33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, 34 they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

35 And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting [ p ]lots. 36 And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. 37 And above His head they put up the charge against Him [ q ]which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 

Matthew 27:33-37 (NASB95) 中文

Road to calvary

Having been unjustly tried by the Jews and now convicted by the Romans, Jesus has been whipped and mocked. He’s now on the way to calvary to be crucified. Simon of Cyrene has been conscripted to carry Jesus’ cross. Now they arrive at Golgotha, the Place of a Skull. It is thought that from a distance, the hill resembled a skull. Matthew’s account doesn’t focus on the details of the crucifixion (nailing of hands and feet). “Instead, mockery remains his main motif. The Roman soldiers continued their scorn (Matt 27:27–31).” (TGC)

Jesus ain’t a sissy

Someone offers Him a drink. Was it the Roman soldiers trying to trick Jesus into thinking they were showing pity? Was it the women who followed the crucifixion truly offering pity? Regardless, I wonder, “Why did Jesus refuse the drink?” Any person in that situation would have wanted something to dull the physical pain. He was already suffering much pain from the flogging and beatings. He was about to be crucified. Why wouldn’t He take it? I can only guess that once He tasted it, He knew it was a narcotic of sorts. He didn’t want to diminish the pain in any way; He wanted to bear the full brunt of it. Jesus was not a sissy or wimp!

Other prophecy fulfilled

So they nailed Jesus to the cross and crucified Him. In fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 22:18, the soldiers divided up His only earthly possessions, his clothing. They assumed it was now their property to do with as they pleased. And Psalm 69:21 prophesied He would be given sour wine to drink. David recorded these hundreds of years earlier. 

King of the Jews

In recent passages, most recently with Pilot (Matthew 27:11), Jesus has been identified as claiming to be King of the Jews. In an effort to mock Him and possibly embarrass or also mock  the Jewish elders, Pilate had the sign posted above Jesus’ head reading, “King of the Jews”. Maybe it was a warning to any other Jews who tried to claim to be king, seeing as Caesar alone is king of the Roman empire. “Pilate ironically stated what Matthew wanted his readers to understand: that Jesus was the Messiah that the Old Testament had predicted, namely, the Son of God and the Suffering Servant.” (planobiblechapel.org)

RЯeflection

• Jesus is indeed King of the Jews. Is He your King?
• How does Matthew’s record of this historical event aid in your understanding of Jesus, our Lord? Leave a comment.