own people; but because he came to his own possessions, but his own people
186 SAINT A UG USTINE - SERMONS
Vinegar on a sponge
11. As for what he said, I thirst (Jn 19:28), he was looking for faith from his own people; but because he came to his own possessions, but his own people did not receive him (Jn 1:11), instead of the sweetness of faith, they gave him the vinegar of faithlessness, and that in a sponge. They are indeed comparable to a sponge, a thing not solid but swollen; not open with the straight access of confession, but hollow with the tortuous twists and turns of treachery.18 It's true that that drink also contained hyssop,19 which is a lowly herb, said to have an extremely strong root with which to cling to the rock. There were some, that is to say, among that people, for whom this dark deed was kept as a means of humbling their souls by their repudiation of it later on, and their repentance. The one who accepted the hyssop with the vinegar knew who they were. After all, as the other evangelist bears witness, he even prayed for them, when hanging on the cross he said, Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing (Lk 23:34).
Death with a bowed head
12. That he said, it is accomplished: and bowing his head, he gave up the spirit (Jn 19:30), showed how he died not by necessity but by his own power and authority, waiting until all that had been prophesied for him was accom¬ plished — because this too had been written: And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink (Ps 69:22); as one who had the authority to lay down his life, as he himself had declared.20
And he gave up the spirit in humility, that is with a bowed head; he would receive it back again by rising again, with a raised head.21 That this death and bowing of the head were acts of great power, was shown by that ancestor Jacob, when he blessed Judah, and said, You have gone up lying down, you have slept like a lion (Gn 49:9); by "going up" he signified his death; by "like a lion" his power.
The broken legs of the two thieves
13. Now next, that the legs of those two were broken, while his were not, because he was already dead: why this happened was stated in the gospel itself.22 It was fitting, you see, to demonstrate by this sign as well, that the true point and purpose of the Jewish passover, which contained this instruction, not to break the lamb's bones,23 was to be a prophetic pre-enactment of his death.
Blood and water from the side of Jesus
14. That his side, struck by a lance, poured out blood and water on the ground:24 without a shadow of doubt these are the sacraments by which the Church is formed, as Eve was fashioned from the side of the sleeping Adam,25 who was the model of the one to come.