Passion Sunday Drinking with Jesus in His Father’s Kingdom Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. In today’s Gospel, you heard Jesus give us His high and precious gift of Holy Communion. To this gift, Jesus attached a promise: “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Dear Christian friends, Jesus knew how to say the Word “wine” and He certainly could have used that Word in today’s Gospel. As He held a cup of wine in hand, Jesus could have said, “I will not drink again of this WINE until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” But Jesus did not say that. Jesus said, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” It might be helpful to think about why our Lord would choose to speak in this manner. A lot of your friends and neighbors have their answer. They will tell you that the Words, “fruit of the vine” indicate grape juice, rather than wine. They have only the best intentions for telling you this—they want to condemn your use of wine in the Holy Communion—but they might have rushed to their conclusion. Jesus declares in John chapter 15, “I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1). Is it not possible that Jesus would be using similar imagery here in today’s Gospel? Should we not think of the contents of the cup, not merely as wine, but as “the fruit of the vine,” that is, the highest and sweetest work accomplished by Christ the True Vine? After all, Jesus says here, “This is My blood,” as if to say, “This is My produce and My good fruit; this I yield for you, for your consumption, for your rejoicing, for your Life.” Elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel, fruit describes the works that people do, either good works or evil works. Thus says the Lord, “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16); and “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). Shall we not also know our Lord by His fruits, that is, the good work He does among us and for us? Who has produce better or richer fruit than Christ our True Vine? What work is higher or holier than His death upon the cross, where He shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins? Here in today’s Gospel, the fruit of Christ’s good work—“the fruit of the vine”—gets squeezed and poured into the communion chalice for us: “This is My blood… poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” By insisting that “fruit of the vine” means “grape juice,” our friends and neighbors might be missing out on an element of rejoicing or gaiety when it comes to the Holy Communion. This meal is certainly the proclamation of our Lord’s death (1 Corinthians 11:26), but it is also the Great Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14) and the Marriage Feast (Matthew 25:1-13)—or at least a foretaste of the feast to come. No wedding banquet was ever made more mirthful by the presence of grape juice. But the Scriptures say that “wine gladdens life” (Ecclesiastes 10:19) and “gladdens the heart of man” (Psalm 104:15). “Drink your wine with a merry heart,” says the Lord, “for God has already approved what you do” (Ecclesiastes 9:8). Our sin turns drinking into an act of selfishness and inebriation; Christ’s blood allows us to celebrate the feast in sincerity and truth—and rejoicing. “This is the feast! The victory of our God! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!” (LSB 155) Listen again to what Jesus promises do for us at His feast, with His blood, with the fruit His good work: “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Stated another way, “I will drink this fruit of the vine with you in My Father’s kingdom.” After saying this, Jesus then marched to His cross, where the Father’s kingdom was established for us and among us once and for all. At the cross, the kingdom comes. At the cross, all things become new. At the cross, the fruit of our Lord’s death and resurrection gets squeezed into the cup of the Holy Communion. “This is My blood… poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” At the cross, Jesus was both victim and priest, offering Himself for us. In a similar way, the Words “I drink it new with you” allow us to think that Jesus is not only our food and drink, but also our host and our fellow celebrant. Come, Christians, drink “the fruit of the vine” with Jesus in His kingdom. Rejoice and be glad! “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God” (Revelation 12:10). _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list Sermons@cat41.org http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
