And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.

MARK 15:23KJV
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Mark 15:23 (KJV)

What does Mark 15:23 mean?

Mark 15:23 describes an offer made to Jesus at the place of his execution. The wine contained myrrh, a fragrant substance sometimes associated with easing pain. Jesus did not accept the drink.

The verse comes just after Jesus is brought to Golgotha. Mark presents the offer as part of the events immediately surrounding the crucifixion, though he does not identify the people who gave Jesus the drink.

Why Mark 15:23 matters

  • The drink in this verse is distinct from the drink offered later. Here it is wine mixed with myrrh; in Mark 15:36, someone offers Jesus vinegar on a sponge.
  • Mark places Jesus’ refusal before the soldiers divide his clothing in Mark 15:24. The order keeps the offer within the account of the events leading into his death.
  • The offer could have had a practical purpose. Myrrh was a fragrant resin, and wine mixed with substances like it is often understood as a way to dull pain. Mark describes the mixture without stating the givers’ purpose.

Where else these words appear

“wine” Greek G3631 · used in 25 verses

  • Matthew 9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
  • John 2:9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was:(but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
  • Revelation 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

“drink” Greek G4095 · used in 66 verses

  • Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
  • Luke 5:39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
  • John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.