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Seven Last Words Daily Devotional -29

by David Joynt on March 17, 2021


JOHN 19:29 | 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth.

Vinegar is a bitter drink for a bitter moment. There are several small acts of mercy in the midst of Jesus’ suffering on the cross. One was the spear thrust that ended the torturous day. Another was the words of faith and encouragement from the penitent thief.

Here is a small act of compassion, to relieve for a moment, Jesus’ dehydration. Small acts of aid can have disproportionate impact. They can break the sense of isolation that comes with suffering. They can create feelings of gratitude in the sufferer. They can lighten the darkness.

When was your last small act of compassion?

Tags: compassion, mercy

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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