Matthew 27:34

“They gave him vinegar to drink, etc.] It was a custom with the Jews f1679 when “a man went out to be executed, to give him to drink a grain of frankincense in a cup of wine, that his understanding might be disturbed, as it is said, (<203106>Proverbs 31:6). “Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that be of heavy hearts”; and the tradition is, that the honourable women in Jerusalem gave this freely; but if they did not, it was provided at the charge of the congregation.” The design of it was to cheer their spirits, and intoxicate their heads, that they might not be sensible of their pain and misery. But such a cup was not allowed Christ at the public expense, nor…”

“They gave him vinegar ... - Mark says that, “they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh.” The two evangelists mean the same thing. Vinegar was made of light wine rendered acid, and was the common drink of the Roman soldiers, and this might be called either vinegar or wine in common language. “Myrrh” is a bitter substance produced in Arabia, but is used often to denote anything bitter. The meaning of the name is “bitterness.” See the notes at Matthew 2:11. “Gall” is properly a bitter secretion from the liver, but the word is also used to denote anything exceedingly “bitter,” as wormwood, etc. The drink, therefore, was vinegar or sour wine, rendered “bitter” by the infusion of wormwood or…”

“They gave him vinegar mingled with gall - Out of derision: which, however nauseous, he received and tasted of. St. Mark mentions also a different mixture which was given him, Wine mingled with myrrh: such as it was customary to give to dying criminals, to make them less sensible of their sufferings: but this our Lord refused to taste, determining to bear the full force of his pains. Matthew 27:35”

“27:34 Giving Jesus wine mixed with bitter gall was probably intended for ridicule (see Ps 69:21). It was also a sedative—Jesus probably rejected it in order to suffer fully for our sins (see Isa 53:10). • Gall, otherwise known as wormwood, is a bitter narcotic made from the oil of Artemisia (cp. Mark 15:23).”

“gave: Mat 27:48; Psa 69:21; Mar 15:23; Joh 19:28-30 vinegar: Mark says wine mingled with myrrh; but as the sour wine used by the Roman soldiers and common people was termed οινος \[Strong's G3631\] wine, and οξος \[Strong's G3690\] vinegar, vin aigre (French), is sour wine; and as chole \[Strong's G5521\] gall, is applied to bitters of any kind, it is not difficult to reconcile the two accounts. Matthew 27:35”