Discovery BoxJohn 19:29 
Context19:29 A jar full of sour wine 1 was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop 2 and lifted it 3 to his mouth.
John 15:4
Context15:4 Remain 4 in me, and I will remain in you. 5 Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, 6 unless it remains 7 in 8 the vine, so neither can you unless you remain 9 in me.
John 15:6
Context15:6 If anyone does not remain 10 in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, 11 and are burned up. 12
1 sn The cheap sour wine was called in Latin posca, and referred to a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and was probably there for the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion.
2 sn Hyssop was a small aromatic bush; exact identification of the plant is uncertain. The hyssop used to lift the wet sponge may have been a form of reed (κάλαμος, kalamo", “reed,” is used in Matt 27:48 and Mark 15:36); the biblical name can refer to several different species of plant (at least eighteen different plants have been suggested).
3 tn Or “and brought it.”
4 tn Or “Reside.”
5 tn Grk “and I in you.” The verb has been repeated for clarity and to conform to contemporary English style, which typically allows fewer ellipses (omitted or understood words) than Greek.
6 sn The branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains connected to the vine, from which its life and sustenance flows. As far as the disciples were concerned, they would produce no fruit from themselves if they did not remain in their relationship to Jesus, because the eternal life which a disciple must possess in order to bear fruit originates with Jesus; he is the source of all life and productivity for the disciple.
7 tn Or “resides.”
8 tn While it would be more natural to say “on the vine” (so NAB), the English preposition “in” has been retained here to emphasize the parallelism with the following clause “unless you remain in me.” To speak of remaining “in” a person is not natural English either, but is nevertheless a biblical concept (cf. “in Christ” in Eph 1:3, 4, 6, 7, 11).
9 tn Or “you reside.”
10 tn Or “reside.”
11 sn Such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire. The author does not tell who it is who does the gathering and throwing into the fire. Although some claim that realized eschatology is so prevalent in the Fourth Gospel that no references to final eschatology appear at all, the fate of these branches seems to point to the opposite. The imagery is almost certainly that of eschatological judgment, and recalls some of the OT vine imagery which involves divine rejection and judgment of disobedient Israel (Ezek 15:4-6, 19:12).
12 tn Grk “they gather them up and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
