Meaning of fruit of the vine

[Anthony G. Peggs]

Hello my name is Anthony Peggs and i am an Antiochian Orthodox Christian in southern california, and my wife and i have been in The Church for a few years now, as well as our 16 month old son who got baptized last year. We come from a protestant backround, and sometimes old western thinking pops up out of nowhere, and trips me up. here's whats been having me bothered:

i know we believe that the Bread and Wine in The Holy Eucharist Truly become The
Actual Body and Actual Blood of Christ. i was just curious what our
Lord meant when He said He would no longer drink of
the "Fruit of the Vine" until He drinks it anew in His Fathers Kingdom,
and why does He say "Fruit of The Vine" when it is His Blood? i know
protestants use that verse against us to try and prove us wrong, and
they say this verse means it's only
natural wine, and of course they are wrong, and i'm sure their
understanding of that verse is wrong, but what is the true meaning of
that verse?

any help will be greatly appreciated since i'm driving myself crazy with worry trying to find an answer to this.

[Father David Moser]

. i was just curious what our
Lord meant when He said He would no longer drink of
the "Fruit of the Vine" until He drinks it anew in His Fathers Kingdom,
and why does He say "Fruit of The Vine" when it is His Blood? i know
protestants use that verse against us to try and prove us wrong, and
they say this verse means it's only
natural wine, and of course they are wrong, and i'm sure their
understanding of that verse is wrong, but what is the true meaning of
that verse?

At the risk of sounding too "sola scriptura" let me suggest that we allow Scripture itself to answer this question. Read carefully this account in Luke 22:14-20. There are two different events recorded here - first the eating of the meal and the wine with it after which our Lord says that He will not eat/drink until the kingdom of God come... Then after the meal He again takes the bread and takes the cup and gives it to them saying "this is my Body" "this is my Blood". The first food and drink are the meal they share after which our Lord does not eat until after the Resurrection. The second giving of bread and wine after the meal is the institutuion of the Mystery of the Body and Blood. Should your prot. friends continue to try and explain how this is a duality of expression common in Jewish literature - or some other excuse - then ask from whence this tradition of interpretation of scripture as "literature" comes, for it is certainly not expounded anywhere in Scripture.


Fr David Moser

[Anthony G. Peggs]

Bless Father,

thank you for your reply. ok i see how two events, and two Cups are reported in St. Luke's Gospel.

i'm curious, however, why in St. Matthew and St. Mark's Gospels is there only one Cup reported which Christ say's is His Blood, and then after that, He says He wouldn't drink of the fruit of the vine and so on, then in St. Luke's Gospel we have the two Cups where He say's fruit of the vine before The second Cup which He say's is His Blood?

i'm not trying to doubt The Holy Mystery, i'm simply just a little confused...........

[Father David Moser]

The four Gospels are complementary - where one will only mention certain significant parts of an event, another will include further details.

Fr David Moser