July 3

“They gave him wine to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted it, he would not drink.” Matthew 27:34

To condemn a man to the cross was to condemn him to an agonizing death, but it was permitted to alleviate the sufferings of the crucified by offering a drink of gall mixed with wine or vinegar, and no doubt the slightest alleviation of his pain was welcomed by the condemned.

Our Lord, however, was an exception. When he tasted the drink that was lifted to his lips, he refused it. There was nothing in him that cried out for the easing of his pain. We profess to bear the cross, but how eager we are to drink that wine mingled with gall! May we awake to the truth that if we are yearning for an anodyne, we are not truly bearing the cross of Christ. Only those who find their trials irksome need a soothing draught.

How we love sympathy! We have an insatiable craving to be comforted, seeking it from every possible source and feeling aggrieved if it is not offered to us. Unwittingly we reveal that we know little of his cross, which involves a joyful acceptance of the, will of God.