Drinking New Wine

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This is a message used for a Communion Service and is based on Matthew 26:29. It emphasizes the promise and prospect of drinking new wine with Jesus in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Written Excerpts:

Drinking New Wine

Matt. 26:29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (NKJV)

Mark 14:25 (NKJV)
²⁵  Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

Luke 22:15-18 (NKJV)
¹⁵  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶  for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." ¹⁷  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸  for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

Introduction:

Today we are celebrating and commemorating the Lord’s Supper. Our focus for the message today is not so much on the events of the evening in which Jesus shared this last Passover meal with his disciples. Our focus is going to be on a particular phrase that Jesus said as they were drinking the cup of wine that he shared with them. “…I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

(On the parallel passage in Luke 22:18 Adam Clark interprets the Lord’s remark to mean, [“I will not drink again”] before the time of another Passover, the Holy Ghost shall descend, the Gospel of the kingdom be established, and the sacramental supper shall take place of the paschal lamb; for in a few hours his crucifixion was to take place.”

 (Adam Clarke) “I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine—These words seem to [indicate] no more than this: We shall not have another opportunity of eating this bread and drinking this wine together; as in a few hours my crucifixion shall take place.

On the other hand, others interpret the passage to reflect “vows of abstinence [that] were common in Palestinian Judaism: “I will not eat any such and such until this happens,” or “I vow that I will not use this until that happens.” Jesus vows not to drink wine again until the kingdom comes, and he apparently abstains from the fourth cup [after the meal]. Jewish tradition commonly portrayed the time of the kingdom as a banquet (based on texts like Isaiah 25:6), when the Bible had promised an unending supply of wine (cf. Amos 9:13-14). (Bible Background Commentary )

(Jam. Fau. Bro.) “…until that day when I shall drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." It was the point of transition between two economies and their two great festivals, the one about to close for ever, the other immediately to open and run its majestic career until from earth it be transferred to heaven. [Emphasis Mine]

(Vincent Word Studies) [In other passages], another adjective, νεόν, is employed to denote new wine in the sense of freshly-made (Matthew 9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37, 38, 39). The difference is between newness regarded in point of time or of quality… In our Lord’s expression, “drink it new,” the idea of quality is dominant. All the elements of festivity in the heavenly kingdom will be of a new and higher quality.

 (Clarke) “Until that day when I drink it new with you—That is, I shall no more drink of the produce of the vine with you; but shall drink new wine—wine of a widely different nature from this—a wine which the kingdom of God alone can afford.

“The term “new” in Scripture is often taken in this sense. So the New heaven, the New earth, the New covenant, the New man—mean a heaven, earth, covenant, man, of a very different nature from the former.

“It was our Lord’s invariable custom to illustrate heavenly things by those of earth, and to make that which had last been the subject of conversation the means of doing it.

“Thus he uses wine here, of which they had lately drunk, and on which he had held the preceding discourse, to point out the supreme blessedness of the kingdom of God.

“But however pleasing and useful wine may be to the body and how helpful… it may be to the soul in the holy sacrament; yet the wine of the kingdom, the spiritual enjoyments at the right hand of God, will be infinitely more precious and useful.

“From what our Lord says here, we learn that the sacrament of his supper is a type and a pledge, to genuine Christians, of the [happiness] they shall enjoy with Christ in the kingdom of glory.”

Both of these writers (Vincent & Clarke) indicate that the probable meaning of Jesus’ word “new” is more to do with quality than with chronology or “point in time.” That is, he may not be referring to a literal drink of new wine at a future time when we are together again, but rather a euphemism to emphasize the wonderful blessing of eternal fellowship with him in the kingdom of heaven.

Whether he is speaking literally or figuratively, in either case the emphasis is on the future kingdom when they would be re-united with him. Thus, when they celebrate the Lord’s Supper, they were not only to remember what the Lord had done, but they were to anticipate his future return.

1 Cor. 11:26 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” The next “great feast” that believers will literally share together with the Lord will be the Marriage Supper of the Lamb that is described in the book of Revelation.

That is the reason I chose the passage in Revelation 5 for our responsive Scripture reading earlier in this service. I wanted to link this discussion between Jesus and the disciples at the Last Supper with the coming eternal Kingdom of Heaven and the references to the Lamb that had been slain.

Conclusion:

We partake of the bread and the juice as a reminder that Jesus said he will drink again with us in the Kingdom of God. It is a reminder that there is a day coming when He will fulfill all His promises for a new heaven, a new earth, new bodies, etc. etc.

When we partake of the emblems today, let us meditate on the day that is coming in the future when we will be eternally united with the Lord – that time when we celebrate the marriage of the Bride and the Lamb.

Let us remain faithful to him as we “commune” together until we finally reach our ultimate destination and eternally fellowship unhindered by any physical limitations or worldly distractions.