Topics(s) Lord’s Supper; Bible Study, Worship
Todd Clippard
First, the statement made by Jesus was He would not drink it until he drank it with them in His Father’s kingdom (Matthew 26:26-29). This kingdom does not refer to heaven, but rather to the church.
The kingdom was preached as being “at hand” (near, close by, or soon to come) by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2) and also by Jesus (Matthew 4:17). Jesus said that some who were living at that time would not die until they saw the kingdom come with power (Matthew 16:28; Mark 9:1).
Jesus said He was going to build His church (Matthew 16:18). In the very next verse He referred to the church as the kingdom of heaven. The statements made about the kingdom in Matthew through John speak of the kingdom in the future tense. Statements made about the kingdom after Acts 2 refer to the kingdom as a present entity (Acts 8:12; Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 12:28; Revelations 1:9; etc). What happened in Acts 2 that caused the change? The church was established.
Although Christ is not physically present and partaking of the Lord’s Supper when the church observes it each first day of the week, He is present with us in the spiritual fellowship which takes place as we observe it.
Second, in the passage under consideration (Matthew 26:29), Jesus did not refer to drinking any kind of fruit of the vine(grapejuice, wine), but the Lord’s Supper in particular. Note He said, “I will not drink of this cup,” referring specifically to the cup of the Lord’s Supper.
Therefore, there is no contradiction between Jesus’ statement in Matthew 26:29 and His actions in John 19:30.
