After this, Jesus, knowing that all things
had already been accomplished, to fulfill
the Scripture, said, "I am thirsty."
A jar full of sour wine was standing there;
so they put a sponge full of the sour wine
upon a branch of hyssop and brought it
up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus
had received the sour wine, He said,
"It is finished!" And He bowed His
head and gave up His spirit.
John 19:28-30
Jesus didn’t accept a pain-numbing drink at the beginning of His ordeal (Mark 15:23),
but now He accepts a taste of sour wine (vinegar), to wet parched lips and a dry
throat so He can make one final announcement to the world: “it is finished”. The
word, teleō in the ancient Greek means: complete, to finish, to carry out the contents
of a command. This was not a whisper, it was the cry of a winner; a victory shout.
Jesus had finished the eternal purpose of the cross. It stands today as a finished
work, the foundation of all Christian peace and faith, paying in full the sin debt
we righteously owe to God.
At some point before He died, before the veil was torn in two, before He cried out
it is finished, an awesome spiritual transaction took place. God the Father laid
upon God the Son all the guilt and wrath our sin deserved, and He bore it
Himself perfectly, totally satisfying the wrath of God for us.
As horrible as the physical suffering of Jesus was, this spiritual suffering - the
act of being judged for sin in our place - was what Jesus really dreaded about
the cross. This was the cup - the cup of God’s righteous wrath - that He
trembled at drinking.
In Luke 22:39-46 we see the Lord’s agony in the garden prior to His
arrest, there we read: “He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father,
if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My
will, but Yours, be done." Then an angel appeared to Him from
heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more
earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling
down to the ground”.
In that prayer, if Jesus knew what the Father’s will was, why was this such agony?
Because Jesus is going to the cross as a sacrifice for sins, having willingly
resolved to lay down His life, knowing full well on that cross, He would endure
spiritual separation from His Father.
It helps us understand why Jesus used the figure of a cup by referring to the Old
Testament where, repeatedly, a cup is a powerful picture of the wrath and
judgment of God, a few examples:
“For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is fully
mixed, and He pours it out; surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the
earth drain and drink down” (Psalm 5:8).
“Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the
hand of the Lord The cup of His fury; you have drunk the dregs of the
cup of trembling, and drained it out. (Isaiah 51:17).
“For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: "Take this wine cup of fury
from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink
it." (Jeremiah 25:15).
Jesus became, as it were, an enemy of God, who was judged and forced to drink the
cup of the Father’s fury, so we would not have to drink from that cup. Taking this
figurative cup was the source of Jesus’ greatest agony on the cross.
Jesus came to a point of decision in Gethsemane. It wasn’t that He had not decided
nor consented before, but now He had come upon a unique point of decision. He
drank the cup at Calvary, but He decided once for all to drink it at Gethsemane.
What did Jesus do in His time of agony? He prayed more earnestly, to the point
where His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
In response to Jesus’ prayers, the Father did not take the cup from Him; rather
He strengthened Jesus to be able to take - and drink - the cup.
Isaiah puts it powerfully saying: He is despised and rejected by men, a Man
of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has
borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon
Him, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5 ).
“And He bowed His head” speaks of a peaceful act, like laying down on a pillow
to sleep. This wasn’t hanging the head in defeat.
No one took Jesus’ life from Him; He, in a manner unlike any man, gave up His
spirit. Death had no righteous hold over the sinless Son of God. He stood in the
place of sinners, but was never a sinner Himself. So He could not die unless He
gave up His spirit.
As Jesus said, I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes
it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I
have power to take it again. (John 10:17-18).
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had already been accomplished, to fulfill
the Scripture, said, "I am thirsty."
A jar full of sour wine was standing there;
so they put a sponge full of the sour wine
upon a branch of hyssop and brought it
up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus
had received the sour wine, He said,
"It is finished!" And He bowed His
head and gave up His spirit.
John 19:28-
Jesus didn’t accept a pain-
throat so He can make one final announcement to the world: “it is finished”. The
word, teleō in the ancient Greek means: complete, to finish, to carry out the contents
of a command. This was not a whisper, it was the cry of a winner; a victory shout.
Jesus had finished the eternal purpose of the cross. It stands today as a finished
work, the foundation of all Christian peace and faith, paying in full the sin debt
we righteously owe to God.
At some point before He died, before the veil was torn in two, before He cried out
it is finished, an awesome spiritual transaction took place. God the Father laid
upon God the Son all the guilt and wrath our sin deserved, and He bore it
Himself perfectly, totally satisfying the wrath of God for us.
As horrible as the physical suffering of Jesus was, this spiritual suffering -
In Luke 22:39-
if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My
will, but Yours, be done." Then an angel appeared to Him from
heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more
earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling
down to the ground”.
In that prayer, if Jesus knew what the Father’s will was, why was this such agony?
Because Jesus is going to the cross as a sacrifice for sins, having willingly
resolved to lay down His life, knowing full well on that cross, He would endure
spiritual separation from His Father.
It helps us understand why Jesus used the figure of a cup by referring to the Old
Testament where, repeatedly, a cup is a powerful picture of the wrath and
judgment of God, a few examples:
“For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is fully
mixed, and He pours it out; surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the
earth drain and drink down” (Psalm 5:8).
“Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the
hand of the Lord The cup of His fury; you have drunk the dregs of the
cup of trembling, and drained it out. (Isaiah 51:17).
“For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: "Take this wine cup of fury
from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink
it." (Jeremiah 25:15).
Jesus became, as it were, an enemy of God, who was judged and forced to drink the
cup of the Father’s fury, so we would not have to drink from that cup. Taking this
figurative cup was the source of Jesus’ greatest agony on the cross.
Jesus came to a point of decision in Gethsemane. It wasn’t that He had not decided
nor consented before, but now He had come upon a unique point of decision. He
drank the cup at Calvary, but He decided once for all to drink it at Gethsemane.
What did Jesus do in His time of agony? He prayed more earnestly, to the point
where His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
In response to Jesus’ prayers, the Father did not take the cup from Him; rather
He strengthened Jesus to be able to take -
Isaiah puts it powerfully saying: He is despised and rejected by men, a Man
of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has
borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon
Him, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-
“And He bowed His head” speaks of a peaceful act, like laying down on a pillow
to sleep. This wasn’t hanging the head in defeat.
No one took Jesus’ life from Him; He, in a manner unlike any man, gave up His
spirit. Death had no righteous hold over the sinless Son of God. He stood in the
place of sinners, but was never a sinner Himself. So He could not die unless He
gave up His spirit.
As Jesus said, I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes
it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I
have power to take it again. (John 10:17-
OPEN BIBLE CENT ER, Home Page
