The Time of the Coming Jesus made other statements indicating the nearness of the coming kingdom in addition to the proclamation that it was at hand. Once, speaking to a gathering of the multitudes with his disciples he said, Truly, I say to you, there be some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power. (Mark 9:1) Later, speaking only to the disciples at the Passover supper, he took up a cup, gave thanks and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. (Luke 22:18) Why? Why speak of the nearness of the coming kingdom in these particular ways? Our first thought is that Mark 9:1 simply indicates that the kingdom was to come before all of them died. But does this correspond with its being at hand? Hardly; furthermore, this would not have been gospel (good news) to those who were to die before the coming, which could be all of the multitude and disciples but two (some) and still validate the saying. And what a strange thing to say at the Passover feast! Why did he say it? Would not every eye surely see so great and important an event as the coming of the kingdom of God? What need of an indicator? And why that particular one, the drinking of the fruit of the vine? Some statement as to the time of the coming was clearly in order, since he knew during the Passover feast that he was soon to die. His entire ministry had been focussed on the nearness of the kingdom. If he doesn’t bring it – if he is to die before it appears – some explanation is required. But how does this help? The disciples must all have been bitterly disappointed immediately after his death, like the two on the road to Emmaus who said to the stranger in their midst, We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. These questions demand answers if we are to maintain faith in the words of Jesus. The earliest disciples desperately needed answers, and we do also because it’s been a long, long time. Luke 22:18 (see above) must be the focus of our attention here. Jesus, who had repeatedly taught his disciples that the kingdom was very near, knew that this common meal would be his last opportunity, prior to his death, to teach them. He must now, if ever, tell them the time! He takes up the cup and tells them, therefore, that he will no more drink the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. Now let us pursue the obvious and determine when he next drank of the fruit of the vine, if indeed he has yet imbibed. We must also look for any incident in which he refused or avoided such drink. Presumably they all went, except Judas, with Jesus from the upper room to Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives. There the disciples slept while Jesus agonized in prayer, sweating blood and saying, Father, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Luke 22:42) He went thrice during the night and found them sleeping, and twice returned to his prayer, saying, My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done. (Matt. 26:42). The last time he awakened them (sometime in the early morning) he said, Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand. (Matt. 26:46) For many years I understood Jesus’ use of cup during his prayer to refer to the bitter cup of his suffering that was just beginning. But if we examine this in the light of Luke 22:18, it takes on new meaning. During the Passover feast, introducing the saying about the coming of the kingdom, Luke first tells us that he took a cup. Then Matthew has him saying, in Gethsemane, If this cannot pass unless I drink it . . .. Could Jesus, in the upper room, have had in mind a particular cup containing a fruit of the vine that he was to drink on the morrow? And if so, this must also have weighed heavily on his mind during his hours of agonizing through the night, especially if he knew that the kingdom would come the very moment he drank from it. If this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done. (Mat. 26:42) They seized Jesus and brought him to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, where the elders and the scribes had gathered. There they sought testimony against him, condemned him, mocked him and beat him. It was near the end of this trial that Peter uttered his third and last denial and heard the cockcrow. It was daybreak. Jesus had been agonizing in prayer most of the night, had now been tried, condemned, mocked and beaten. But he had imbibed nothing. We are looking here at a very thirsty man, whose mouth, like cotton, was already fulfilling the Psalm: My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws. (Psalm 22:15) There followed three or four more hours of trials, interrogations, and abuse. Then they marched him off, probably bearing his own cross with some assistance, until they delivered him to be crucified at the third hour of the day, or about 9 am. He yet had naught to drink so that his thirst must have been most terrible.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 14:29:52 +0000
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