John 19:30
"30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit."
At various times during His ministry, Jesus spoke about or had contact with wine which is reflected in the telling of His ministry on earth. Wine is a symbol of the Holy Spirit throughout scripture and if we are aware of this, we can see the metaphoric value beyond the words wherever wine is mentioned in Scripture. Take for example our study verse, by the time this occurred, Jesus had already told His disciples that you do not put new wine into old wine skins in Mark 9:17. Metaphorically speaking, Jesus was saying that once He ascended then the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all flesh and only those who were new creations would be able to contain Him.
As well, after Jesus turned the water into wine at Cana, the host of the wedding reception said "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the [guests] have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” {John 2:10} God loves to do this throughout scripture, He hides secret meanings, shadows, type, prophecies and metaphors throughout scripture! In fact, John 2:1 says that “after three days, there was a wedding in Cana.” This has many meanings but here, it is a foreshadowing of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Moving on, in our study verse, Jesus was offered “sour wine” then directly after it touched His lips, He said, “It is finished” and then laid down His life. This entire scenario actually happened but it is also a metaphor. It speaks, metaphorically of the Old Testament way of doing things with the Holy Spirit. In the OT, the Holy Spirit was one just a few people, the High Priest, the Prophet, the King. In the same way that sour wine, being a mixture of old wine and vinegar was something only certain people -namely Roman Soldiers- would drink. When Jesus took the sour wine and said it is finished He meant that the old way of doing things, the confinement, law and the limitations of the Holy Spirit were finished {He also meant that His mission was finished}. It is interesting that it was sour wine because sour wine was not the “best”. When Jesus ascended and subsequently poured out the Holy Spirit He was pouring out the new wine- He indeed saved the “good wine until now!"
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