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29 A jar full of [a]sour wine was placed there; so they put a sponge soaked in the sour wine on [a branch of] hyssop and held it to His mouth.(A) 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] [b]gave up His spirit.

Care of the Body of Jesus

31 Since it was the day of Preparation [for the Sabbath], in order to prevent the bodies from hanging on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high holy day) the Jews asked Pilate to have their legs [c]broken [to hasten death] and the bodies taken away.

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Footnotes

  1. John 19:29 This sour wine was not to dull the senses, but to provide minimal relief to the victim. The wine mixed with gall (myrrh) that Jesus earlier had refused to drink (Matt 27:34; Mark 15:23) had narcotic qualities to deaden the pain.
  2. John 19:30 This wording implies that Jesus voluntarily and sovereignly released His spirit from His body in submission to God’s plan.
  3. John 19:31 After the legs were broken with a heavy blow, the condemned prisoner could no longer push upwards to assist his own breathing and would soon suffocate due to the awkward position that was forced on him by crucifixion. At the same time, breaking the legs was more painful than a quicker end with the point of a spear.

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