The Cup He Will Yet Drink

Introduction: The Three Cups of Our Lord

0:02 The following sermon was delivered on Sunday evening, May 4th, 1997, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:15 Now may I encourage you to turn in your Bibles with me to the Gospel according to Mark, the Gospel of Mark in chapter 14.

0:33 And I shall read in your hearing verses 22 through 25, Mark 14 beginning in verse 22. In the midst of that final Passover meal which our Lord Jesus had duly prepared for him and his disciples, we read, And as they were eating, he took bread. And when he had blessed, he broke it and gave to them and said, Take ye, this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave to them, and they all drank of it.

1:14 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many. Verily I say unto you, I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Now let us again pray and ask God by the Holy Spirit to shine upon the face of Christ. If the Apostle was unembarrassed to say, In writing to the Corinthians, I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling.

1:53 It's been four Lord's Days and five weeks since I stood in this pulpit, and I feel like a schoolchild saying his first poem before the class. And in my fear, I'm casting myself upon God, and I trust you will pray with me and for me that God may be pleased to bless his word to all of our hearts. Let us pray. Holy Father, God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the God who has promised that they who wait upon you shall renew their strength.

2:31 They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary and walk and not faint. Gracious God who spoke to your pleading servant Paul and said, My grace is sufficient for you. For my strength is made perfect in the midst of weakness.

2:53 We come to you thanking you that you've revealed yourself to be just such a God. And we thank you that how many soever are your promises that in Christ they are yes and through him they are amen to your glory. And upon you in the promises we now rest for grace to preach. And grace to hear shine upon the face of your beloved son by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

3:26 We plead in his worthy name. Amen. Now those of you who regularly attend upon this ministry will, I trust, remember that in the month of February at our communion service, I was privileged to begin a brief series of studies on the theme of, The Three Cups of Our Lord. This theme was suggested to me when I was reading through that lovely little recently published paperback by the Banner of Truth entitled, The Cross He Bore by a Mr. Leahy.

Review: The Cup He Drank and the Cup He Refused

4:07 And as that seed was sown and germinated in my own reflections and meditations, this brief series of communion meditations sprung forth in my own heart. And in the first of those messages, we considered what I call the cup that our Lord drank. The cup that he wholeheartedly embraced in Gethsemane and drank upon Golgotha. It was that cup to which he made reference when he came out of the garden of Gethsemane to be apprehended by the authorities.

4:44 And he speaks of it in John 18 and verse 11. And the cup which my father has given me, shall I not drink it? It was this cup that he drained in the horrors of the suffering and the darkness of Golgotha. Perhaps the most helpful summary of the significance of the cup before which he sweat, as it were, great drops of blood in Gethsemane.

5:15 Before which, the scripture says, Be. Being in an agony, he prayed the more earnestly, If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. I say, perhaps the most helpful summary of what was contained in that cup is found in the stanza of that marvelous hymn that points to the sufferings of Christ. O Christ, death and the curse were in our cup.

5:47 O Christ, it was full for Thee. But Thou hast drained the last dark drop. Tis empty now for me. That bitter cup, love drank it up.

6:00 Now blessings draft for me. And it is with reference to the communion cup that Paul, by the inspiration of the Spirit, can say in 1 Corinthians 10.16, the cup of blessing which we bless. It is a cup, a cup of blessing to us, because it was the cup of cursing for him.

6:26 And then we considered in the last time I was privileged to minister at the Lord's table the second of those three cups, and I entitled it The Cup Which Our Lord Resolutely Refused to Drink. Gethsemane points us to the cup he embraced and drank ultimately upon Golgotha, but in Matthew 27.34 and Mark 15.23 we have the record of the cup of drummed wine which he refused to drink.

7:00 This cup that was set forth as a merciful and pragmatic narcotic offered to those who were about to be executed. Our Lord Jesus refused to drink it. He would not alleviate anything of his sufferings. He would not alleviate anything of his sufferings.

7:19 He who counted it his joy to alleviate the pain and suffering of others would not alleviate the pain and suffering to which he was now to be subject as he was about to be impaled upon a Roman cross. And we saw in our study of the scriptures that the reason for this is not that our Lord had an unbiblical view of suffering and the legitimacy of using means to alleviate it, but he knew that it was only as he was fully conscious and totally engaged in all the faculties of mind and of body that he could experience the full weight of the wrath of God as he stood in our room instead. And not only did he refuse the cup that he might absorb all of the fountains of divine fury that brought him to life, but also that he could experience the full weight of the wrath of God as he stood in our room instead. And not only did he refuse the cup that he might absorb all of the fountains of divine fury that brought him to life, but also that he could experience the full weight of the wrath of God as he stood in our room instead. But remember, he was actively both the authorer and the authoring.

8:26 He was ministering as he was dying. The scripture says he has by the eternal spirit offered himself without spot unto God. And in those institutions that foreshadowed the work of Christ, God very clearly said, to Aaron and his sons in Leviticus 10 and verse 9, that when you come to do your priestly service, you shall drink no wine nor strong drink. Why?

9:01 When they were engaged in those sacred symbols of the Lamb of God who would bear away the sin of the world, when in their function as priests they were foreshadowings of our great high priest, it was necessary that this great, that he was fully engaged in the alert engagement of all the faculties of mind and of body when he offered himself up in the presence of his Father. And so this night, as we bless God that he willingly embraced and drank the first cup, we should give thanks that he resolutely, he refused the second cup. Give thanks that he took the cup presented by his Father, but refused the cup presented by the soldiers. And now in the moments that remain to us, let us consider tonight as we complete this series of studies on the cups of our Lord, having considered the cup that he drank, the cup that he refused to drink tonight, I direct your meditation to Mark 14 and verse 25,

The Special Solemnity of Christ's Words

10:24 as we consider the cup he shall yet drink. Note with me in the first place in our text, the special solemnity of these words. Verily I say unto you, I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new, in the kingdom of God. Immediately after the institution of the Supper of Remembrance, Jesus heightens the attention of the disciples to what he is about to say by introducing his words with the words verily, amen, truly, most assuredly. And those of you familiar with your Bibles know that at certain points throughout the Gospel records, we find the Lord introducing certain sayings with this verbal means of underscoring his own words. Let me try to illustrate what our Lord is doing. Imagine with me that you've received a letter from a very intimate, trusted, proven confidant and friend.

11:44 This is a man or a woman you've known perhaps for many, many years, two or three decades. And in all of that interaction, you have never known that person to seek to deceive you. You have never known that they've lied to you. There's been an utter transparency, when they smile and shake your hand, the smile and the hand-shake is not a lie.

12:09 It's a reflection of the total disposition of the heart. Such a trusted, proven friend. Do you have one, I hope you have one. I hope you have a handful.

12:23 Now, if that friend were to send you a letter, and you open the letter and eagerly begin to devour his words, as I did on Friday when I received a letter from one such friend as mine, my dear West Indian friend in London.

12:40 And as I sought to soak in every word, I didn't have the slightest reservation that what my beloved black Jonathan was writing to me was an honest diffusion of his mind and heart. I could trust every word. I had no reason to say, What's he doing there? I know.

13:02 No reason whatsoever to read any word, any phrase, any sentence with anything other than the utmost confidence that my brother was conveying the truth as he perceived it. But now suppose in reading that letter with that disposition, I found that my trusted friend himself, no one at the post office, not my wife who inadvertently opened the letter thinking it was to her, but he had taken a phrase and underlined it twice with his own pen. What would he be conveying to me? Not that everything else was untrue or tentative or insincere.

13:46 What my friend would be saying is, though everything I say to him, I say to you is true, and everything of my heart I convey to you in my words is trustworthy, I judge that this is of peculiar importance to you, and with my pen, speaking all words of truth and sincerity, I underline my own words. Now many of us can't read a book without a pencil in hand to underline. We are emphasizing for our sake, in our judgment, what of the author's mind embalmed in printer's ink is important to us, and that's our privilege. But we may be underlining something that in the author's mind is not of unusual significance. But when the author puts his own words in italics and capitals and in a larger font and underlines them, the author's saying to the reader, pay attention here if you ever pay attention anywhere. Now whenever you find in your Bible, Jesus, who is the embodiment of truth, saying, Verily I say, Amen, Lego, truly, most assuredly, I who am all truth, nothing but truth,

15:12 always integrity and uprightness and trustworthiness, when I underline my own words, literally, listen to me. They are words of special solemnity. And so as we meditate upon them, let the Lord Jesus' own underlinings create their own impress upon your mind and spirit. For this text begins with the special solemnity underscored by the Lord himself.

The Simple Significance: What He Will Not Do

15:50 And now secondly, having looked, and considered the special solemnity of these words, consider with me the simple significance of these words. And their significance is found in two basic units of thought obvious to anyone reading with half a mind to the text. First, there is an assertion of what he will not do. Verily I say unto you, I shall no more drink, of the fruit of the vine.

16:25 Now what our Lord is recorded as doing here is speaking with an emphatic triple negative. If you spoke in literal English this way, you kids would be corrected by saying that two negatives cancel one another. But it's one of the attractive things about some other languages that you can pile up negatives, and still be speaking sense and good grammar, and acceptable use of that language. A more literal rendering would be, no more will I in any wise drink of this fruit of the vine.

17:08 Or the fruit of the vine in Matthew's account, it is this fruit of the vine. Now he had already said something similar at the very beginning of the Passover, at the very beginning of the Passover feast, which they were celebrating, when well into that feast, he established the Lord's supper. Look at Luke 22 and verse 16. Luke 22 and verse 16.

17:43 And here we have an assertion of what he will not do. Notice we're dealing with verse 14. When the hour was come, he sat down and the apostles with him, and he said unto them, Desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I say unto you I shall not eat it until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And then we have the record of the institution of the special supper of remembrance.

18:18 So the Lord had already spoken in their hearing at the beginning of the Passover feast. And said I shall no more eat of this until I eat it new in the kingdom. And now he affirms in the hearing of his disciples as the capstone of the institution of the supper. He wants this truth of their looking forward to something that not only goes beyond all the spiritual significance of the Passover, but even the significance of this new supper of remembrance of a greater and more glorious redemption. And he says verily I say unto you I will in no wise drink of the fruit of the vine until I drink it new with you is Matthew's account in the kingdom of God or in the kingdom of my Father. Now what is our Lord saying in this assertion of what he will not do? Well according to those who have helped us to understand the local traditions that were set in place at the time of our Lord in terms of keeping the details of the Passover.

19:43 There were usually four cups of wine. And most likely our Lord instituted the supper of remembrance in conjunction with the third cup of wine. The fourth was the cup of blessing. It was the cup that celebrated the accomplishment of God's past redemption and looked forward in faith to the future redemption.

20:13 But before that fourth cup our Lord says in language that is definitive I will no more you Greek students he uses an aorist subjunctive I will no more drink. Definitive statement no more drink of the fruit of the vine. You and others may go on in celebration of the past deliverance but I have just told you in giving you this cup with its new significance and this bread with its new significance I have told you my body will be given for you in a violent death. My blood will be poured out.

20:57 There is no celebration for me now. There is darkness and abandonment and dereliction and the abyss. I shall no more no more will I in any wise drink of the fruit of the vine. There is no celebration for me until there is crucifixion.

21:27 No celebration abandonment and dereliction await me. The simple significance of the words comprised of an assertion of what he will not do but then notice we have an affirmation of what he will do. I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine blessed until until that day that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Here our Lord says that his self-imposed abstinence from the commemorative feasting is only for a specified period of time. Yes he is dogmatic the assertion of what he will not do I no more in any wise will drink until until until he says until I drink it new in the kingdom of God in Matthew's account in my father's kingdom. And what is the significance of these words? Well what our Lord is doing is he is pointing all the way down to the consummation of the messianic kingdom under the figure of a messianic king.

The Simple Significance: What He Will Do

22:52 A messianic feast. He is not speaking of the kingdom coming in power by the spirit on the day of Pentecost and of his spiritual presence with his disciples in all of their life in all of their gatherings and in a special way when they gather to the supper of remembrance that is a blessed truth. But our Lord is not referring to that here. You say how do you know that Pastor Martin?

23:19 Well for two reasons. First of all we know it from the precise grammar in the text itself and then secondly from the analogy of scripture. Notice the quality of this feast. It is called a drinking of the fruit of the vine new in the kingdom of God.

23:44 And there are two basic words in the Greek language for new. One that most frequently refers to new in time and the other to new as to form or to quality. The new in form or quality kainos the new in reference to time neos. Let me illustrate for you kids.

24:10 Maybe you don't like to be reminded that you had special little stuffed animals. My wife still has a whole bunch of them. She's got all her bears and her bunnies all over the house. And I have to admit I kind of like seeing them there as well.

24:27 Now here's a kid who's had a favorite stuffed animal. It's his special little brown teddy bear. And he takes it to bed with him and he drags it out when he plays outside until the thing gets all floppy-eared and threadbare and it's a mess. And one day for his birthday her birthday mom or dad gets an exact replica of that original stuffed animal that original teddy bear.

24:56 And when he opens up the box and sees it oh he jumps up for glee and the rest is it my new teddy bear. Well it's new in terms of time but not in terms of kind. It's a replica of the other teddy bear. But a birthday later when he sees some kid in the neighborhood had a lovely panda bear and he dropped little hints mom and dad get him a panda bear and now he jumps with glee and says oh my new stuffed animal.

25:25 That's new as to kind or to quality. Now what our Lord says here I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine not until I drink this fruit of the vine referring to some literal drinking of the fruit of the vine but drink it new in terms of the quality in terms of its form. It will be a new drinking in the messianic feast of the consummate glories of redemptive privilege and experience. It will be new as to quality and also the precise grammar points to this as to its duration. Look at the text when our Lord says I will no more in any wise drink of this fruit of the vine a form of a verb is used that speaks of drinking once for all. But he says until I and we have a present tense form of that verb a presence of jumping I may be drinking or shall be drinking it new in the kingdom. It's going to be a perpetual feast.

26:45 It will be an ongoing feast. It will be an unending feast. New as to form or quality duration continuous. And when we turn to the analogy of scripture we have such text as Mark chapter 8 and Matthew chapter 8 in verse 11.

27:09 Matthew 8 and verse 11 where our Lord states in terms unmistakable I say unto you that many shall come from the east and the west and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. And the word for sit down means to recline at table our Lord's describing a vast banquet hall. And he says in the banquet hall as guests will be Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the consummate glory of the kingdom. And they shall come from east and west and sit down with Abraham and Isaac in that kingdom. He's pointing to the kingdom in its consummate glory under the image of a messianic banquet and feast. And in the passage read in our hearing by Pastor Carlson in that beautiful picture of the marriage supper of the Lamb we turn back in the book of the Revelation and the picture of the redeemed is that of those out of every kindred tribe and tongue and nation a multitude whom no man can number. And here our Lord is saying after instituting this new celebration of remembrance

28:34 of new covenant redemption he says verily this is peculiarly solemn I don't want you to forget it that I will not again drink of this fruit of the vine until I drink it new in the kingdom of my Father. Now note the comprehensive emphasis when we bring Matthew and Mark together. Matthew, Mark tells us that our Lord says I drink it new with you I will be the host and the honored guest I will drink it. But Matthew adds the words I will drink it with you I cannot conceive of my drinking of that cup as the host and the honored guest without you for whom I am about to shed my blood. This is my body which is given for you this is my blood which is poured out for many verily I say unto you I will no more drink of this fruit of the vine until I drink it with you in the kingdom of heaven.

Application: Christ's Resolute Commitment to the Cross

30:02 Well having sought to underscore the special solemnity of these words the simple significance of the words in closing as we come to the table of remembrance letting our Lord's own closing words ring in our ears what ought we to be calling to remembrance as we come to the table tonight. Well let me highlight just three very simple lines of thought that I trust the Spirit of God will bless to our heart. First see in these words our Lord's resolute commitment to the suffering of the cross. See His resolute commitment to the suffering of the cross. He states with this triple negative celebration is over. I shall not any longer drink of the fruit of the vine.

31:08 My blood is to be poured out for you. I am to lay down my life for many. Here our Lord indicates there was a resolute unmovable commitment of His whole soul to the work of our salvation. As we take the cup as we break the bread as we eat and as we drink remember there would be no bread broken in remembrance of Him no cup to drink in remembrance of Him had He not embraced His own cup of suffering. Refuse to alleviate that suffering with the cup of drugged wine. And we are able to anticipate the cup that He shall drink with us His people because of His resolute commitment to the suffering of the cross. And then consider secondly His unshakable confidence in the triumphs of His cross.

Application: Christ's Unshakable Confidence in the Triumphs of His Cross

32:24 His own unshakable confidence in the triumphs of His cross. Look at the passage He had just said this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many. When a man's blood is poured out he's dead. We said dead men don't lie.

32:47 Yes because dead men don't speak. Dead men don't breathe and dead men don't eat and dead men don't drink. But a man who's just said my blood will be poured out in a vial in death he says I shall yet live I will drink in a future date. I will be with you in my kingdom and you of whom He's just said you're going to forsake me.

33:21 You're going to all flee strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. He just said to one of those before the rooster crows three times you're going to deny me. Yet He says this is the bunch that will be with Him in the kingdom. There isn't a smidgen of doubt.

33:42 He doesn't go to the cross hoping wishing wondering. He goes to the cross in the confidence that the Father's covenant engagement must be fulfilled. He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. Everyone in whose room and place He would pour out His blood will in due time be effectually called by the Spirit set apart unto God washed and cleansed justified made a new man or woman in Christ kept through all the dangers of His earthly pilgrimage and brought home at last into His presence for He said I came down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of Him that sent Me and this is the will of Him that sent Me that of all that He has given Me I should lose nothing but raise it up at the last I shall drink it new in My Father's kingdom with you how could our Lord have made more certain their security I'm going to drink it with you and no ifs no ands no buts

35:10 no commas I'm going to pour out My blood to secure your consummate redemption as we come to the table dear folks there is only one thing that I want to say to you if we are true believers and we have been brought into the way of faith and repentance and sit rejoicing in the knowledge of sins forgiven accepted in the beloved it's because of the commitments of a Triune God to save all for whom the Savior came down from heaven for whom both lived and died and rose again and that salvation is indefectible Christ manifest in these words his unshakable confidence in the triumphs of the cross and then thirdly not only see in these words his resolute commitment to the sufferings of the cross his unshakable confidence in the triumphs of his cross but see in these words the ground for our unquestioned faith in the salvation procured by the cross here is the ground for our unquestioned faith

Application: The Ground for Our Unquestioned Faith

36:38 in the salvation procured in the cross our Lord Jesus procured a full complete salvation that takes the sons of the kingdom of darkness and brings them to sit at the messianic banquet table and hear me my unconverted friend once you commit yourself into the hands of such a savior he is committed in all the perfection of his work and in all of the plenitude of his power to bring you to sit with him to drink with him in the kingdom I found just today in a piece of literature handed to me this very simple poem called doggerel but it's good gospel doggerel if it's doggerel and my dear unconverted friend man woman boy or girl could it be that here is the very nexus the very nub of your problem you've heard the gospel and you know the expansiveness of the duty of believers and the struggles and trials and you say it's not what you should be and do in the light of this text that we've looked at listen to this

38:07 very simple poem nothing either great or small nothing sinner no Jesus died and paid it all long long ago when he from his lofty throne stooped in love to die weary working burdened one wherefore toil ye so see doing all was done long long ago till to Jesus work you cling by a simple faith doing is a deadly thing doing ends in death cast your deadly doing down in him in him alone gloriously complete it is finished yes indeed finished every jot sinner this is all you need tell me is it not open up your bible and find one text that says your doing adds anything to your life you say nothing nothing

39:35 in my hands I bring simply to thy cross you say what a dangerous doctrine my friends that's the gospel to him that work is not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness but you say nothing and when you realize that God in Christ extends his mercy without asking you to lift a finger to earn his favor it'll break your heart and make your sins odious and vile here is the ground for our unquestioned faith in the salvation procured by the cross they shall drink it new with you in the kingdom and you're going to be there because I've committed myself to get you there my friend your bondage to this and that sin is real but remember Christ is God incarnate and he broke the

41:00 cumulative power of all the host of hell not for himself alone to be vindicated but he broke the chains for all who were in him and with him by representation and substitution and when you throw yourself upon Jesus the virtue of his mighty power will be yours sinner are you bound Christ can set you free if God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil throw yourself upon the mighty deliverer and you will find as we have found he is more than faithful to his word and dear people of God amidst the sober realities we heard this morning the searching words of Owen will be hated of the world yes those are realities that's the word of God but you see standing behind those darker sides of what

42:29 it is to be a true Christian is Christ himself promising his succor his grace his honour his influence his narrowness his kindness his grace his brotherhood and his Lord Jesus forever and ever forever he will ever always be in мы always will be with during this time always with in in and many days in two years he will be given praise if I'm himself at the marriage feast when he presents us to himself how does it tell us in Ephesians 5 without spot or wrinkle or any such and he will never rest till he's got us all there let's pray Lord Jesus we thank you for your thirst for our salvation a thirst that caused you to embrace the bitter cup foaming with the wrath of your father that cup bitter

43:58 with the dregs of abandonment thank you for the cup you refused that you would not have any of your senses dulled while you actively offered up yourself on our behalf thank you for the pledge of the cup we shall yet drink Lord Jesus we are thirsty to drink it with you but we thank you for your commitment to bring us to that banquet table oh strengthen the faith of your people draw in sinners to so gracious and mighty a savior oh God seal your word to the blessing of all who are present and to the praise of our dear Lord Jesus Christ we ask in his name Amen