Why HYSSOP? The Strange Plant at the Cross of Jesus (John 19 Bible Mystery)

Matthew and Mark say the sponge was lifted on a reed. John names a plant instead, and that one word takes you all the way back to Egypt. In this study we slow down on the last minute of Jesus' life in John 19 and follow three threads John has been weaving since the first chapters of his Gospel: the Passover Lamb, a thirsty woman at a well at noon, and a festival of water in the temple courts. If you have heard "I thirst" read every Good Friday and moved quickly past it, this one is for you. Why does John mention hyssop at all? Why does he say Jesus spoke only after He knew all things were accomplished? And what did the soldiers actually have in that jar at the foot of the cross? We also look at the Greek behind the passage: the word dipso and where else John uses it, the "sixth hour" that appears only twice in his Gospel, and the unusual verb John chose for "that the Scripture might be fulfilled." Along the way we meet a sixteenth-century scholar who tried to change hyssop into a javelin, and why the evidence does not support him. This study is for anyone who feels dry in their faith, and for anyone who wants to read the crucifixion with fresh eyes. Which detail stopped you: the hyssop, the two noon hours, or the golden flask at the festival? Tell me in the comments, and subscribe to Deeper Than Sunday for more studies that slow down on the details most of us were taught to read past. Chapters: 0:00 Passover night in Egypt 1:14 Why does John say hyssop? 3:16 The jar of sour wine at the cross 6:39 A plant too small to lift a sponge? 9:27 The Lamb of God and the Passover 11:20 A clock that strikes only twice 15:19 Living water at the Feast of Tabernacles 17:40 Was "I thirst" a performance? 19:54 The verb John used only once 23:07 What this means for you 📖 Scripture and sources: Every passage and historical source mentioned in this study, so you can read them for yourself. John 19:14, 19:28-30, 19:36 John 4:6-15, 4:31-34 John 7:37-39 John 1:29; 6:35; 12:23; 17:4; 18:11 Exodus 12:22, 12:46 Psalm 69:21; Psalm 22:15; Psalm 51:7 Matthew 27:48 Mark 15:23, 15:25, 15:36 Luke 23:36 Hebrews 9:19 Leviticus 14:4; Numbers 19:18 1 Kings 4:33 Revelation 7:16-17 Josephus, The Jewish War 6.423 Suetonius, Life of Galba 9 Mishnah, Sukkah 4:9 and 5:1 Plutarch, Life of Cato the Elder Joachim Camerarius, Notatio Figurarum Sermonis (1572) Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament Lytton John Musselman, Plants of the Bible (Old Dominion University) #BibleStudy #GospelOfJohn #Crucifixion Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Some points in this study are reasonable inferences or interpretation rather than direct statements of the text, such as the identification of the soldiers' sour wine with posca, and the video says so where they come up.