Vinegar on Sponge: Comfort or Insult?

[savedbychrist]

3 out of the 4 Gospels recorded that Jesus was given vinegar (sour wine) from a sponge:

And immediately one of them running took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar; and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink. (Matthew 27:48)

And one running and filling a sponge with vinegar, and putting it upon a reed, gave Him to drink, saying: Stay, let us see if Elijah come to take him down. (Mark 15:36)

A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to His mouth. (John 19:29)

I did not think much about this, until lately I’ve read how ancient Romans clean up after defaecation. They wipe their anus with a sponge tied on a stick, which we call “xylospongium”. I found this similar to that scene, when they tied a sponge on a reed/hyssop.

What do you think about the scene where Christ was given the vinegar from a sponge? Was it just a coincidence with the xylospongium thing, or was it intended to be an insult?

 

[Vico]

3 out of the 4 Gospels recorded that Jesus was given vinegar (sour wine) from a sponge:

And immediately one of them running took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar; and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink. (Matthew 27:48)

And one running and filling a sponge with vinegar, and putting it upon a reed, gave Him to drink, saying: Stay, let us see if Elijah come to take him down. (Mark 15:36)

A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to His mouth. (John 19:29)

I did not think much about this, until lately I’ve read how ancient Romans clean up after defaecation. They wipe their anus with a sponge tied on a stick, which we call “xylospongium”. I found this similar to that scene, when they tied a sponge on a reed/hyssop.

What do you think about the scene where Christ was given the vinegar from a sponge? Was it just a coincidence with the xylospongium thing, or was it intended to be an insult?

A drink made from vinegar, water, and perhaps herbs, was normally consumed by the soldiers, the lower classes, and the slaves, and was called posca. Later is was called phouska when the Byzantine army drank it.

 

[Stephen_says]

Yeah, I read an article recently about something of a “revival” of this as a natural energy drink!

Stay hydrated with posca—an ancient Roman energy drink

as for the OP question, I never heard that sponge thing, but it could be I guess. If the Romans were trying to kill him, why would they care if he was thirsty? And if people were accustomed to drinking the sour wine, why would Jesus take a bit and then spit it out? Was it just because he didn’t want to drink the vinegar, because it would be the final cup he alluded to during the last supper that he wouldn’t drink until he was in the Kingdom of Heaven, or was it because it tasted like poo?

 

[Vico]

Yeah, I read an article recently about something of a “revival” of this as a natural energy drink!

Stay hydrated with posca—an ancient Roman energy drink — Quartz

as for the OP question, I never heard that sponge thing, but it could be I guess. If the Romans were trying to kill him, why would they care if he was thirsty? And if people were accustomed to drinking the sour wine, why would Jesus take a bit and then spit it out? Was it just because he didn’t want to drink the vinegar, because it would be the final cup he alluded to during the last supper that he wouldn’t drink until he was in the Kingdom of Heaven, or was it because it tasted like poo?

Interesting that that article suggests that a sweetener was added also.

There were two offerings, the first a poison (gall, which may have been myrrh) for numbing pain and it was refused, and the second was not with poison (perhaps posca) and not refused.

 

[Stephen_says]

There were two offerings, the first a poison (gall, which may have been myrrh) for numbing pain and it was refused, and the second was not with poison (perhaps posca) and not refused.

Oooo forgot about the second occurrence that was accepted; Good point.

 

[Mary888]

But I too have often wondered why vinegar? Why not wine?

The vinegar is listed as one of His pains and suffering by the Church, it was added pain. He asked for water they gave him vinegar. Also as a lived through metaphor of how people treat(ed) God.
God loves all people but not all people deem to even acknowledge His existence - comfort or vinegar?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Romans used sponges for a lot of things, not just wiping in the toilet.

It was normal to have a sponge with some cheap sour wine and gall, a painkiller, available at crucifixions.

Most “wine” back in those days was cheap, weak, and similar to red wine vinegar rather than our current idea of high alcohol wine. Over time it’s been interpreted as an added cruelty that they gave Jesus vinegar. In reality, that’s what people drank back then, and it was mixed with a painkiller.