The Cup He Will Yet Drink

Introduction and Prayer for God's Blessing

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.

Recap: The First Two Cups of Our Lord

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. Amen. Amen. Amen.

4:19 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

4:19 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

4:19 Amen. Amen. In the first of those messages, we considered what I called the cup that our Lord drank. The cup that he wholeheartedly embraced in Gethsemane and drank upon Golgotha.

4:35 It was that cup to which he made reference when he came out of the garden of Gethsemane to be apprehended by the authorities. And he speaks of it in John 18 and verse 11. The cup which my father...

4:50 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, before which, the scripture says, 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. O Christ was full for thee. But thou hast drained the last dark drop.

5:54 Tis empty now for me. That bitter cup, love drank it up. 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 of blessing to us. Because it was the cup of cursing for him. And then we considered in the last time I was privileged to minister at the Lord's table the second of those three cups.

6:33 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.

6:52 23. We have the record of the cup of drunk wine which he refused to drink. 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.

7:14 He would not alleviate anything of his sufferings. 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 suffering.

7:51 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 broke upon him. But remember. He was actively both the offerer and the offering.

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.

8:50 And Leviticus. 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 truth be underscored. That he was fully engaged in the alert engagement of all the faculties of mind and of body.

9:30 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 refused the second. Give thanks that he took the cup presented by his father.

9:57 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.

10:15 The cup that he refused to drink tonight. I direct your meditation to Mark. Mark 14 and verse 25 as we consider the cup he shall yet drink.

The Special Solemnity of Christ's Words

10:31 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.

10:46 Until that day when I drink it new. In the kingdom of God. Amen. Immediately after the institution of the supper of remembrance.

10:58 Jesus heightens the attention of the disciples to what he is about to say. By introducing his words with the words verily. Amen. Truly.

11:13 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.

11:32 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. 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.

11:58 You've 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 handshake is not a lie. It's a reflection of the total disposition of the heart.

12:14 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 well what's he doing there. What's he.

13:01 I know. 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.

13:25 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.

13:33 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 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.

14:12 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.

14:28 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 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.

14:58 Saying verily I say amen lego truly most assuredly I who am all truth nothing but truth always integrity and uprightness and trustworthiness when I underline my own words 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. And now secondly having looked and considered the special solemnity of these words consider with me the simple significance.

The Simple Significance: What Christ Will Not Do

15:58 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 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.

16:57 A more literal rendering would be no more will I in any wise drink of this fruit of the vine 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 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 and here we have an assertion of what he will not do notice we dealing with verse 14 when the hour was come he sat down and the apostles with him and he said unto them with desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I.

18:03 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. 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.

18:33 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. 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.

20:00 It was the cup that celebrated the accomplishment. Of God's past redemption and look forward in faith to the future redemption 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. There is no celebration for me now there is.

21:04 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 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 when I drink it new in the kingdom of God here our Lord says that his self imposed abstinence.

The Simple Significance: What Christ Will Do

22:05 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 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.

22:44 Is he is pointing all the way down to the consummation of the messianic kingdom under the figure of 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.

23:18 You say how do you know that Pastor Martin 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. A drinking of the fruit of the vine new in the kingdom of God.

23:43 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.

24:00 The new in form or quality kynos. The new in reference to time. Now. Let me illustrate for you kids.

24:11 Maybe you don't like to be reminded that you had special little stuffed animals. My wife still has a whole bunch of them.

24:19 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 cold. It's all floppy-eared and threadbare and it's a mess.

24:44 And one day for his birthday, her birthday, mom or dad gets an exact replica of that original stuffed animal. That original teddy bear. And when he opens up the box and sees it, oh he jumps up for glee and the rest of it. My new teddy bear.

25:02 Well it's new in terms of time but not in terms of kind. It's a replica of the other teddy. 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 stuff. I will not drink 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.

26:02 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 the 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 present subjunctive.

26:35 I may be drinking or shall be drinking. It's new in the kingdom. It's going to be a perpetual feast. It will be an ongoing feast.

26:48 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.

27:08 And when we turn to the analogy of scripture, we have such text as Mark chapter 8 and Matthew chapter 8 in verse 11. And when we turn to the analogy of scripture, we have such text as Mark chapter 8 and Matthew chapter 8 in 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.

27:34 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.

28:07 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 of new covenant redemption, He says, Verily, this is pecuniary, 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.

29:16 I will drink it. But Matthew adds the words, Matthew more, 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.

Application: Christ's Resolute Commitment to the Cross

29:43 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. 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.

30:54 He states with this triple negative, celebration is over. I shall not any longer drink of the fruit of the vine. My blood is to be poured out for you. I am to lay down my life for many.

31:17 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, refused 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. His own unshakable confidence in the triumphs of His cross.

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

32:31 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. And we say dead men don't lie.

32:47 Yes, because dead men don't speak, and 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 vile and death, he says, I shall yet live. I will drink in a future date. I will be with you in my kingdom.

33:15 And you, of whom He's just said, you're going to forsake me. 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.

33:38 There isn't a smidgen of doubt. 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.

34:04 Everyone is 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 day. 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.

35:06 And no ifs, no ands, no buts, no commas. I'm going to pour out my blood to secure your consummate redemption. As we come to the table, dear folks, there's only one reason. 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 He lived, on whose behalf He died, who in Him both lived and died and rose again. And that salvation is indefectible. Christ manifests 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.

Application: Ground for Unquestioned Faith in Salvation

36:34 Here is the ground for our unquestioned faith 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 His 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, some would call this poem 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 next 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 all too much for me.

37:53 I don't know how I can be and do what a Christian's supposed to be and do. In the light of this text that we've looked at, listen to this very simple poem. Nothing, either great or small, nothing sinner, no. Jesus died and paid it all long, long ago.

38:16 When He from His lofty throne stooped in love to die, everything was fully done. Hearken to His cry. Weary, working, burdened one, wherefore toil ye so? See doing all was done long, long ago.

38:39 Till to Jesus' work you cling by a simple faith. Doing is a deadly thing. Doing ends in death. Cast your deadly doing down, down at Jesus' feet.

38:57 Stand in Him, in Him alone, gloriously complete. It is finished. Yes, indeed, finished. Every jot.

39:08 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 history. The essence of repentance begins when you say, Nothing, nothing in my hands I bring simply to thy cross.

39:40 You say, what a dangerous doctrine. My friends, that's the Gospel. To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness.

39:56 But you say, Pastor, doesn't the Bible say I must repent? Yes, repent of dead works. That's the beginning of repentance. 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.

40:16 Here is the ground for our unquestioned faith in the salvation procured by the cross. When Jesus, I say it reverently, sticks His neck out and says of this bunch, knowing what they have been and will be in the future, I shall drink at noon 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.

40:50 But remember, Christ is God incarnate and He broke the cumulative power of all the host of hell that would have piled up upon Him and kept Him in His tomb. But He broke the chains 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?

41:28 Christ can set you free. Sinner, are you bound? Christ can set you free. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil.

Conclusion and Prayer

41:44 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 ministered to us by Pastor Carlson, the solemn warning of our Lord Jesus will be hated to the world. Yes, those are realities. That's the word of God.

42:17 But you see, standing behind those darker sides of what it is to be a true Christian is Christ Himself, promising His succor, His grace, His power. And dear people of God, as we come to the table and we take our cup and we take our piece of bread, let's remember the words of Jesus, especially solemn words, verily, truly, most assuredly, I say, and because He refused to celebrate as He committed Himself to the cross, He is able to include us in His marvelous affirmation. He will drink it new with all of His own in the kingdom of His Father. And there the Lord Jesus will glorify Himself at the marriage feast when He presents us to Himself. How does it tell us in Ephesians 5?

43:23 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 with the dread of abandonment.

44:01 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, O strengthen the faith of Your people. Draw in sinners to so gracious and mighty a Savior.

44:36 O 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.