Who was Jesus talking to when he said he wouldn’t drink the fruit of the vine until the kingdom?

Matthew 26:29 reads, “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.”

It is necessary to first establish the meaning of the cup. On one occasion (Matthew 20:20-28) the mother of James and John asked that her sons sit on Jesus’ right and left hand in the kingdom.

Jesus then turned to the two apostles and asked, “Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ They say unto him, ‘We are able.’  And he saith unto them, ‘Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.’”

The cup then is a cup experience for the followers of Christ. They would be required to take up their cross and follow him to a life of self-denial and sacrifice. (See Romans 12: 1,2)

When Jesus said, “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,” the last phrase provides the time setting.

He was describing a new experience (a new cup) his faithful followers would share with him. They would live and reign with him in God’s Kingdom. Their future work would be to fulfill the promise made to Abraham of blessing all the families of the earth. (Genesis 12:3) They would raise the dead and establish God’s kingdom on earth. (Revelation 20:4-6)

No longer would their cup be a life of sacrifice and labor. It would be a “new” experience, one full of joy and fellowship with Christ, reigning from heaven. The work of Jesus’ Second Advent is to begin the work of establishing God’s kingdom on earth. His faithful followers are resurrected to be with him (as a bride with her new husband). So, when Jesus described a new cup, he was referring to the new work his followers would share with him in the kingdom.

To learn more about what it means to follow Jesus listen to, “Does Being a Christian Have to Be Difficult?”