What did Jesus mean by saying 'drink of the fruit of the vine' and 'new in the Kingdom of God'?

Question

Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Mark 14:25 NRSV.

What is the fruit of the vine?
What is meant by drinking it 'new'?
What is 'that day'?

Answer 1

What did Jesus mean by saying 'drink of the fruit of the vine' and 'new in the Kingdom of God'?

What is the fruit of the vine?

Any red wine that is not sweetened, fortified, or spiced is appropriate for use as a symbol of Christ’s “precious blood.”1 Peter 1:19.

What is meant by drinking it 'new'?

Jesus informed the disciples that the wine he had drunk (at this Passover preceding the Lord's Supper) was the last of the product of the vine that he would drink “until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father.” (Matthew 26:29) Since he would not be drinking literal wine in heaven, he obviously had reference to what wine sometimes symbolized in the Scriptures, namely, joy. (Psalms 104:15, Ecc. 10:19). Being together in the Kingdom was what they looked forward to with the highest anticipation.( Rom. 8:23, 2 Cor. 5:2)

Romans 8:23 NASB

23 And not only that, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of our body.

2 Corinthians 5:2 NET

2 For in this earthly house[a] we groan because we desire to put on[b] our heavenly dwelling,

What is 'that day'?

“That day” is the day that true followers of Christ looked for when God will clean up the earth and bring to pass the doing of his will “as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matthew. 6:10)

Matthew 6:10 NASB

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heave

Answer 2

Isaiah 25 depicts a feast:

6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.

Death is no more. It is a heavenly feast. A similar feast is described in Revelation 19:

6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Luke 14:15 talks about the feast in the kingdom of God:

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."

Then Jesus proceeds to tell them the parable of the Great Banquet. This theme of a heavenly feast runs through the OT and the NT.

Mark 14:25

Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

What is the fruit of the vine?

It is the physical/horizontal drink at the last supper which they have just drunk.

What is meant by drinking it 'new'?

The new drink is the heavenly/verticle counterpart of the horizontal fruit of the vine.

What is 'that day'?

I think it refers to the day of the heavenly banquet of the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Jesus knows that the fruit of the vine on that passover night is his last celebrative drink before he died. Jesus is binding himself by a divine promise/sacrifice not to drink the equivalent heavenly wine until the day when we celebrate in the marriage supper of the Lamb in the consummated kingdom of God.

The enemies of Paul bind themselves not to eat or drink in Acts 23:12 to show that they mean serious business:

The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

Jesus does not swear an oath but simply says "Amen, I tell you". Certainly, Jesus means it. It will happen.

Answer 3

The three questions are:

1. "Fruit of the Vine"

Fruit of the vine occurs in several places, such as Matt 26:29, Mark 14:25, Luke 22:18, Isa 32:12 and always refers to grapes and grape juice; by extension, wine more generally.

2. "Drinking it new"

At the last supper, Jesus took a kind of Nazarite vow - He promised not to drink and grape juice or any other product of the grapevine until He meets us in "the kingdom of God" which is also called, "My Father's kingdom" in Matt 26:29. Thus, Jesus would refrain from grape products until we all meet in on the "sea of glass" (Rev 15:2) following the resurrection of the righteous.

Thus, when we meet Jesus on "that day", Jesus will be able to drink from the fruit of the vine "anew" after refraining from it for so long.

3. "That day"

"That day" almost always, as here, refers to the "day of the Lord" and the judgement accompanying the return of Jesus at the second Advent, Luke 10:12, 17:31, Phil 1:10, Mark 13:32, 2 Tim 1:18, etc.

The important phrase, “Day of the Lord” (Acts 2:20, 1 Cor 3:13, 5:5, 2 Cor 1:14, 1 Thess 5:2, 4, 2 Thess 2:2, Heb 10:25, 2 Peter 3:10, 12) all remind us that final judgement and the Lord’s return will occur on the “Day of the Lord”. The wicked greatly fear the time of Jesus return: 1 Cor 3:13, 2 Thess 2:8, Rev 6:15-17, 11:18, see 1 Cor 4:5, 2 Cor 5:10, Acts 17:31, John 12:48, Ps 68:2. By contrast the righteous are elated: Isa 25:9. See also Isa 13:6, Jer 46:10, Eze 7:19, 30:3, Joel 1:15, 2:1, 11, 31, 3:14, Amos 5:20, Obad 1:15, Zech 1:7, 8, 14, 2:2, Zeph 1:18, 2:3, 14:1, Mal 4:5.

Prophecy

Note that many people (correctly) view the last supper as a memorial of Jesus death. However, this very passage also makes it clear that the communion service also reminds us of Jesus second coming on "that day".

Answer 4

The fruit of the vine is wine, specifically, the wine passed around here:

Mark 14:23-25 (ESV),

23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

The wine in the cup represented the blood of the Lord as a symbol for the New Covenant, which Jesus said, would be shed for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28).

This phrase, "the forgiveness of sins" takes us forward to Acts 2:38 (ESV):

38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And rightly so, because this indicates to us what Jesus meant by saying "until...I drink it new in the kingdom of God".

This hearkens back to Mark 1:15 (ESV),

15 ...The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand...

In Luke 12:32, Jesus said it was His Father's good pleasure to give the disciples "the kingdom".

Later, in Romans 14:17, Paul indicates the following:

17 For the kingdom of God is...righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

This is what it means for Jesus to drink the cup of wine anew in the kingdom of God: the Holy Spirit.

Jesus would experience the communion of the covenant not merely at a table with His disciples, but rather, from within the very hearts of His disciples, as they continued to regularly share the "cup of blessing" (1 Corinthians 10:16). See:

John 14:17 (ESV),

17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

And John 14:23 (ESV),

23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Finally, the phrase "that day" is somewhat of a mistranslation, in my opinion.

The Greek phrase is simply τῆς ἡμέρας (tēs hēmeras), or "the day".

In any case, what is the "day" to which Jesus refers? It goes back to the cup He passed to them and what He said the cup represented, namely, the new covenant (and the relationship between Matthew 26:28 and Acts 2:38, with Luke 24:47 thrown in there for further reference and clarification).

The new covenant of the Kingdom of God Jesus spoke of was inaugurated in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost. There, the promise of the Father (Luke 24:39 with Acts 1:4, and Acts 2:33), which is to say, the gift of the Holy Spirit, was given.

"That day" is then Pentecost. And we know from Acts 2:42 that from that day forward, the disciples and those added to the church, fellowshipped or communed with one another daily, and as part of that fellowship, they "broke bread" together, that is, they shared in the communal meal, including the elements of bread and wine, celebrating the death of the Messiah as a memorial, just as Jesus enjoined them to do, for all that He had done for them.

Answer 5

What did Jesus mean by saying 'drink of the fruit of the vine' and 'new in the Kingdom of God'?

Mark 14:25

Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

This statement is very key to the New Creation Reality. It's a project embarked on by Christ to destroy the old nature and replace it with the new. This also brings solution to some religious misplacement regarding the Kingdom of God which happens to be the key message that Jesus Preached... "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand". The phrase 'at hand' can be represented as NEAR. Now the question is..., How near? The attention here is on the Kingdom of God.

Luke 11:20

But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

At this point, Jesus was the only one that fulfills the manifestation of the Kingdom of God;

Romans 14:17

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

At this point, no man has received the gift of righteousness.
2 Corinthians 5:21

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

At this point no man had peace with God;
Romans 5:1

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

At this point, no man had Joy in the Holy Ghost because the Comforter is not yet sent to men;
John 14:16

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

When is that day in the Kingdom of God? If you look back at the prophecy regarding when the Kingdom of God should come, the book of Daniel says, it was in the days of the kings... that means in this life!

Daniel 2:44

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

So, that simply means that the Kingdom of God will be set up in this life... not in the afterlife. It was to be set up in the days of these kings, the kings of the fourth monarchy, of which particular notice is taken (Luke 2:1), That Christ was born when, by the decree of the emperor of Rome, all the world was taxed, which was a plain indication that that empire had become as universal as any earthly empire ever was. When these kings are contesting with each other, and in all the struggles each of the contending parties hopes to find its own account, God will do his own work and fulfill his own counsels. These kings are all enemies to Christ's kingdom, and yet it shall be set up in defiance of them.

"I will not drink of the fruit of the Vine from now on until the Kingdom of God comes"

Then Jesus was crucified and dead. We all know the record of his resurrection.

General Sunday school teaches that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ justifies whosoever believes in Him to become the righteousness of God (2Cor. 5:21) That means man is now reconciled with God (Peace) and Joy in the Holy Ghost on Pentecost day when 120 people were filled with the Holy Ghost.

Now here is the catch. After his resurrection, he appeared to the disciples and ate and drank. Lk 24:41-43

Luke 24:41

⁴¹ And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? ⁴² And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. ⁴³ And he took it, and did eat before them.

"...until that day in the Kingdom of God"

The resurrection of Jesus ushers in the Kingdom of God. That fulfills the prophecy in the book of Daniel...

Luke 12:31

But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The Kingdom of God starts from the spiritual when you receive the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life. That gives you eternal life which is the ticket to immortality where death has lost its sting... and there shall be no death. That is what qualifies you to access the afterlife.

You cannot enter with mortality. 1 Corinthians 15:50

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

While in the flesh (corruption), we have access to the spiritual Kingdom of God. When this corruption is taken away, we can then inherit the Kingdom of God.

In summary to the subject, Jesus ate and drank again after his resurrection signifying that the Kingdom of God has been set up for men to enter.

Luke 16:16

The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

The Kingdom of God has been set up and all believers in Christ have been translated into it. If you believe that your sins have been forgiven, then you are already in the spiritual Kingdom of God because that is where we have redemption through his blood and the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Answer 6

Drink it in the Kingdom Whatever the alcoholic content of the wine, whatever the meaning of drinking it, and whatever the Kingdom referred to, or the time anticipated...we know that it was fulfilled by Jesus!!

Here is what the Apostle Peter told the inquirers at the house of Cornelius:

Him God raised up the third day, and showed Him openly, Not unto all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before by God, even to us, who did EAT and DRINK with Him (Jesus) after He arose from the dead. (Acts 10:40-41)

Jesus did drink after all the horrible, yet redemptive, events of the Passion week, just like He said He would...in the Kingdom. Recall that it was for 40 days after the Resurrection that Jesus stuck around and taught about the Kingdom (Acts 1:3). He was eminently qualified to do that...HE WAS ITS KING!

Bottoms up! Join in with the King and celebrate His coronation with Him!