Matthew 26:29

But I say unto you, I shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

Christ in this verse referred to the cup which he had just blessed as "the fruit of the vine"! That, of course, is what it was BEFORE he blessed it; and this is divine testimony to the fact that that is exactly what it was AFTER he blessed it: "the fruit of the vine." The superstition of the Dark Ages relative to transubstantiation founders upon this text. Does anyone actually believe that there are men on earth today who can do what Christ did not do, and who can bless the "fruit of the vine" in such a manner that it becomes the "actual blood" of Christ? Could their blessing in any way accomplish what the Lord's failed to accomplish?

When I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. Scholars have held this to mean that Christ will again partake of the Supper with his disciples only in the days of the "everlasting kingdom" (2 Peter 1:11), or that he will do so in a figure at the "marriage supper of the Lamb." It seems that both views overlook the fact that, in a sense, Christ always partakes of the Lord's Supper with his disciples, since "Where two or three are gathered together" in his name, Christ is spiritually present with them (Matthew 18:20).

Acceptance of the words in their obvious and literal sense is not merely possible but quite illuminating. Three conditions prerequisite to his partaking of the fruit of the vine with his disciples were spelled out: (1) it would be "new" wine; (2) it would be with his disciples; and (3) it would be "in" the kingdom. Perhaps this accounts for the fact that Christ refused the wine mingled with gall when he was crucified. In that case, (1) the wine was not new, (2) it was not with his disciples, and (3) the kingdom had not at that time been set up.