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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh_19:28-30
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, "I am thirsty." 29A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. 30Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
Joh_19:28 "Jesus knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, 'I am thirsty'" It is syntactically ambiguous whether the Scripture mentioned refers to the phrase "I am thirsty" or "all things had already been accomplished." If it is taken in the traditional way, then "I am thirsty" is a reference to Psa_69:21.
Joh_19:29 "A jar full of sour wine was standing there" This was a cheap wine, a sour wine. It would have been both for the soldiers and for the crucified. They were given small amounts of liquids in order to make the crucifixion last longer.
▣ "sour wine" This is literally "vinegar." This was the drink of the poor people. Notice that Jesus did not take the drugged wine that the women of Jerusalem offered Him (cf. Mar_15:23; Mat_27:34). Possibly the reason He accepted this drink was to fulfill Psa_22:15. He was too parched to speak and He had one more thing to say.
▣ "upon a branch of hyssop" Some see this as a symbolic use of the special plant that was used in the Passover service (cf. Exo_12:22). Others believe that there has been an ancient scribal corruption of the term and that originally it meant "spear," "javelin," or "stick" (cf. NEB but REB reverts to hyssop). Mat_27:48 and Mar_15:36 have "reed."
The reason many see a scribal change here is because the hyssop plant did not have a very long stem (only 2 to 4 feet), but it must be remembered that the crosses were not raised that high above the ground. Our traditional pictures of a high cross may be our misunderstanding of Joh_3:14. Jesus' feet may have been within a foot or two of the ground.
Joh_19:30 "It is finished!" This is a perfect passive indicative. From the Synoptic Gospels we learned that He shouted this with a loud cry (cf. Mar_15:37; Luk_23:46; Mat_27:50). This refers to the finished work of redemption. This form of the term (telos) in the Egyptian papyri (Moulton and Milligan) was a commercial idiom for "paid in full."
▣ "He bowed His head and gave up His spirit" The phrase "bowed His head" was idiomatic of "going to sleep." Jesus' death was a calm moment for Him. The inference is that in death the spiritual aspect of a person is separated from the physical. This seems to demand a disembodied state for believers between death and resurrection day (cf. 2 Corinthians 5; 1Th_4:13-18, see William Hendriksen, The Bible On the Life Hereafter).
The Gospel parallels in Mar_15:37 and Luk_23:46 have "He breathed His last." The Hebrew word for "spirit" and "breathe" are the same. His last breath was viewed as His spirit leaving the body (cf. Gen_2:7).