March 27 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Matthew 27:29–34

Devotional

Jesus of Nazareth was led away to be crucified. The agonies of crucifixion would be immense. Nails would be driven through His hands and His feet. And He would hang in agony on his wounds. Before this took place, the soldiers gave Jesus something to drink. It was vinegar mingled with gall. Gall was a stupefying drink and vinegar was the strong wine of soldiers. Gall was mingled with wine to lessen the bitterness of the drink. The staggering drink was given to criminals to help diminish the horrors of the coming crucifixion. This was a custom for every crucifixion. It was a little display of “humanity” amid the cruelty.

Christ’s bruised and beaten body was in desperate need of a drink. A cup with liquid that was both refreshing and pain-dulling? When Christ was offered the drink, he accepted the cup and took it to his lips. His burning tongue yearned for it. Yet, Matthew tells us, “when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.” Although He yearned for this drink, after He tasted it, He refused to finish the drink with its pain-dulling ingredient. His substitutionary work required a holy precision. He knew that a sinner could not be saved by a half-conscious Substitute.

Adam was not half-conscious when he ate from the tree. Against His better judgment, he sinned with his whole being and mind. This is why the second Adam had to enter the agonies of the cross and death with full consciousness. If He took the cup offered to Him, then He could not save a sinner. He must pay consciously lest God’s justice not be appeased. Between His burning tongue and the cup with gall lies the salvation of God’s church. A dulled Surety could not pay the price of sin, for the heavenly Creditor demands pure payment.

Do you understand this? We have sinned knowingly and willingly. We did not sin in a semi-alert state, but with full consciousness. For this reason God’s holy justice demands that the price of our sin be paid in full consciousness. There is no provision for pain relief! May the truth of this text awaken us.

Have you come to realize that God is so holy that He cannot soften any of His just demands? Jesus became a complete Surety. He did not forget anything in His substitutionary work. He did not forget that He was not to receive any means of relief. He headed straight for the fullness of God’s wrath and sin’s punishment in all its horrors. All He was and did was for sinners. For Himself, He did not need to enter death. He did it all for the sake of others.

Children of God, meditate on Christ’s work and bow in deep humility to the God of redemption. He refused to drink. He received no refreshment and no pain-relief. If He had received it, all would be lost. The purchase of salvation was at great cost!

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.