Why Did Jesus Drink The Second Wine?

Twice Jesus was offered wine while on the cross. He refused the first, but took the second. Why so?

The first time came in Mark 15:23, “they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.” According to an old tradition, respected women of Jerusalem provided a narcotic drink to those condemned to death in order to decrease their sensitivity to the excruciating pain. When Jesus arrived at Golgotha he was offered wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused it, choosing to endure with full consciousness the sufferings appointed for him. This first wine represented an offer to ease the pain, to opt for a small shortcut; albeit, not a major one in view of the terrible pain of the cross, but a little one nonetheless. But this offer Jesus refused, and in doing so, chose “to endure with full consciousness the sufferings appointed for him.”

The second time came in Mark 15:35. After some bystanders thought he was calling for Elijah, “someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’” A sour wine vinegar is mentioned in the OT as a refreshing drink (Numbers 6:13; Ruth 2:14), and in Greek and Roman literature as well it is a common beverage appreciated by laborers and soldiers because it relieved thirst more effectively than water and was inexpensive. There are no examples of its use as a hostile gesture. The thought, then, is not of a corrosive vinegar offered as a cruel jest, but of a sour wine of the people. While the words “let us see if Elijah will come” express a doubtful expectation, the offer of the sip of wine was intended to keep Jesus conscious for as long as possible.

So the first wine (mixed with myrrh) was designed to dull Jesus’ pain, to keep him from having to endure the cross with full consciousness. This wine he refused.

And the second (sour) wine was given to keep him “conscious for as long as possible,” and thus have the effect of prolonging his pain. This is the wine Jesus drank.

Other condemned criminals would have taken the first (to ease their torment) and passed on the second (so as not to prolong their horrific pain). But Jesus would take no shortcuts on the way to our redemption.

At the cross, he drank the wine of his Father’s wrath down to its very dregs, and he did so for us; that we might enjoy the wine of his Father’s love, join him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and live redeemed forever in the glorious presence of the one who took no shortcuts in saving us.

Life or Ministry?

According to the New Testament, “ministry” is what all Christians do. According to Ephesians 4:11–12, pastors have the job of equipping the saints for the work of ministry. But ordinary Christians are the ones who do the ministry.

What ministry looks like is as varied as Christians are varied. It’s not an office like elder or deacon; it’s a lifestyle devoted to making much of Christ and meeting the needs of others. It means that we “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Whether we are bankers or bricklayers, it means that we aim at advancing other people’s faith and holiness to the glory of God.

Fulfilling your ministry is more important than staying alive. This conviction is what makes the lives of radically devoted people so inspiring to watch. Most of them speak the way Paul did about his ministry here in Acts 20:24: “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.” Doing the ministry that God gives us to do is more important than life.

Before he was known as a civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a preacher. For King, faith and practice had always been inseparable. Both his grandfather and father were pastors and civil rights leaders. In 1958 a woman stabbed Dr. King when he was signing autographs.The blade went in so far the tip was on the edge of his aorta. After surgery the doctor said if he had merely sneezed he would have died. But he didn't sneeze and God restored him to full health so he could complete his mission.

Ten years later while giving a speech in Memphis he said, "I'm happy I didn't sneeze. Because if I had I wouldn't have been around to take part in several improvements that moved America a few steps closer to the dream." But in the same speech Dr. King spoke as though God had given him a prophetic look at what was to come. "Well I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountain top. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you; but I want you to know tonight, that we as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

The next day, on April 4, 1968, standing on his balcony, he was assassinated. You may think you need to save your life in order to do your ministry. On the contrary, how you lose your life may be the capstone of your ministry. It certainly was for Jesus — only in his thirties.

We need not fret about keeping ourselves alive in order to finish our ministry. God alone knows the appointed time of our service. He will decide when our death is not an interruption of our ministry, but the last act of our ministry.

Henry Martyn was right when he said, “If [God] has work for me to do, I cannot die.” In other words, I am immortal until my work is done. Therefore, ministry is more important than life.

Are You Worn Out?

Why do we all feel like we are not measuring up? We’re all exhausted from trying so hard to do so. Does that sound familiar? It sounds similar to a question people asked Jesus: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” And do you remember Jesus’s answer? “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:28–29). Jesus is not looking for workers who measure up; he’s looking for rest-ers who will trust him.

In John 15, Jesus tells us to stop trying to be vines and learn to be branches. He’s the Vine, and we’re meant to live out of his abundance. It’s as if he says, “Listen, your work is to stick near me, abide in me, pray to me, soak in my words, be with me, and love me. All you need to be is a little, dependent branch; I will make you to bear fruit.” Yes, Jesus has a big mission for us, but he will cause the big part to happen. He says to us, “You’re going to display me and my power, not yours. I’m going to give myself to you in the form of the Holy Spirit, and then you’re going to go out and I will grow fruit through you.”

Are you tired too? Worn out? Are you burned out on trying to measure up, trying to prove yourself? Maybe we’re doing life wrong. Maybe we haven’t grasped the gospel as well as we’d like to think.
What if instead of waking up feeling empty, you were so full of wisdom and joy you were giving it away? What if instead of living in fear of others’ disapproval, you were watching God touch others through you in ways you didn’t think possible? What if instead of feeling intimidated, you were seeing a future bursting with potential? What if instead of craving things that always seem out of reach, you were content and at peace? What if instead of numbing your exhaustion and anxiety with Netflix, you were free to enjoy your life as God intended? Jesus has a remedy for our emptiness, our fatigue, our inadequacies, our sin: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37–38)

Do you hear what Jesus is saying? Keep coming back to me and I will keep satisfying you. And out of that life with me you will overflow and bring life to others. Our chronic feeling of not measuring up comes from trying to drink from the wrong fountain: ourselves. No wonder we keep coming away thirsty. A thirst that keeps leaving us depleted tells us the well’s broken and empty. Let anyone who is thirsty go to Jesus and drink. Things began to change for me when I got into the book of Acts and read what the disciples were like after the Holy Spirit had filled them. I found myself wanting what they had. And then I realized, I have what they had! What I needed to do was drink what Jesus offered me.

How do we do that? We begin by really believing Jesus will satisfy us if we trust him. We go to Jesus thirsty — thirsty for him. We get alone with him. We pour out our heart before him. We get in his word and we soak in it, memorize it and drink from it. We ask, seek, and knock. We also jump fully into our local churches to receive the grace Jesus wants to give us there. We receive biblical teaching and pursue authentic community. We decide to be honest about our struggles, and stop pretending and performing. And we force ourselves out of our own discouraged heads by serving others.

We abide in Jesus. And the more we do, the more his Holy Spirit fullness will overflow out of us to refresh others. That’s what the thirsty world out there needs; not impressive people, but an impressive God. Your neighbors are going through divorces, the death of children, the effects of abuse, and many hope there is a God and long for what only God can do for them. You can take God to them. Do not miss getting to give God away to people. It’s what we were built for; it’s what our gifts are for.

Don’t worry about size or numbers or reach. Think about souls. The biggest things don’t happen on stages or in books or online. They happen face-to-face, around tables, in living rooms, and in neighborhoods. The people who have the biggest impact on our lives are almost always those who personally invest in our lives. The truth is that we aren’t all losing. We just forgot what winning actually is. We need to give up trying to measure up. Because what we really need is to be filled up. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing (John 15:5). But nothing can stand against the force of God moving through a soul completely in love with him.

Are Your Nets Empty?

How is your faith for evangelism? Too frequently mine is too small. A reluctance to fish for men, whether from fear, selfishness, weariness, or skepticism that it will actually work exposes that I trust my own perceptions and not Jesus. And the story of Peter and Jesus and empty nets filled is strengthening my faith to “fish.” It may strengthen yours too. Peter knew Jesus was extraordinary before Jesus filled Peter’s fishing nets to the breaking point in Luke 5:1–11. He had already been introduced to Jesus through his brother Andrew and received his new name (John 1:40–42). Jesus had already been in Peter’s home and healed his mother-in-law (Luke 4:38–39).

So in Luke 5, Peter was already grappling with Jesus’s call on his life. Jesus had become the most famous preacher in Israel. He was performing incredible signs and wonders. Crowds followed him wherever he went. Peter must have felt profoundly unqualified to be Jesus’s disciple, having no formal theological training. The one thing Peter knew how to do was fish. Or so he thought. Actually, Jesus was about to teach Peter the most important fishing lesson of Peter’s life. That morning after Jesus had man-fished from Peter’s boat, he instructed Peter, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4). Peter’s faith may not have even been mustard-seedish. He had fished all night and the sea might as well have been a desert.

However, Peter didn’t refuse. He replied, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5). His expectations may have been very low, but he was at least willing to obey. He and his partners dropped the nets. Then unexpectedly the nets became heavy! Really heavy. It took everything Peter and Andrew had not to drop the bursting nets in the sea as they waited for John and James to come help. Somehow they managed to heave up the nets and fish filled both boats. Peter, overwhelmed with conviction, said to Jesus, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). His sin of unbelief was exposed. He knew that it was not his expertise, experience, work-hard ethic, or his puny faith that had brought in the fish. All he did was net them. Jesus brought the fish in, something only God could do. And now he had a new fear and a new faith. And that was precisely the result Jesus was after. A Peter who now thought much less of himself and much more of Jesus was ready for real fishing. And so Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10).

If our faith for “fishing” is small, this story has at least three encouragements:
1. Jesus calls us in our weakness.
Jesus determined that the best time to call Peter as an evangelist was when he was at his weakest. Having done his human best at the thing he was best at, Peter’s nets were empty. Plus, he was exhausted, having worked all night. Why was this the best time? Peter needed his pride, unbelief, and weakness exposed. He needed to see himself as someone who, apart from Jesus, could do nothing (John 15:5). He needed to know who rules the fish and who fills the nets. Then he would be able to fish in faith.
2. It really doesn’t take great faith to drop the nets.
Even though Peter was skeptical that anything was going to come from the Master’s fishing trip, he still responded, “at your word I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5). Peter was willing to it for Jesus’s sake. He trusted Jesus’s word more than his perceptions. It wasn’t a bold faith, it wasn’t a lot of faith, it even appears a reluctant faith, but nonetheless it was faith willing enough to obey. Peter did what Jesus said and Jesus honored it.
3. Jesus provides the fish.
When Peter and his partners dropped the nets, Jesus filled them. It was a powerful, ministry-shaping moment. Jesus rules fish and will fill nets with many or few according to his choosing. Our job as evangelists is to listen to Jesus and prayerfully, faithfully drop the nets, whatever nets the Lord has provided us, and let him fill them.

When Jesus tells us to “fish,” we must not place our faith in our expertise (or lack thereof), experience, or the current level of our faith. At his word let’s just faithfully go out and let down our nets. Let’s trust him to fill them (or not). The fish are his. We may just find that he will give us more than we can handle. Lord, fill our nets!

The Commission

When I speak of the commission, I'm not necessarily talking of the Great Commission. The Great Commission was the command from Jesus to go forth and make disciples of all nations. While this is the focus of the church, I feel there is another commission that must come first if we are to succeed in the Great Commission.

Jesus was asked what was the most important commandment, and in Mark 12:29-31 he says, “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  To make all nations disciples of God, we must first make them all children of God. Disciples are not made overnight. The twelve disciples spent three years learning hands on with Christ and were still not able to comprehend many things. Just as a child must learn to talk, walk, feel, and know what's wrong and right; so must a child of God. Once we have given our lives to Christ, we are born again.

Just as a baby being born from the womb, we are born into a new spiritual life knowing the same as a baby would. We must learn to do all the same common things a baby would, but in a spiritual sense. We must change the way we talk to people, the way we feel and show emotion to people, and the way to walk a Christ centered life. This is not a overnight conversion. In 1 Timothy 3, Paul gives the qualifications of a disciple or leader, and in verse 6-7 he says,  "He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap." Just as a child can easily fall into temptation and get in trouble, so can someone that has just recently been born again.

So first and foremost, before we can make disciples of our own churches or other nations; we must first learn to show love to all and be that beacon of light we are called to be. We must first be harvesters before we can be teachers. We must first show love before we can teach love. And we must first be Christ to a fallen world before we can expect to teach Christ to the world. There is a poem I read that encapsulates what we as the Church are supposed to be.

The Commission
I asked the Lord to help my neighbor, And carry the gospel to distant lands, And to comfort the sick, but he said to me, If you love me, be my hands.

I asked the Lord to go to the dying, And the orphan in the street, And visit the prisoner, but he said to me, If you love me, be my feet.

I asked the Lord to look to the poor, And to watch over each babe that cries, And see each man's need, but he said to me, If you love me, be my eyes.

I said to the Lord, I want to serve you, But I don't know where to start. To love is the answer, he said to me. If you love me, be my heart. G. Shirie Westfall

The Church must be Love. The Church must be His Hands. The Church must be His Feet. The Church must be His Eyes. The Church must be His Heart. I often hear people who are unbelievers say, "If there is a God, why does he allow all this suffering?" That's a pretty profound question. Why is there so much pain and hate in this world? Why won't God help? You see, the issues in this world can all be attributed to mankind. We are responsible for the pain, the hate, the wars, the poverty, the destruction, not God.

But just imagine if the Church was God's feet, hands, eyes, and heart in this world, what kind of picture would people see of God then? We are the representation of God here on Earth. If we are showing His heart and love, then they will see God. If we are not, then all they will see is the world. Our Commission is to love God with all our hearts, and our fellow man the same. If our lives show this, than all the nations of the world will come to Him.

Acts 2:43-47-They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. This was the first century church. A group of children of God. Showing the love of God to all those around. Helping meet the needs of everyone. Now pay close attention to that last verse, And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

They went out showing the love of God to all that came. Helping the poor, the sick, and the lost. And in showing the people the love and heart of God with their hands, and feet, and eyes; what happened? God added to their number daily those who were being saved. God's love thru them brought them to Christ. The answer to the problem is the Church. The Church's commission has to be His Love.

Forgiveness Is Liberating

Forgiveness is a word that easily rolls of the tongue, but the actual act of forgiveness is almost impossible sometimes. Sometimes the pain someone caused us or someone else we know is so profound, we don't see anyway of forgiveness. So why don’t people just forgive? That is a very good question. If forgiveness is easier and more beneficial, why isn’t it more popular? The sad reality is that there is short-term, relational destructive power in refusing to forgive. Holding onto the other's wrongs gives us the upper hand in our relationship. We keep a record of wrongs because we are not motivated by what honors God and is best for others but by what is expedient for ourselves.

Debt is power. There is power in having something to hold over another’s head. There is power in using a person’s weakness and failure against him or her. In moments when we want our own way, we pull out some wrong against us as our relational trump card. Debt is identity. Holding onto another's sin, weakness, and failure makes us feel superior to them. It allows us to believe that we are more righteous and mature than they are. We fall into the pattern of getting our sense of self not by the comfort and call of the gospel but by comparing ourselves to another. This pattern plays into the self-righteousness that is the struggle of every sinner. Debt is entitlement. Because of all the other person's wrongs against us, he or she owes us. Carrying these wrongs makes us feel deserving and therefore comfortable with being self-focused and demanding. “After all I have had to endure in relationship with you, don’t I deserve . . . ?” Debt is weaponry. The sins and failures that another has done against us become like a loaded gun that we carry around. It is very tempting to pull them out and use them when we are angry. When someone has hurt us in some way, it is very tempting to hurt them back by throwing in their face just how evil and immature they are. Debt puts us in God’s position. It is the one place that we must never be, but it is also a position that all of us have put ourselves in. We are not the judge of others. We are not the one who should dispense consequences for other's sin. It is not our job to make sure they feel the appropriate amount of guilt for what they have done. But it is very tempting to ascend to God’s throne and to make ourselves judge.

This is nasty stuff. It is a relational lifestyle driven by ugly selfishness. It is motivated by what we want, what we think we need, and by what we feel. It has nothing to do with a desire to please God with the way we live with one another, and it surely has nothing to do with what it means to love others in the midst of their struggle to live God’s way in this broken world. It's also scarily blind. We are so focused on the failures of others that we are blind to ourselves. We forget how often we fail, how much sin mars everything we do, and how desperately we need the grace that we are daily given but unwilling to offer to others. This way of living turns the people in our lives into our adversaries and turns the locations where we live into a war zone. Yet, we have all been seduced by the power of un-forgiveness. We have all used the sin of another against him or her. We have all acted as judges. We have all thought we are more righteous than the people around us. We have all used the power of guilt to get what we want when we want it and in so doing have not only done serious damage to the fine china of our relationships, but have demonstrated how much we need forgiveness.

Former Beatle, George Harrison died in December 2001. During his final days his wife and child, and his sister, Louise were at his bedside. It was Louise’s presence that was especially poignant. You see, she and George had been feuding with each other for almost forty years. Their feud began when Louise opened a bed and breakfast named “A Hard Day’s Night”. The rift was healed only when George realized he would probably die from his cancer. Louise reports that their reconciliation was difficult but satisfying. “We sort of held hands like we used to do” she said. “We used to talk for hours about life and God and the universe. We were able to look into each other’s eyes again with love. It was a very, very positive and loving meeting,” This episode tells us exactly what reconciliation is – two people who have been at odds with one another, coming together in a renewed and restored relationship, one where they are able to “look into each other’s eyes again with love.” This is what it means to reconcile with God, and with our fellow human beings.

The tragedy of course, is that George and Louise took so long to reconcile, that they missed out on so much. Similarly, it is a tragedy when we wait so long to be reconciled to those we love and to God.
Don't wait to forgive those that hurt you. Especially those that are close to you. One day you'll wake up and it will be too late. Decades will have past and those who you did not forgive will be gone.
Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.