gethsemane. Drinking it before His crucifixion would’ve numbed His senses. The only time Jesus finally drank the sour wine after everything was accomplished (Matthew 27:48; Mark 15:36, John 19:29-30) when the sour wine was mentioned.
An interesting trivia from Never Thirsty on sour wine is this:
The jar of wine was most likely there to satisfy the thirst of the soldiers.Therefore, the sour wine would not have been laced with a sedative or a pain killer such as gall. Most likely the sour wine was not mixed with anything. Yet, some have suggested that the sour wine was mixed with gall and was given in fulfillment of Psalm 69:21. But a close examination of that Psalm’s passage reveals that it does not say that the wine contained gall. The reference to gall is in the food. None of the gospel texts indicate anything differently. Therefore, Psalm 69:21 is not a prophecy of this event.
The sour wine offered to Jesus on the cross contained no gall or myrrh. Jesus refused the pain reliever or narcotic. I believe this was so Jesus could experience the full wrath of the Father. I believe this was also because the two thieves probably drank wine with myrrh. Both thieves got their just desserts. If both thieves drank the wine, it would take a miracle for the other thief who repented in Luke 23:39-43 to recognize His sinfulness. I believe the thief saw Jesus rejecting the sour wine mixed with gall. The thief probably drank it to deaden his senses. Jesus didn’t and while the thief mocked Jesus earlier, the thief later came to repentance. If the thief was really under the influence of the narcotic, only the grace of God would allow the thief to repent after ridiculing Christ.
Not drinking the wine mixed with narcotics meant Jesus was willing to suffer in full. People turn to drugs and alcohol to numb the mind. Jesus kept Himself focused on the will of the Father. No distractions whatsoever, it was to fulfill the will of the Father.
Reformed Baptist Christian Blogger 