They brought [Jesus] to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
Mark 15:22-23
The wine mixed with myrrh had the same effect as a mild sedative. Crucifixion was so barbaric, and the pain involved so horrific, that according to tradition some relief was offered to the victim just before he was nailed to the cross.
We don’t know who offered this drink to Jesus—most likely it was the women who followed Him to the cross: “Here is the possibility of at least some relief from the agonies that Jesus is about to endure.”
The pain involved in crucifixion is reflected in the English word “excruciating,” describing pain that comes “out” of the cross. Any compassionate person would say “Drink! Take this small opportunity for relief. Let the sedative dull your mind to the searing pain in your body.”
Notice what Mark says: “They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it” (15:23). Our Lord Jesus was fully conscious throughout His suffering. Jesus endured the punishment for our sins. He endured our hell, and hell is a place of conscious torment.
Once you know what God was doing at the cross, you can understand why Jesus refused the sedative, why He could not allow His consciousness to be dulled.
What does it mean to you that Jesus refused the sedative?
