John 19:28-30
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
28 (A)After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled,[a] Jesus said, “I thirst.”(B) 29 There was a vessel filled with common wine.[b] So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. 30 [c]When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.”(C) And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
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- 19:28 The scripture…fulfilled: either in the scene of Jn 19:25–27, or in the I thirst of Jn 19:28. If the latter, Ps 22:16; 69:22 deserve consideration.
- 19:29 Wine: John does not mention the drugged wine, a narcotic that Jesus refused as the crucifixion began (Mk 15:23), but only this final gesture of kindness at the end (Mk 15:36). Hyssop, a small plant, is scarcely suitable for carrying a sponge (Mark mentions a reed) and may be a symbolic reference to the hyssop used to daub the blood of the paschal lamb on the doorpost of the Hebrews (Ex 12:22).
- 19:30 Handed over the spirit: there is a double nuance of dying (giving up the last breath or spirit) and that of passing on the holy Spirit; see Jn 7:39, which connects the giving of the Spirit with Jesus’ glorious return to the Father, and Jn 20:22, where the author portrays the conferral of the Spirit.
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