Verse 23
And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh; but he received it not.
Cranfield noted that:
It was a Jewish custom, based on Proverbs 31:6, to give wine drugged with myrrh to those who were about to be executed: in order to dull the senses. His refusal to drink may be explained as due to his vow in Mark 14:25.[11]
The view here is that Cranfield was certainly correct in linking Jesus' refusal to drink with the promise that he would not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine until he should drink it new with his disciples in the kingdom of God. The offering of wine (and myrrh) here was not new, was not offered by a disciple, and was prior to the setting up of the kingdom on Pentecost. John 19:30 mentions "when he had received the vinegar"; but there is no mention that he drank it, the previous verse saying only that it was "brought to his mouth." The incident in John came at the end of the agony; this here was at the first; but it is safe to assume that Jesus regarded the vow in both instances.
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