Matthew 26:29
But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
The words were spoken at the sacramental service while they were eating, at the Passover and final meal shared with the disciples before going to the garden of Gethsemane where prayer was often made, and before the betrayal. They came after bread had been given as the body and the cup as the blood, at the institution of the Lord's Supper. The bread and the cup are emblems of the broken body and spilled blood, given in the very presence of the Lamb of God. The cup is a symbol of the work for salvation, as blood of the New Testament shed for many for the remission of sins, to be taken in remembrance.
The unleavened bread and unfermented wine represent the unblemished sacrifice, since fermentation symbolizes sin and death and corrupted wine could not represent the sinless Lamb. Judas the betrayer was present, though known as a betrayer, and still was allowed to partake. He received the emblems and heard the call to remembrance while brooding upon dark purposes and cherishing sullen, revengeful thoughts. That treatment showed patience and offered opportunity to receive Christ, repent, and be cleansed from sin, teaching that those believed to be in error or sin should not be abandoned.
The promise was that there would be no drinking henceforth of the fruit of the vine until the day of drinking it new with the disciples in the Father's kingdom, promising reunion, future fellowship, and sitting with Him in His kingdom. That future sitting and sharing is presented as a future scene for which the emblems of broken body and shed blood are now partaken with preparation. The communion service and cup point forward to the return and second coming and were designed to keep that hope vivid, giving the Supper an outlook toward His return. The promise comforted sorrow at parting, comforts believers in tribulation, and makes the return unspeakably precious whenever they meet to commemorate the death and recount the promise.
The service was instituted to speak to the senses of the love of God expressed for humanity and to keep the constraining power of the love of Jesus fresh in memory. There is no union between souls and God except through Christ, and the union and love between brethren is cemented and made eternal by the love of Jesus. Nothing less than the death of Christ could make His love efficacious, and only because of His death can believers look with joy to His second coming. His sacrifice is the center of hope, upon which faith must be fixed.
While pride, variance, and strife for supremacy are cherished the heart cannot enter fellowship with God and is not prepared to receive the communion of the body and blood. Therefore the memorial of humiliation is first observed as preparation for the sacramental supper. Before the emblems are taken every difference between brother and brother must be removed, the heart cleansed from evil thoughts, and misunderstandings swept away, so the service is entered with true appreciation. The verse belongs to Scripture associated with a vivid portrayal of sacrifice and suffering, recalling the betrayal, trial, and crucifixion that followed, drawing a parallel between the hostility directed at Jesus and the mob spirit stirred against reformers.