“The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar” – Luke 23:36 NIV
I came across a post discussing the sponge on a stick (“xylospongium” in Latin) that was used by the Romans in place of toilet paper. The sponge would be cleaned between users in a bucket of vinegar left by the toilet. The speaker claimed that when Jesus was offered vinegar by the Roman soldiers they grabbed a xylospongium out of its bucket by the toilet and held it up to him.
Imagine suffering from extreme thirst and the only way you can quench that thirst is to suck on a dirty toilet sponge. I had never considered this before. Perhaps this was one more way the soldiers mocked Jesus. They had already whipped him, beaten him, spit on him, and made a crown of thorns pretending to worship him. Perhaps offering him a drink with a toilet sponge was one more way to add insult to injury.
Despite what the poster said, we don’t really know how the soldiers offered Jesus the vinegar. It just isn’t mentioned. (We do know that, later, a compassionate bystander ran off, got a sponge, put it on a hyssop branch, and offered Jesus a drink.) Still, the humiliation of something like sucking on a toilet sponge is in keeping with the whole purpose of crucifixion – to create maximum pain, suffering,
and humiliation.
And, yet, Jesus endured it all for our sake. He gave his life on the cross so that we might live forgiven and freed for eternal life. He bore our suffering and shame; perhaps even the shame of tasting a xylospongium. And he did it all for us.
This Holy Week it’s worth reflecting on all that Jesus went through. He loves us that much.
Pastor Mark
Holy Week services
Maundy Thursday service led by Pastor Mark: April 17, 7:00 pm
Good Friday service led by Craig Wasner and friends: April 18, 7:00 pm
Easter Sunday services are at the regular times: April 20, 8:30 and 10:00 am