“They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused it.” (Mark 15:23)
St Mark records this detail of Jesus refusing wine mixed with myrrh before his crucifixion. This drink was a rudimentary painkiller and so the fact it was offered to Jesus implies an act of mercy to one about to undergo horrific pain. So why did Jesus refuse it?
One possible reason is that he had made an oath at the Last Supper: “I tell you solemnly, I shall not drink any more wine until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God (Mark 14:25).”
St Matthew adds that he would drink it “new” and “with [his disciples]” (Matthew 26:29). This is a mysterious oath, but it appears to look forward to the banquet of heaven itself, when he would be re-united with his disciples and the wine would be gloriously “new”.
But why was it so important to keep this oath, to the extent that he refused to drink a wine-based painkiller kindly offered to him?
Perhaps Jesus wanted to emphasise the link between the Last Supper, his death and resurrection and ascension into heaven. In fact, it seems that Jesus omits the traditional fourth cup of the Passover meal at the Last Supper – as strange for Jews then as omitting the consecration of the chalice at Mass would be for Catholics today.
So if Jesus waits until after his Ascension to drink wine again, it would show a unity between the Last Supper and all the events that followed it until he ascended bodily to heaven: his Passover meal at the Last Supper would not be complete until he reached heaven – where he drinks the “new wine” with us through the Eucharist that we celebrate here below.
So Jesus’s courageous keeping of his oath helps us understand that his death, resurrection and ascension were part of his Passover meal, and these events are offered to us in every Eucharist, along with his Risen Body, when the priest uses his words from the Last Supper.
How might this apply to us, and our experiences of pain? Jesus does not expect us to refuse painkillers, but he does show us that we have the freedom to do so, to freely accept pain for others, especially if it will help them understand God’s gifts, as did his refusal of the wine and myrrh.
Let’s remember that Jesus’s pain was freely accepted for each one of us in a personal way – he knew each one of us in his Passion – and that he wants his pain to bear fruit in us by our devoted participation in the Holy Eucharist, the greatest of his gifts.
Photo: A painting of Jesus being stripped of his garments before his cruxifixction. (Photo taken by Catholic Herald staff).
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