I remember hearing the word “until” repeatedly during my childhood. You don’t get any dessert until you eat your vegetables. You can’t go out to play until you clean your room. You can’t watch any TV until you finish your homework. Until always meant something was in the way of getting what I wanted. Something unpleasant was between me and my fun goal. If there were no until’s getting in the way, life would be smooth sailing.
I am sure you have had a few until’s in your life as well. You can’t do brain surgery until after you finish medical school! But far more likely is the silent until. You can’t do the laundry until after you change the diaper and feed the snack. You can’t spend time with your spouse until after picking up your child from their afterschool activity. You can’t plan a day away until after the season is over. Until’s seem to get in the way.
Jesus gives His disciples, and us by extension, a big until. He is at the final meal with His disciples. They have eaten this preparatory meal together in anticipation of the Passover meal the next day. There are tens of thousands who have flooded Jerusalem for this festival. Every space is filled with guests because the Passover must be eaten inside the city proper. You can’t get Passover as a takeout meal.
So the place Jesus has chosen for their meal was booked for the extra evening to ensure they had a place. They won’t need it for the Passover meal, since Jesus will be on the Cross and newly entombed by the time the meal would be eaten. They next 24 hours get rather busy for them as a group. There is late-night prayer meeting. The police are called and raid their prayer meeting. They haul Jesus away for questioning. There are a series of trials, all of which come to the politically correct conclusion that Jesus is dangerous and must be eliminated.
But as Jesus knows His next 24 hours, He gives His disciples an “until” to keep them through the dark hours ahead. He says that He won’t drink wine again until the kingdom of God is active and present.
This can only mean one thing as Jesus breathes His last. A day is coming for the disciples when Jesus will again share the cup with them. After the resurrection Jesus at with them, but we have no record of any drink being consumed. When Jesus returns, there will be a banquet for all who believe with beverages included. And Jesus will drink with us.
You see, until’s can also bring hope. They don’t just stop progress toward a goal, they can bring hope into a place where no hope seems to be possible. Until can be a bridge across time. Almost two thousand years have passed since Jesus told the disciples about the until of heaven. Time still waits for that moment. The disciples, and all who have died believing, are in Jesus’ presence enjoying the meal. When our time has run its course we will join them. But until that moment, we wait in anticipation of the union.
The Arnold Journey 