Church Order: Worship, Sacraments, and the Lord's Supper

The Lord's Supper - Part 10

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Church Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2006-04-02

Synopsis: In this concluding message on the Lord's Supper, John Weaver argues for the necessity of using wine in the ordinance by showing how the Old Testament prohibitions against wine for Nazirites and priests were types pointing to the inadequacy of the old covenant and the lack of true rest. He explains that the inclusion of wine in the Lord's Supper declares that in Christ the true Sabbath has come, His work is finished, and believers may now safely relax in His completed redemption.

[John Weaver] The message you are about to hear was produced by Dominion Ministry. If you would like to support this ministry by becoming a sermon partner or obtain additional high-resolution CDs, DVDs, or MP3s featuring the teaching of Pastor John Weber, please visit the Dominion Ministry website at www.dominion.org. www.dominionministry.com. This ministry is completely supported by donations and it is through those donations that we are able to provide sermons for sermonaudio.com. Please visit our website at www.dominionministry.com to subscribe or make your donation today. Thank you. This is message number 10, and it's the end of this series dealing with the Lord's Supper.

[John Weaver] And let's begin reading with Numbers chapter 6, beginning there with verse 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine or strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head, until the days be fulfilled in the which he separated himself unto the Lord. He shall be holy." and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separated himself unto the Lord, he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, or for his brother, or for his sister, when they die, because the consecration of his God is upon his head.

[John Weaver] All the days of his separation, he is holy unto the Lord." Now, we've been looking at the Lord's Supper for the past nine weeks. And we've looked at the names, the significance, the partakers, the reproof, and for the last several weeks we've been looking at the elements. And certainly, as I pointed out, there is no discussion when it comes to the bread, because very obviously it is unleavened bread.

[John Weaver] And when we discussed the liquid in the cup, I asserted that I believed that it was normally wine, but that it should be wine, and that when our Lord used the expression the fruit of the vine in Luke 22, that it was a metonymy where the matter or the substance of a thing was put for the thing itself. I showed you numerous metonymies in the Bible, the fruit of the body, the fruit of the loins, where brass was substituted for heavy chains, etc., and then of course where fir trees were substituted for lances and spheres. I also pointed out the distinction between the social use and the religious use of wine. The social use certainly fell under the matter of liberty, but the ceremonial or religious or ecclesiastical use of wine, there was no liberty there because like in Leviticus 23, Numbers chapter 15, God demanded wine with the sacrifices. Then we looked at wine, its condemnation and its commendation in the Bible.

[John Weaver] And please remember that when I presented both sides, I'm trying to show you everything that the Word of God says about the subject. That means this. That means that you cannot pit one scripture against another. You cannot hold one scripture above another. You must take the entirety of God's Word and bow to it. The biblical position that we came to was this. We must view wine or any alcohol as the gift and blessing of God as long as it is used in the way that God commanded and God commended, while at the same time we must despise and detest any misuse and abuse of it because God condemns that in the scripture. And then I pointed out how that really and truly only God's people can enjoy or appreciate anything and everything that God has given us, because the Bible does say that all things is ours.

[John Weaver] Now, last week I tried to deal mainly with some of the objections and questions, and one of the main points I made was how we have become literally filled with paganistic Greek philosophy because it is that Greek philosophy that asserts a dichotomy between matter and spirit. And it is pagan philosophy that tries to say that matter somehow is inherently evil in and of itself. Let me repeat what I said last week. Matter is not evil in and of itself. Evil resides in the heart of man, not in anything material. By the way, it is the same paganistic Greek philosophy that tries to say that there is a difference between the secular and the sacred. For the child of God, there is no division between the secular and the sacred. For the child of God, everything is sacred.

[John Weaver] You remember what the Bible says, whether therefore you eat or whether you drink, or whatever you do, do what? All to the honor and glory of God. So there is no division between the secular and the sacred for the child of God.

[John Weaver] Now, then I dealt with the weaker brother and showed you in the context of Romans 14 and in the context of 1 Corinthians chapter 8, the weaker brother was not someone who had a propensity to drink. The weaker brother was someone who would not touch it at all. because of a misconception where he thought that somehow that matter was evil in and of itself, or that somehow an idol had some influence upon meat.

[John Weaver] And then I pointed out the word stumble. Skandalon was the Greek word. And you only cause a brother to stumble when you encourage him to do what you are doing when he does not have your knowledge. I went through and tried to show you the biblical understanding of the word offend. So to offend a weaker brother means that you encourage him to do what you're doing without him having your knowledge.

[John Weaver] And that's when he sins against his weak conscience, the Bible says. And, of course, when we cause him to do that, we sin against God ourselves. So the weaker brother then was dealt with. And then, of course, I closed with dealing with the Rechabites there. in the book of Jeremiah showing how very clearly the vow that Jonadab placed upon his descendants did not affect us at all.

[John Weaver] Now, today I am going to deal still with this same concept and show you why I believe there is an absolute necessity of using wine in the Lord's Supper. I just read from Numbers chapter 6 dealing with the Nazarite's vow. I don't know if you've ever thought about this or not, or have ever wondered about it, or have even asked yourself this question. Why was the Nazarite forbidden wine or anything from a grape as long as he had that vow upon him?

[John Weaver] Let me ask you this. Have you ever considered and have you ever wondered why the priests were not allowed the use of wine as they ministered to God in the tabernacle and in the temple, although wine was involved in the sacrifices. Why were the priests forbidden the use of wine as they went about their daily tasks in the temple?

[John Weaver] Now, let me just remind you that the Old Testament, basically speaking, is a picture book. What it does is it draws out very clearly truths and places them in living color before our eyes. Unhappily, most people are colorblind and they can't see the truth no matter how plainly or how beautifully it is pictured or painted. So you've got to ask yourself this question. What in the world does the Nazirite vow have to do with using wine in the Lord's Supper? And what in the world does the abstinence of the priest using wine during their service of the tabernacle and the temple have to do with using wine in the Lord's Supper? Well, I believe as we look at this, it will give us a very clear explanation. Now, if you would look in verse 2, God says in Numbers chapter 6, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves, shall separate themselves to vow of vow of a Nazirite.

[John Weaver] Look at the word Nazirite. The word Nazirite is Nazir, N-A-Z-I-R in the Hebrew. And it literally means separated or consecrated. So the very word Nazirite then means separated or consecrated. Now, look if you would please in verse 2 again. speaking to the children of Israel, and saying to them, when either man or woman shall separate themselves, deval vava Nazarite, to separate themselves, what? Unto the Lord." Now look in verse 8.

[John Weaver] All the days of His separation He is holy, what? Unto the Lord. So this particular vow then was someone setting themselves apart to fulfill a certain function to the Lord And in other words, he was holy unto the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, there are four main passages in the Bible that teach about Nazarites. There are Judges 13, verses 5 through 7, Judges 16, verse 17, Numbers chapter 6, and Amos 2, verses 11 and 12.

[John Weaver] Now, let's ask a very simple question. Who in the world was a Nazarite? Well, a Nazirite was nothing more than an Israelite who had taken a special vow for a limited period of time and had consequently had become a special temporary priest.

[John Weaver] Now let me say that again. A Nazirite was nothing less than an Israelite who had taken a vow and had become a special temporary priest and, as we just read, was separated unto the Lord. Now, the Nazirite vow could be taken any time, but it was especially taken during the time of war. If you would look in your Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter 5, you are going to see a song of Deborah and Barak as God, of course, gave them victory over their enemies. But I want you to look at verse 2 because there is an alternate reading.

[John Weaver] Some of you may have it in your marginal readings in your Bible, but here it is. Judges 5, verse 1, Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on the day, saying, Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. Now note that, for the avenging of Israel were the people willingly offered themselves. Some Hebrew scholars translate that as this, that long locks of hair hung loose in Israel that the people volunteered, bless the Lord. That long locks of hair hung loose in Israel, in other words, it was a reference then to the soldiers who had taken a Nazirite Now it should be noteworthy that in the book of Numbers chapter 6 and verse 2 that either a man or a woman could take an Azorite vow. But nowhere in scripture is there an illustration of a woman taking an Azorite vow. But the Bible says when either man or woman shall separate themselves.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm not sitting here telling you that there were no women's rights whatsoever. I don't know. All I am saying is there is no illustration of one given to us in the Bible. You've got to remember that according to Numbers chapter 30, there were certain limitations placed upon women and their vows. For instance, If a woman uttered a vow and her father heard it, he could disannul her vow. If a woman uttered a vow and her husband heard it, he could disannul her vow. In other words, the woman could not take the vow apart from her head, her father, or her husband. So there were limitations placed upon the vows that women were able to take. Now as you look back in In the book of Numbers, chapter 6, there are three main stipulations placed upon the Nazirite vow.

[John Weaver] First of all, number 1, in verses 3 and 4, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine or vinegar of strong drink, Neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, nor dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk." So you can say no wine, no alcoholic beverage whatsoever, nothing even from grapes, no grape juice, no grape, no grape husk, nothing. So that was the first stipulation.

[John Weaver] The second one is found in verse 5, no razor was to touch his head. All the days of the vow of his separation, there shall no razor come upon his head until the days be fulfilled in which he separated himself from the Lord. He shall be holy and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. So if you took a Nazirite vow, no whining, no shaving the head, no trimming the head whatsoever. And then of course, in verses 6-8, He was not to touch a dead body. All the days that he separated himself from the Lord, he shall covet no dead body. It doesn't matter if it's father, mother, brother, sister, he cannot touch any dead body. Now, there was no time limit given for a Nazirite vow. Tradition says that usually it was about 30 days, sometimes 60 or 90 at the most, but there was no time limit set.

[John Weaver] So a man could take a vow for a year or two years if he chose. However, if you look at Numbers chapter 6, if he violated one of these three stipulations, he had to offer an offering and then start all over. Look at it in verse 9, And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration, then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing. On the seventh day shall he shave it, and on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him. for that he is sinned by the dead, and shall howl at his head that same day. Now look, and he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and he shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering, but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.

[John Weaver] So if he touched a dead body, or if a razor came to his head, or if he touched anything from a grape, or any type of wine or alcohol, that was over. In other words, he had then to make an offering and start all over again. By the way, as far as I can tell, in all the years that I've studied the scripture, there have been only three life-long Nazarites in the Bible.

[John Weaver] They were Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist. Jesus Christ was not a Nazarite. He was a Nazarene. He was from the town of Nazareth. There's a difference between a Nazarene and a Nazirite.

[John Weaver] Now, let's take this prohibition against the use of wine or alcohol. A Nazirite was considered to be a special temporary priest. He had taken a vow to perform some special sacred service, and therefore he was precluded from drinking wine during that time, as were all priests, if you will look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus, chapter 10. Leviticus, chapter 10. And notice, if you would please, verses 8 through 10. Leviticus 10, verse 8.

[John Weaver] And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine, nor strong drink, thou nor thy sons with thee, When you go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest you die, it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, and that you may put a difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses."

[John Weaver] Now, verse 10 tells us specifically why this prohibition was laid down. Number one, that the priest's judgment would not be clouded, that he could tell the difference between the holy and the unholy, the unclean and the clean, and that he might make sure that he was capable and able of teaching all the statutes that the Lord had given unto him.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask this question. It's going to pop into your minds. Why then does God prohibit the priests from having wine during his service in the tabernacle later on in the temple, even though wine was used in the sacrifices. Here's why. It is not that the wine was unclean, for God certainly used that in his sacrifices. It is because men are unholy and unclean. And because of that fact, listen carefully, under the old covenant, they could not relax with alcohol in the presence of God.

[John Weaver] Now some have suggested that the deaths of Nadab and Abihu were related to this. If you look in Leviticus 10 in verse 1, And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." Well, this is when God killed Nadab and Abihu, who were the sons of Aaron. And Moses now comes to Aaron and says, don't you mourn for them. This is what God has done and then you come down to verse 8 and 9 and he says you're to drink no wine.

[John Weaver] Now it could be that these boys were drunken. I don't know that. It could be that they were well-soused. I don't know that. The Bible doesn't say. What the Bible does say is they offered strange fire before the Lord. There could have been something to do with alcohol in the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. I don't know. The Bible does not make that clear. But the Bible also tells you, if you'll look in verse 24 of Leviticus 9, when that altar was set up, and there came a fire out from before the Lord and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering, the fat.

[John Weaver] And when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Let me ask you a question. Who was it that started the fire on that altar? God Himself did. Did you know that there were specific commands, even back in Leviticus 6 verses 9 through 13, that that fire was never, ever to go out? The fire was never, ever to go out.

[John Weaver] Now, why in the world? Because God is the one who started that fire. God is the one who initiated, and the priests, therefore, were under direct command from God not to let that fire go out. Why did they let it go out? I don't know. Maybe it was because they were drinking. Maybe it was because they were just simply unattended. I don't know. But the one thing for sure, when they tried to start the fire themselves, God killed them. God put them to death.

[John Weaver] Now, ask yourself this question. Why then were the priests forbidden the use of wine or alcohol as they ministered in the presence of God? You say, Brother Weaver, you've already answered that because God wanted to make sure they put a difference between the holy and the unholy, the clean and the unclean. But there's another answer. Let me give it to you, and I'm going to show it to you from the Bible. The reason God forbade the priests to use wine as they served him in the tabernacle and in the temple was to demonstrate the fact that the Aaronic priesthood was inadequate and that the true Sabbath had not yet come.

[John Weaver] Now think about that just for a moment. Why were they forbidden the use of wine? Number one, that the Aaronic priesthood was inadequate. And number two, that the real Sabbath had not yet come.

[John Weaver] Now, do you realize that one of the most important tasks of the priesthood in the Old Testament was to exclude Israel from God and to guard his holy place from defilement? Do you remember what happened in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 19 when God came down and God spoke there? What did the people say? They said to Moses, speak thou to us and we will hear, but let not God speak to us lest we die. Now, the principle, therefore, was carried over into the priesthood.

[John Weaver] So the priests then were mediators, they were go-betweens. What did the priests do? The priests represented God to the people and represented the people to God. In other words, the people didn't have to do what the priests were able to do. And the priests then represented the people to God. And as you know, Only the high priest could go into the holiest of all, and he was only able to go in how many times?

[John Weaver] Once a year, and that not without the shedding of blood. He had to have blood as he went. So the priest then, although he was a mediator, and although he may have been a descendant of Aaron, he was still inadequate to do what needed to be done. The Nazarite, when he took his vow, had to abstain from wine just exactly the way the priest had to abstain. Why? The Bible is telling us that the Nazarite had a holy task to perform, listen carefully, and he was not to relax, nor to rest, nor to enjoy the Sabbath of wine until His vow was over.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 25. Let me try to set the stage for you. You see, grapes were forbidden the Nazarite the same way that wine or alcohol was forbidden to the Nazarite. I want you to look what God says. And the Lord spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord. Now wait. God tells the children of Israel, When you get into the land, then you shall allow the land to keep a sabbath to the Lord. Verse 3.

[John Weaver] Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof. But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest in the land, a sabbath for the Lord. Thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard."

[John Weaver] Now look at verse 5. That which groweth of its own accord of the harvest thou shalt not reap. Neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed, For it is a year of rest unto the land. Now, skip down, if you would please, to verse 11. He now talks about the year of Jubilee. I'll explain this in just a moment. A Jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you. You shall not sow, neither reap that which growth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it by vine undressed. When the children of Israel got in the land, every six years they were able to reap the fruit of the land. But on the seventh year, the land rested.

[John Weaver] And God specifically said, you're not to prune your grapevines. He talks about the vine undressed. The year of Jubilee was the 50th year, seven times seven, 49. and then 49 was a sabbatical year and then the 50th year was a year of jubilee, it too was a sabbatical year. Once again he talks about the vine undressed.

[John Weaver] Now the interesting thing is this, I want you to look, some of you have marginal references in your Bible. If you do, look in your marginal references because in verse 5 and in verse 11, When it talks about the vine undressed, some of you may have a vine of thy separation or the vine of thy consecration as an alternate reading. You know why? Let me tell you why.

[John Weaver] Because the Hebrew word for undressed is Nazir, N-A-Z-I-R, the same exact word In other words, the grapevines growing wildly everywhere during the sabbatical year were like the hair or the locks of the hair of the Nazarites that grew long untrimmed. And just like the Nazarites, locks were separated unto God. So God says these grapevines, these vines undressed, are separated, they're consecrated, they're mined. You can't cut them. You can't prune them. So now you have the word separated and consecrated in reference to grapevines as well as in reference to the Nazirite. Both were separated from trimming.

[John Weaver] I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers, chapter 13. I'm sure that you would remember this, but I'm going to show it to you. You remember that grapes were a symbol of fertility and the blessing of the land of Canaan. You remember in the book of Numbers, chapter 13, the spies had come back. And I want you to note what they're carrying on their shoulders. Numbers, chapter 13. And look, if you would please, at verse 23, and they came into the brook of Eshgal and cut down from fence a branch with how many clusters of grapes? One cluster of grapes, and they bared it between two upon a staff. Can you imagine it taking two men to carry one cluster of grapes?

[John Weaver] What does that tell you? That tells you the fertility and the goodness of the land. And when the people saw those grapes, I mean, my goodness, they understood that when they got into Canaan, it was going to be a sign of blessing and rest.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter four. I want to start trying to tie things together. Please follow this because we're talking about the Nazarite. We're talking about the grapevine. We're talking about the Sabbath. Look in the book of Hebrews chapter four. And by the way, I hope you understand that there are different Sabbaths that are mentioned in the Bible. In Hebrews chapter four, you can read about a number of those Sabbaths. For instance, the Bible says in verse seven, For we who have believed on Hebrews 4 verse 3, for we who have believed do enter into rest, as he said, as I have sworn in my wrath that they shall enter into my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. And he spake in a certain place on the seventh day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh day from all of his works. Now that is the creation rest. That's when God created the world and rested. Now look.

[John Weaver] And in this place again, if they shall enter into my rest. So he's talking about another rest. Seeing therefore, it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached in are not in because of unbelief. Now he's talking about those children of Israel in the wilderness. Again, he lended of a certain day, saying in David, a day after so long a time, as it is written, the day of you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

[John Weaver] For if Jesus, someone tell me who this Jesus is in verse eight. Joshua. The word Joshua and the word Jesus are identical. They're one in the same. For if Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterwards have spoken of another day?

[John Weaver] Now, let me just stop there. There is the creation rest. That is true. There is also the Canaan rest. So when the children of Israel got into the land of Canaan with all these grapes and all these blessings, it was indeed A time of rest. Think of where they were before. They were in Egypt, in slavery. Now God has sovereignly brought them out of Egypt and brought them into the land and given them the land.

[John Weaver] And yes, in one sense of the word, it is a Sabbath. It is a rest. It's a vast difference from what they were and what they had down in Egypt. But now let me ask you a question. Think about this. Don't answer out loud. But was Canaan rest what God gave the children of Israel in the Old Testament? Was that the true rest? No. That's why those priests could not have wine. That's why the Nazarite could not have wine. That's why those vines had to grow undressed every sabbatical year and every year of Jubilee.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look in verse nine. After having talked about the creation rest, after having talked about the Canaan rest, the Bible says in verse nine, there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. Whoa, did you hear that? Now, if the creation rest is not our rest, and if the Canaan rest is not our rest, By the way, when you read the word rest in Hebrews 4 and verse 9, let me read it to you as it is in the Greek. There remaineth therefore a sabbatismos to the people of God. What is sabbatismos? A Sabbath. There remaineth a Sabbath to the people of God. Now, let me ask this another way. Were those sabbatical years the real Sabbath? No. They were types. They were pictures. They were emblems. Were those Old Testament priests the real priests? No. They were types. They were pictures. They were emblems.

[John Weaver] Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. God says there remained, therefore, a rest for the people of God. The very fact that when Israel did enter into and occupy the land, that she was not permitted to harvest those grapes the sabbatical year, nor trim those vines the sabbatical year, demonstrated that those Sabbaths were not the real Sabbath. The real Sabbath was yet in the future. Because those vines were undressed, separated, consecrated to the Lord, just like the locks on the Nazarite's head. Separated and consecrated to the Lord. His locks were not to be cut until what? His vow was performed until his vow was finished.

[John Weaver] As long as his hair was long, his task was incomplete. as long as those great vines went undressed every seventh year. It's teaching us that God's true Sabbath had not yet appeared.

[John Weaver] Now, each of us understands that the Old Covenant, under the Aaronic Priesthood, was inadequate, incapable, and unable to accomplish real cleansing from sin. And if you don't believe that, I want you to look in Hebrews 7. Hebrews 7, verse 11. Hebrews 7, verse 11, just a few verses here. Hebrews 7, verse 11. For if therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, For under it the people received the law.

[John Weaver] What further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek and not be called after the order of Aaron? What's he saying? Perfection could never be had under the Aaronic priesthood. If it could have been had under the Aaronic priesthood, there would have never been a need for another priest under the Melchizedek order. And we're talking about Jesus Christ. So look in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 6.

[John Weaver] Now, when these things were thus ordained, the priests, plural, went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone, once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself. And for the heirs of the people, the Holy Ghost is signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing, look now, which was a figure, which was a type, which was a picture for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscious.

[John Weaver] Now what does that tell us? That nothing that those Old Testament priests did could make the worshipper perfect, complete, or holy. No. It was all temporary. And all of those Old Testament sacrifices had to be repeated over and over. Look in chapter 10, verse 1. Hebrews 10, verse 1. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of those things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered, because that the worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is remembrance again made of sins every year. Look, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Now, why do those people keep coming every year if the blood of bulls and goats could not take away their sins? Because they were remembering that they were sinners and they had sinned and they could not get a permanent forgiveness and covering and atonement by the use of goats and bulls and things like that.

[John Weaver] In other words, all of those lambs that were sacrificed in the Old Testament could never take away sin. The only thing they did was point forward to the true Lamb of God who could take away sin. The Lord Jesus Christ. And all these Old Testament sacrifices we're doing were pointing to the future. And they said, He's coming. He's not here yet. We don't have the real Sabbath just yet. We don't have the real completed redemption just yet, but He is coming. Now listen carefully. The prohibition against alcohol in the vow of the Nazarite and in the service of the priest was a picture that the true Sabbath and the true cleansing and the true forgiveness had not yet come. Consequently, under the old covenant, Are you listening? Men could not relax in the presence of God. Under the old covenant, the priests had to stay on their toes.

[John Weaver] They had to make sure that every sacrifice was done exactly the way God demanded. Every service, every ritual, every ceremony performed, every I dotted, every T crossed. If they didn't, what would happen? They'd be killed. Why do you think that high priest had pomegranates and bells on the hem of his garment? Why do you think they had tie a rope around his ankle as he went into the holy halls? Most holy. Because if God killed him in there, they weren't going in after him. They'd drag him out. As long as they could hear those bells, they know that he was alive.

[John Weaver] because there was no perfection in the old covenant. Men could not relax in the presence of God. Now listen carefully. The inclusion and use of wine in the Lord's Supper, the institution of bread and wine is a declaration that in the new covenant the church has come into the true Sabbath and the true cleansing, and the true forgiveness of sins, and there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. Jesus Christ has fulfilled every type, every picture, every symbol, every emblem in the Old Testament. And now, men may relax in Him. Let me show you.

[John Weaver] Look in Hebrews chapter 7, verse 19. Beginning there in verse 19, For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of better hope did, by the which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made a high priest, we are talking about Christ. For those priests were made without an oath, but this with an oath, by him that is saith unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek. By so much was Jesus made surety of a better covenant, or a better testament. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death. But this man, talking about Jesus Christ, but this man, because he continueth ever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Now look, because he has an unchangeable priesthood, wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth and maketh intercession for them. For such a high priest became us who was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.

[John Weaver] Who needed not daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people? But this he did once when he offered up himself." What is Scripture telling us? Jesus Christ is not like those Aaronic priests. Jesus Christ has an unchangeable priesthood, and therefore He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him.

[John Weaver] Look in chapter 9, beginning in verse 11. Hebrews 9, verse 11. But Christ, being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered into once in the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls, and of goats, and of the ashes of a heifer, strengthening the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, look, how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purged your conscience from dead works to serve the living God, and for this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the First Testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." Does it sound to you like Jesus Christ is a faulty priest or a perfect priest?

[John Weaver] Look in chapter 10, beginning there with verse 5. Hebrews 10, verse 5. Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he said, Sacrifice an offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of this book, it is written to me, To do thy will, O God. Above, when he said, Sacrifice an offering, and burnt offering, and offering for sin thou wouldst not, neither hast pleasure therein, which are offered by the law. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second, By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Once for all. Look down in verse 12. Hebrews 10 verse 12. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified."

[John Weaver] You see, what the Aaronic priesthood could not give was perfection. That is why they had to do those sacrifices over and over and over and over and over. That is why those priests, when they went in, had to make sure they abstained from alcohol whatsoever. They could not relax in the presence of God. The true Sabbath had not yet come. The true salvation had not yet come. The true cleansing had not yet come.

[John Weaver] That Nazarite was a temporary priest. When he took that vow, he was separating himself to God and saying, I'll not touch wine, I'll not trim my hair, and I'll not touch a dead body until I've completed this task unto God.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles and look in your Bibles to Numbers chapter 6 and verse 20. We're talking about the Nazarite. I'm trying to show you the significance between the Nazarite vow, the priestly abstinence, and wine in the Lord's Supper. Now, you'll remember, as we just read, from Numbers 6, verses 3 and 4, the Nazarite, when he had his vow, could not have wine. Look at it in Numbers 6 and verse 20.

[John Weaver] And the priest shall waive them, that is, the sacrifices that he brings at the completion of his vow, and the priest shall waive them for a waive offering before the Lord This is holy for the priest with the wave breast and the heave shoulder. And after that, the Nazarite may drink wine. When could the Nazarite drink wine? When his vow was finished, when his task was completed, he could then rest and relax in the presence of God. But until then, he could not.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Numbers 18. Let me just show you. As long as the priests were in the tabernacle and in the temple doing service unto God, they could not have wine. After they were finished with their service in the tabernacle and the temple, what did God give them? Look at Numbers 18, beginning there with verse 8. Numbers 18, verse 8, And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel unto thee, have I given them by reason of the anointing, and of thy sons by an ordinance forever. This shall be thine of the most holy things.

[John Weaver] Here's what God's giving him. This shall be thine and the most holy things reserved from the fire, every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, every sin offering of theirs, every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render to me shall be most holy for thee and thy sons. So what is not sacrificed now is given to Aaron and his sons. Watch, in the most holy place thou shalt eat it, every male shall eat it, it shall be holy unto thee, and this is thine. the heave offerings of their gift with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel, I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and thy daughters with thee by a statute for ever. Everyone that is clean in thine house shall eat it." And look at verse 12, all the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the wheat and the firstfruits of them which they shall offer to the Lord, them have I given thee." My question is this, were the priests able to drink the best of the wine after their service was over?

[John Weaver] What's the answer? Yes. Yes. Now, listen to me. I'm going to show it to you. There is a specific reason for using wine in the Lord's Supper. And that specific reason is it is the fulfillment of an Old Testament type. Men who are in Christ now may safely relax and trust His atonement, His offering, and His sacrifice. We are hidden in the hollow of His hands. Jesus Christ has done for us that which millions of Aaron's could never have done. Jesus Christ has secured for us an immutable, unchangeable, and unalterable position before the one true and living God. We have now come unto Jesus Christ, who is our true salvation, our true Sabbath, and our true rest.

[John Weaver] Do you remember Hebrews 4 and verse 9? When after discussing the Canaan rest, he said this, there remained therefore a rest for the people of God. Do you remember that? Do you also remember what our Lord said in Matthew 11, verses 28 and 29? Let me just quote it. Here's what our Lord said. Come unto me, all ye that are labor and heavy laden, I will give you, what?

[John Weaver] Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly, and you shall find what? Rest unto your souls." Let me say it like this. Our minds, that is our heads, our rocks of air, have now become totally and completely separated and consecrated to the one true and living God through Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus Christ is the end of all the symbols types and pictures.

[John Weaver] Now, one last thing before I try to tie this together for you. I want you to go back in your Bibles to Matthew 26. Matthew 26. Matthew 26. This is a metonymy I told you about earlier. Matthew 26 and verse 29. Look what our Lord said to his disciples. He's instituted the Lord's Supper. In verse 28, he says, for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Now, in verse 29, he says, but I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this vine, the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. Now, the fruit of the vine is an autonomy where the substance or the matter is put for the thing itself. Now, our Lord said to his disciples, I'm not going to drink of the fruit of the vine anymore until I drink it anew with you in my father's kingdom. So the question has to be asked, what did he mean by the father's kingdom and when and where is the father's kingdom?

[John Weaver] Let me ask this question, is his kingdom the New Testament age, which he died to inaugurate, or is it heaven or glory itself? And the answer is both. Now listen carefully. We are now in the Father's Kingdom. However, the total and absolute fruition of it will not appear until Christ returns. Let me show you what I'm talking about. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to Luke 10 and verse 9. I just want to show you a couple of verses. Luke 10 and verse 9. And you've got to remember while Christ, I'm going to show you the difference between when Christ was alive and when Christ died. Just a moment. Look in Luke 10 and verse 9.

[John Weaver] Our Lord says when he sends his disciples out, he says, and heal the sick that are therein and say to them, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. Now, since Jesus Christ was the king and is the king, he did in one sense of the word bring the kingdom with him. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to Luke 11 and verse 20. Luke 11 and verse 20.

[John Weaver] What did he tell these people? But if I, with the finger of God, cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you. Well, there was a sense in which the kingdom of God was present when Jesus Christ was here, because Jesus Christ is the king. And he told the people, if I cast out demons with the finger of God, no doubt the kingdom of God is here with you.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to skip over to the book of Colossians chapter one. Colossians chapter one, I want to show you the difference in just a moment.

[John Weaver] Now, the question has got to be asked, are we in the kingdom? And the answer is yes, we're in the kingdom. You said, but Brother Weaver, we pray in the Lord's Prayer, thy kingdom come. That's true. We wanted to come fully, finally, totally, completely. Yes, we do. But it's here now. But it's coming in a more definite way, I can assure you. But look, if you would, in the book of Colossians, chapter 1, just to show you what the Apostle Paul says. Colossians 1, notice if you would please, verse 12. Colossians 1, verse 12.

[John Weaver] Giving thanks unto the Father. Why should we thank the Father? Here's why. Who hath made us meet or suitable to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Well now, how did he make us suitable to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light? who have delivered us from the power of darkness and have translated us, where? Into the kingdom of his dear son. Now, here's my question. Are we in the kingdom? Yes. Did not Christ bring the kingdom with him? Yes. But let me show you how there is a difference between when Christ was alive on this earth And when Christ died and rose again, I want you to look in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. I want you to look carefully, remember the word testament here is the word covenant. OK, so we talk about the Old Testament or the Old Covenant and the New Testament and the New Covenant. OK, now watch carefully. Hebrews 9, look at verse 16, for where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

[John Weaver] For a testament is of force after men are dead, otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Now stop there just for a moment. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of a testator. Let me try to explain it like this. Let's suppose that I wrote a will, and I left everything that I had to Ed Wolfe.

[John Weaver] You won't get much, brother. But I left everything I had to Ed Wolfe. It's in my will. What is a will? This is my last one, Testament. Now, although I've left everything to Ed, how much does he get right now? Zilch. Nothing. Why? I'm still alive. In order for me to put that will into effect, I have to die. Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant, of the New Testament.

[John Weaver] Now listen to me carefully. You know, if I left everything to Ed in my will, that really and truly doesn't mean he's going to get everything. You say, how can you say that? Well, Because the executor of that will or some shyster lawyer might could beat him out of it and claim this and claim that. And you understand what I'm saying? He might end up with some of it, but. And I can't do a thing about it because I can't come back and say, no, no, no, that's not what I meant, I meant this, I'm dead, I can't do that. Guess what?

[John Weaver] Jesus Christ instituted the New Covenant. He died to put it into effect. And then He arose from the dead, ascended on high, is sat down at the right hand of God the Father. He is now the executor of the estate. He will put into full effect the testament that He bequeathed. By the way, You know what the Bible teaches in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 through 6? Turn there.

[John Weaver] I want you to see it. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 through 6. This is powerful. Look at Ephesians 2, beginning there with verse 4. Ephesians 2, verse 4. Here it is. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us. Thank God for that. Even when we were dead in sins, have quicken us together with Christ, by grace are you saved, are you looking, and have raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you this question. Where is Christ right now? He's seated at the Father's right hand. He is in the Father's kingdom and glory. Where are we right now, positionally? We're in Him. When He died, we died. When He was buried, we buried. When He was resurrected, we were resurrected. When He ascended, we ascended. When He sat down, we sat down. We are in the Father's kingdom. Are you listening? Eternity is just the consummation of that kingdom.

[John Weaver] Now, what did our Lord say? to his disciples. I won't drink any more of the fruit of the vine until I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father. Do you remember what 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 16 called the supper? The cup of blessing. And then the Apostle Paul asked, is this not the communion of the blood of Christ? With whom are we communing when we take the Lord's Supper? Not just with each other, but with Jesus Christ himself. Do you understand that the use of wine in the Lord's Shot Supper fulfills the Old Testament types of the Nazarite vow and of the Aaronic priesthood.

[John Weaver] They could never relax in the presence of God. But now in Jesus Christ, we use wine in the Lord's Supper to show that the work is finished. All of those who trust in Jesus Christ may safely relax in Him Believe in him and rest in him. There are no ceremonies to perform, no rituals to exercise, no details to work out. No, everything is finished. Everything is in Jesus Christ, just as that Nazarite could have wine after he finished his task, just like that priest could have wine after he finished his task. What did Jesus Christ say in John 19 on the cross? It is what? Finished. And what is he doing now in the Lord's Supper?

[John Weaver] He's drinking wine anew with his disciples in his father's kingdom. So wine in the Lord's Supper. Is a testimony. To the finished work of Jesus Christ, he's finished his work. He's now seated at the right hand of God. And we may safely trust in him, relax in him. I am so thankful, folks, my salvation does not depend on what I have done or what I have not done, what I'm going to do or what I'm not going to do. My salvation depends solely and totally and completely upon the perfect person and work of Jesus Christ. It's what He has done. And it is finished. Let's pray.

[John Weaver] Father, speak to our hearts. Help us, Lord, to see the absolute blessing of God and the truth of Your Word and the fulfillment of these Old Testament types. and how we may relax and trust safely in Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, to be a testimony to His finished work and honor Him in all that we say and do. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

The Lord's Supper - Part 10

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	710693718
Subject	Church Government
Course	Church Order: Worship, Sacraments, and the Lord's Supper
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-04-02
Dictation Name
Book	Book 041: The Lord's Supper — Chapter 10
Source Timed Segments	91

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Review of the Series

Weaver introduces the final message in the Lord's Supper series and reviews previous topics including the elements, the metonymy of 'fruit of the vine,' and the biblical view of wine as both a gift and a potential danger.

The message you are about to hear was produced by Freedom Ministries. If you would like to support this ministry by becoming a sermon partner or obtain additional high-resolution CDs, DVDs, or MP3s featuring the teaching of Pastor John Weaver, please visit the Freedom Ministries website at www.freedomministry.com. This ministry is completely supported by donations and it is through those donations that we are able to provide sermons for sermonaudio.com. Please visit our website at www.freedomministry.com to subscribe or make your donation today. Thank you. This is message number 10, and it's the end of this series dealing with the Lord's Supper. And let's begin reading with Numbers chapter 6, beginning there with verse 1.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 6:1-8

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazirite, to separate themselves unto the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine or strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head, until the days be fulfilled in the which he separated himself unto the Lord. He shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separated himself unto the Lord, he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, or for his brother, or for his sister, when they die, because the consecration of his God is upon his head."

"All the days of his separation, he is holy unto the Lord." Now, we've been looking at the Lord's Supper for the past nine weeks. And we've looked at the names, the significance, the partakers, the reproof, and for the last several weeks we've been looking at the elements. And certainly, as I pointed out, there is no discussion when it comes to the bread, because very obviously it is unleavened bread. And when we discussed the liquid in the cup, I asserted that I believed that it was normally wine, but that it should be wine, and that when our Lord used the expression "the fruit of the vine" in Luke 22, that it was a metonymy where the matter or the substance of a thing was put for the thing itself. I showed you numerous metonymies in the Bible, the fruit of the body, the fruit of the loins, where brass was substituted for heavy chains, etc., and then of course where fir trees were substituted for lances and spears. I also pointed out the distinction between the social use and the religious use of wine. The social use certainly fell under the matter of liberty, but the ceremonial or religious or ecclesiastical use of wine, there was no liberty there because like in Leviticus 23, Numbers chapter 15, God demanded wine with the sacrifices. Then we looked at wine, its condemnation and its commendation in the Bible.

And please remember that when I presented both sides, I'm trying to show you everything that the Word of God says about the subject. That means this. That means that you cannot pit one scripture against another. You cannot hold one scripture above another. You must take the entirety of God's Word and bow to it. The biblical position that we came to was this. We must view wine or any alcohol as the gift and blessing of God as long as it is used in the way that God commanded and God commended, while at the same time we must despise and detest any misuse and abuse of it because God condemns that in the scripture. And then I pointed out how that really and truly only God's people can enjoy or appreciate anything and everything that God has given us, because the Bible does say that all things is ours.

Pagan Philosophy and the Weaker Brother

He recaps last week's teaching on how Greek dualism wrongly views matter as evil, and clarifies the biblical concept of the weaker brother and causing offense.

Now, last week I tried to deal mainly with some of the objections and questions, and one of the main points I made was how we have become literally filled with paganistic Greek philosophy because it is that Greek philosophy that asserts a dichotomy between matter and spirit. And it is pagan philosophy that tries to say that matter somehow is inherently evil in and of itself. Let me repeat what I said last week. Matter is not evil in and of itself. Evil resides in the heart of man, not in anything material. By the way, it is the same paganistic Greek philosophy that tries to say that there is a difference between the secular and the sacred. For the child of God, there is no division between the secular and the sacred. For the child of God, everything is sacred.

You remember what the Bible says, "Whether therefore ye eat, or whether ye drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." So there is no division between the secular and the sacred for the child of God. Now, then I dealt with the weaker brother and showed you in the context of Romans 14 and in the context of 1 Corinthians chapter 8, the weaker brother was not someone who had a propensity to drink. The weaker brother was someone who would not touch it at all, because of a misconception where he thought that somehow that matter was evil in and of itself, or that somehow an idol had some influence upon meat. And then I pointed out the word stumble. Skandalon was the Greek word. And you only cause a brother to stumble when you encourage him to do what you are doing when he does not have your knowledge. I went through and tried to show you the biblical understanding of the word offend. So to offend a weaker brother means that you encourage him to do what you're doing without him having your knowledge.

And that's when he sins against his weak conscience, the Bible says. And, of course, when we cause him to do that, we sin against God ourselves. So the weaker brother then was dealt with. And then, of course, I closed with dealing with the Rechabites there in the book of Jeremiah showing how very clearly the vow that Jonadab placed upon his descendants did not affect us at all.

The Nazirite Vow and Priestly Abstinence

Weaver reads Numbers 6 and Leviticus 10, highlighting that Nazirites and priests were forbidden wine during their service, and asks why this was so.

Now, today I am going to deal still with this same concept and show you why I believe there is an absolute necessity of using wine in the Lord's Supper. I just read from Numbers chapter 6 dealing with the Nazirite's vow. I don't know if you've ever thought about this or not, or have ever wondered about it, or have even asked yourself this question. Why was the Nazirite forbidden wine or anything from a grape as long as he had that vow upon him? Let me ask you this. Have you ever considered and have you ever wondered why the priests were not allowed the use of wine as they ministered to God in the tabernacle and in the temple, although wine was involved in the sacrifices? Why were the priests forbidden the use of wine as they went about their daily tasks in the temple?

Now, let me just remind you that the Old Testament, basically speaking, is a picture book. What it does is it draws out very clearly truths and places them in living color before our eyes. Unhappily, most people are colorblind and they can't see the truth no matter how plainly or how beautifully it is pictured or painted. So you've got to ask yourself this question. What in the world does the Nazirite vow have to do with using wine in the Lord's Supper? And what in the world does the abstinence of the priest using wine during their service of the tabernacle and the temple have to do with using wine in the Lord's Supper? Well, I believe as we look at this, it will give us a very clear explanation. Now, if you would look in verse 2, God says in Numbers chapter 6, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves, shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazirite."

Look at the word Nazirite. The word Nazirite is Nazir, N-A-Z-I-R in the Hebrew. And it literally means separated or consecrated. So the very word Nazirite then means separated or consecrated. Now, look if you would please in verse 2 again. "...speaking to the children of Israel, and saying to them, when either man or woman shall separate themselves, to vow a vow of a Nazirite, to separate themselves, what? Unto the Lord." Now look in verse 8. "All the days of his separation he is holy, what? Unto the Lord." So this particular vow then was someone setting themselves apart to fulfill a certain function to the Lord. And in other words, he was holy unto the Lord.

Now, there are four main passages in the Bible that teach about Nazirites. There are Judges 13, verses 5 through 7, Judges 16, verse 17, Numbers chapter 6, and Amos 2, verses 11 and 12. Now, let's ask a very simple question. Who in the world was a Nazirite? Well, a Nazirite was nothing more than an Israelite who had taken a special vow for a limited period of time and had consequently become a special temporary priest.

Now let me say that again. A Nazirite was nothing less than an Israelite who had taken a vow and had become a special temporary priest and, as we just read, was separated unto the Lord. Now, the Nazirite vow could be taken any time, but it was especially taken during the time of war. If you would look in your Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter 5, you are going to see a song of Deborah and Barak as God, of course, gave them victory over their enemies. But I want you to look at verse 2 because there is an alternate reading. Some of you may have it in your marginal readings in your Bible, but here it is. Judges 5, verse 1, "Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on the day, saying, Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves." Now note that, "for the avenging of Israel were the people willingly offered themselves." Some Hebrew scholars translate that as this, "that long locks of hair hung loose in Israel that the people volunteered, bless the Lord." That long locks of hair hung loose in Israel, in other words, it was a reference then to the soldiers who had taken a Nazirite vow. Now it should be noteworthy that in the book of Numbers chapter 6 and verse 2 that either a man or a woman could take a Nazirite vow. But nowhere in scripture is there an illustration of a woman taking a Nazirite vow. But the Bible says when either man or woman shall separate themselves.

Now, I'm not sitting here telling you that there were no women Nazirites whatsoever. I don't know. All I am saying is there is no illustration of one given to us in the Bible. You've got to remember that according to Numbers chapter 30, there were certain limitations placed upon women and their vows. For instance, if a woman uttered a vow and her father heard it, he could disannul her vow. If a woman uttered a vow and her husband heard it, he could disannul her vow. In other words, the woman could not take the vow apart from her head, her father, or her husband. So there were limitations placed upon the vows that women were able to take. Now as you look back in the book of Numbers, chapter 6, there are three main stipulations placed upon the Nazirite vow.

First of all, number 1, in verses 3 and 4, "He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, nor dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk." So you can say no wine, no alcoholic beverage whatsoever, nothing even from grapes, no grape juice, no grape, no grape husk, nothing. So that was the first stipulation. The second one is found in verse 5, no razor was to touch his head. "All the days of the vow of his separation, there shall no razor come upon his head until the days be fulfilled in which he separated himself from the Lord. He shall be holy and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow." So if you took a Nazirite vow, no wine, no shaving the head, no trimming the head whatsoever. And then of course, in verses 6-8, he was not to touch a dead body. "All the days that he separated himself from the Lord, he shall come at no dead body." It doesn't matter if it's father, mother, brother, sister, he cannot touch any dead body. Now, there was no time limit given for a Nazirite vow. Tradition says that usually it was about 30 days, sometimes 60 or 90 at the most, but there was no time limit set.

So a man could take a vow for a year or two years if he chose. However, if you look at Numbers chapter 6, if he violated one of these three stipulations, he had to offer an offering and then start all over. Look at it in verse 9, "And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration, then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing. On the seventh day shall he shave it, and on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day." Now look,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 6:6-8

"and he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and he shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering, but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled."

So if he touched a dead body, or if a razor came to his head, or if he touched anything from a grape, or any type of wine or alcohol, that was over. In other words, he had then to make an offering and start all over again. By the way, as far as I can tell, in all the years that I've studied the scripture, there have been only three life-long Nazirites in the Bible. They were Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist. Jesus Christ was not a Nazirite. He was a Nazarene. He was from the town of Nazareth. There's a difference between a Nazarene and a Nazirite.

Now, let's take this prohibition against the use of wine or alcohol. A Nazirite was considered to be a special temporary priest. He had taken a vow to perform some special sacred service, and therefore he was precluded from drinking wine during that time, as were all priests, if you will look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus, chapter 10. Leviticus, chapter 10. And notice, if you would please, verses 8 through 10. Leviticus 10, verse 8.

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 10:8-10

"And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine, nor strong drink, thou nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses."

Now, verse 10 tells us specifically why this prohibition was laid down. Number one, that the priest's judgment would not be clouded, that he could tell the difference between the holy and the unholy, the unclean and the clean, and that he might make sure that he was capable and able of teaching all the statutes that the Lord had given unto him.

The Inadequacy of the Old Covenant

He explains that the prohibition demonstrated the inadequacy of the Aaronic priesthood and that the true Sabbath had not yet come, using Hebrews 4 and the concept of the vine undressed (Nazir) in Leviticus 25.

Now, let me ask this question. It's going to pop into your minds. Why then does God prohibit the priests from having wine during his service in the tabernacle later on in the temple, even though wine was used in the sacrifices? Here's why. It is not that the wine was unclean, for God certainly used that in his sacrifices. It is because men are unholy and unclean. And because of that fact, listen carefully, under the old covenant, they could not relax with alcohol in the presence of God.

Now some have suggested that the deaths of Nadab and Abihu were related to this. If you look in Leviticus 10 in verse 1, "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." Well, this is when God killed Nadab and Abihu, who were the sons of Aaron. And Moses now comes to Aaron and says, don't you mourn for them. This is what God has done and then you come down to verse 8 and 9 and he says you're to drink no wine.

Now it could be that these boys were drunken. I don't know that. It could be that they were well-soused. I don't know that. The Bible doesn't say. What the Bible does say is they offered strange fire before the Lord. There could have been something to do with alcohol in the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. I don't know. The Bible does not make that clear. But the Bible also tells you, if you'll look in verse 24 of Leviticus 9, when that altar was set up, "and there came a fire out from before the Lord and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering, the fat."

And when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Let me ask you a question. Who was it that started the fire on that altar? God Himself did. Did you know that there were specific commands, even back in Leviticus 6 verses 9 through 13, that that fire was never, ever to go out? The fire was never, ever to go out.

Now, why in the world? Because God is the one who started that fire. God is the one who initiated, and the priests, therefore, were under direct command from God not to let that fire go out. Why did they let it go out? I don't know. Maybe it was because they were drinking. Maybe it was because they were just simply unattended. I don't know. But the one thing for sure, when they tried to start the fire themselves, God killed them. God put them to death.

Now, ask yourself this question. Why then were the priests forbidden the use of wine or alcohol as they ministered in the presence of God? You say, Brother Weaver, you've already answered that because God wanted to make sure they put a difference between the holy and the unholy, the clean and the unclean. But there's another answer. Let me give it to you, and I'm going to show it to you from the Bible. The reason God forbade the priests to use wine as they served him in the tabernacle and in the temple was to demonstrate the fact that the Aaronic priesthood was inadequate and that the true Sabbath had not yet come.

Now think about that just for a moment. Why were they forbidden the use of wine? Number one, that the Aaronic priesthood was inadequate. And number two, that the real Sabbath had not yet come.

Now, do you realize that one of the most important tasks of the priesthood in the Old Testament was to exclude Israel from God and to guard his holy place from defilement? Do you remember what happened in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 19 when God came down and God spoke there? What did the people say? They said to Moses, "Speak thou to us and we will hear, but let not God speak to us lest we die." Now, the principle, therefore, was carried over into the priesthood.

So the priests then were mediators, they were go-betweens. What did the priests do? The priests represented God to the people and represented the people to God. In other words, the people didn't have to do what the priests were able to do. And the priests then represented the people to God. And as you know, only the high priest could go into the holiest of all, and he was only able to go in how many times? Once a year, and that not without the shedding of blood. He had to have blood as he went. So the priest then, although he was a mediator, and although he may have been a descendant of Aaron, he was still inadequate to do what needed to be done. The Nazirite, when he took his vow, had to abstain from wine just exactly the way the priest had to abstain. Why? The Bible is telling us that the Nazirite had a holy task to perform, listen carefully, and he was not to relax, nor to rest, nor to enjoy the Sabbath of wine until his vow was over.

Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 25. Let me try to set the stage for you. You see, grapes were forbidden the Nazirite the same way that wine or alcohol was forbidden to the Nazirite. I want you to look what God says. "And the Lord spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord." Now wait. God tells the children of Israel, "When you get into the land, then you shall allow the land to keep a sabbath to the Lord." Verse 3. "Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof. But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest in the land, a sabbath for the Lord. Thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard."

Now look at verse 5. "That which groweth of its own accord of the harvest thou shalt not reap. Neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed, for it is a year of rest unto the land." Now, skip down, if you would please, to verse 11. He now talks about the year of Jubilee. I'll explain this in just a moment. "A Jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you. Ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed." When the children of Israel got in the land, every six years they were able to reap the fruit of the land. But on the seventh year, the land rested.

And God specifically said, you're not to prune your grapevines. He talks about the vine undressed. The year of Jubilee was the 50th year, seven times seven, 49, and then 49 was a sabbatical year and then the 50th year was a year of jubilee, it too was a sabbatical year. Once again he talks about the vine undressed.

Now the interesting thing is this, I want you to look, some of you have marginal references in your Bible. If you do, look in your marginal references because in verse 5 and in verse 11, when it talks about the vine undressed, some of you may have "a vine of thy separation" or "the vine of thy consecration" as an alternate reading. You know why? Let me tell you why. Because the Hebrew word for undressed is Nazir, N-A-Z-I-R, the same exact word. In other words, the grapevines growing wildly everywhere during the sabbatical year were like the hair or the locks of the hair of the Nazirites that grew long untrimmed. And just like the Nazirites' locks were separated unto God, so God says these grapevines, these vines undressed, are separated, they're consecrated, they're mine. You can't cut them. You can't prune them. So now you have the word separated and consecrated in reference to grapevines as well as in reference to the Nazirite. Both were separated from trimming.

I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers, chapter 13. I'm sure that you would remember this, but I'm going to show it to you. You remember that grapes were a symbol of fertility and the blessing of the land of Canaan. You remember in the book of Numbers, chapter 13, the spies had come back. And I want you to note what they're carrying on their shoulders. Numbers, chapter 13. And look, if you would please, at verse 23, "And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with how many clusters of grapes? One cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff." Can you imagine it taking two men to carry one cluster of grapes?

What does that tell you? That tells you the fertility and the goodness of the land. And when the people saw those grapes, I mean, my goodness, they understood that when they got into Canaan, it was going to be a sign of blessing and rest. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter four. I want to start trying to tie things together. Please follow this because we're talking about the Nazirite. We're talking about the grapevine. We're talking about the Sabbath. Look in the book of Hebrews chapter four. And by the way, I hope you understand that there are different Sabbaths that are mentioned in the Bible. In Hebrews chapter four, you can read about a number of those Sabbaths. For instance, the Bible says in verse seven, "For we who have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. And he spake in a certain place on the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all of his works." Now that is the creation rest. That's when God created the world and rested. Now look.

"And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest." So he's talking about another rest. "Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief." Now he's talking about those children of Israel in the wilderness. "Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is written, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." "For if Jesus"—someone tell me who this Jesus is in verse eight. Joshua. The word Joshua and the word Jesus are identical. They're one and the same. "For if Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterwards have spoken of another day?"

Now, let me just stop there. There is the creation rest. That is true. There is also the Canaan rest. So when the children of Israel got into the land of Canaan with all these grapes and all these blessings, it was indeed a time of rest. Think of where they were before. They were in Egypt, in slavery. Now God has sovereignly brought them out of Egypt and brought them into the land and given them the land.

And yes, in one sense of the word, it is a Sabbath. It is a rest. It's a vast difference from what they were and what they had down in Egypt. But now let me ask you a question. Think about this. Don't answer out loud. But was Canaan rest what God gave the children of Israel in the Old Testament? Was that the true rest? No. That's why those priests could not have wine. That's why the Nazirite could not have wine. That's why those vines had to grow undressed every sabbatical year and every year of Jubilee.

Now, I want you to look in verse nine. After having talked about the creation rest, after having talked about the Canaan rest, the Bible says in verse nine,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 4:1-9

"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God."

Whoa, did you hear that? Now, if the creation rest is not our rest, and if the Canaan rest is not our rest—by the way, when you read the word rest in Hebrews 4 and verse 9, let me read it to you as it is in the Greek.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 4:1-9

"There remaineth therefore a sabbatismos to the people of God."

What is sabbatismos? A Sabbath. There remaineth a Sabbath to the people of God. Now, let me ask this another way. Were those sabbatical years the real Sabbath? No. They were types. They were pictures. They were emblems. Were those Old Testament priests the real priests? No. They were types. They were pictures. They were emblems.

Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. God says there remaineth therefore a rest for the people of God. The very fact that when Israel did enter into and occupy the land, that she was not permitted to harvest those grapes the sabbatical year, nor trim those vines the sabbatical year, demonstrated that those Sabbaths were not the real Sabbath. The real Sabbath was yet in the future. Because those vines were undressed, separated, consecrated to the Lord, just like the locks on the Nazirite's head. Separated and consecrated to the Lord. His locks were not to be cut until what? His vow was performed, until his vow was finished.

As long as his hair was long, his task was incomplete. As long as those great vines went undressed every seventh year, it's teaching us that God's true Sabbath had not yet appeared. Now, each of us understands that the Old Covenant, under the Aaronic Priesthood, was inadequate, incapable, and unable to accomplish real cleansing from sin. And if you don't believe that, I want you to look in Hebrews 7. Hebrews 7, verse 11. Hebrews 7, verse 11, just a few verses here. Hebrews 7, verse 11. "If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,)"

Christ's Perfect Priesthood and Finished Work

Weaver contrasts the repetitive, imperfect Old Testament sacrifices with Christ's once-for-all offering, showing from Hebrews 7-10 that Jesus brings perfection and eternal redemption.

"what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron?" What's he saying? Perfection could never be had under the Aaronic priesthood. If it could have been had under the Aaronic priesthood, there would have never been a need for another priest under the Melchizedek order. And we're talking about Jesus Christ. So look in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 6.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 9:6-9

"Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience."

Now what does that tell us? That nothing that those Old Testament priests did could make the worshipper perfect, complete, or holy. No. It was all temporary. And all of those Old Testament sacrifices had to be repeated over and over. Look in chapter 10, verse 1. Hebrews 10, verse 1.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 10:1-4

"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of those things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins."

Now, why do those people keep coming every year if the blood of bulls and goats could not take away their sins? Because they were remembering that they were sinners and they had sinned and they could not get a permanent forgiveness and covering and atonement by the use of goats and bulls and things like that.

In other words, all of those lambs that were sacrificed in the Old Testament could never take away sin. The only thing they did was point forward to the true Lamb of God who could take away sin. The Lord Jesus Christ. And all these Old Testament sacrifices they were doing were pointing to the future. And they said, He's coming. He's not here yet. We don't have the real Sabbath just yet. We don't have the real completed redemption just yet, but He is coming. Now listen carefully. The prohibition against alcohol in the vow of the Nazirite and in the service of the priest was a picture that the true Sabbath and the true cleansing and the true forgiveness had not yet come. Consequently, under the old covenant, are you listening? Men could not relax in the presence of God. Under the old covenant, the priests had to stay on their toes.

They had to make sure that every sacrifice was done exactly the way God demanded. Every service, every ritual, every ceremony performed, every I dotted, every T crossed. If they didn't, what would happen? They'd be killed. Why do you think that high priest had pomegranates and bells on the hem of his garment? Why do you think they had to tie a rope around his ankle as he went into the holy of holies? Most holy. Because if God killed him in there, they weren't going in after him. They'd drag him out. As long as they could hear those bells, they know that he was alive.

Because there was no perfection in the old covenant. Men could not relax in the presence of God. Now listen carefully. The inclusion and use of wine in the Lord's Supper, the institution of bread and wine, is a declaration that in the new covenant the church has come into the true Sabbath and the true cleansing, and the true forgiveness of sins, and there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. Jesus Christ has fulfilled every type, every picture, every symbol, every emblem in the Old Testament. And now, men may relax in Him. Let me show you.

Look in Hebrews chapter 7, verse 19. Beginning there in verse 19,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 7:19-27

"For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made a high priest: (for those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek:) by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: but this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens."

"Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself." What is Scripture telling us? Jesus Christ is not like those Aaronic priests. Jesus Christ has an unchangeable priesthood, and therefore He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. Look in chapter 9, beginning in verse 11. Hebrews 9, verse 11.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 9:11-15

"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance."

Does it sound to you like Jesus Christ is a faulty priest or a perfect priest?

Look in chapter 10, beginning there with verse 5. Hebrews 10, verse 5.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 10:5-14

"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

Once for all. Look down in verse 12. Hebrews 10 verse 12.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 10:5-14

"But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

You see, what the Aaronic priesthood could not give was perfection. That is why they had to do those sacrifices over and over and over and over and over. That is why those priests, when they went in, had to make sure they abstained from alcohol whatsoever. They could not relax in the presence of God. The true Sabbath had not yet come. The true salvation had not yet come. The true cleansing had not yet come.

Wine as a Sign of Completed Rest

He notes that Nazirites could drink wine after their vow was completed (Numbers 6:20) and priests received wine after their service (Numbers 18), illustrating that wine in the Lord's Supper signifies the finished work of Christ.

That Nazirite was a temporary priest. When he took that vow, he was separating himself to God and saying, I'll not touch wine, I'll not trim my hair, and I'll not touch a dead body until I've completed this task unto God. Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles and look in your Bibles to Numbers chapter 6 and verse 20. We're talking about the Nazirite. I'm trying to show you the significance between the Nazirite vow, the priestly abstinence, and wine in the Lord's Supper. Now, you'll remember, as we just read, from Numbers 6, verses 3 and 4, the Nazirite, when he had his vow, could not have wine. Look at it in Numbers 6 and verse 20.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 6:20

"And the priest shall wave them, that is, the sacrifices that he brings at the completion of his vow, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazirite may drink wine."

When could the Nazirite drink wine? When his vow was finished, when his task was completed, he could then rest and relax in the presence of God. But until then, he could not. Look in your Bibles to Numbers 18. Let me just show you. As long as the priests were in the tabernacle and in the temple doing service unto God, they could not have wine. After they were finished with their service in the tabernacle and the temple, what did God give them? Look at Numbers 18, beginning there with verse 8. Numbers 18, verse 8, "And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever. This shall be thine of the most holy things."

Here's what God's giving him. "This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, every sin offering of theirs, every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and thy sons. In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee. And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thine house shall eat it." And look at verse 12, "All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee." My question is this, were the priests able to drink the best of the wine after their service was over?

What's the answer? Yes. Yes. Now, listen to me. I'm going to show it to you. There is a specific reason for using wine in the Lord's Supper. And that specific reason is it is the fulfillment of an Old Testament type. Men who are in Christ now may safely relax and trust His atonement, His offering, and His sacrifice. We are hidden in the hollow of His hands. Jesus Christ has done for us that which millions of Aarons could never have done. Jesus Christ has secured for us an immutable, unchangeable, and unalterable position before the one true and living God. We have now come unto Jesus Christ, who is our true salvation, our true Sabbath, and our true rest.

The Kingdom and the Lord's Supper

Weaver explains that Christ's promise not to drink the fruit of the vine until He drinks it new in the Father's kingdom (Matthew 26:29) is fulfilled now in the church age and consummated at His return, and that the cup of blessing is communion with Christ.

Do you remember Hebrews 4 and verse 9? When after discussing the Canaan rest, he said this, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." Do you remember that? Do you also remember what our Lord said in Matthew 11, verses 28 and 29? Let me just quote it. Here's what our Lord said. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you"—what? "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find"—what? "Rest unto your souls." Let me say it like this. Our minds, that is our heads, our locks of hair, have now become totally and completely separated and consecrated to the one true and living God through Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus Christ is the end of all the symbols, types, and pictures.

Now, one last thing before I try to tie this together for you. I want you to go back in your Bibles to Matthew 26. Matthew 26. Matthew 26. This is a metonymy I told you about earlier. Matthew 26 and verse 29. Look what our Lord said to his disciples. He's instituted the Lord's Supper. In verse 28, he says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 26:28-29

"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Now, in verse 29, he says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 26:28-29

"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."

Now, the fruit of the vine is a metonymy where the substance or the matter is put for the thing itself. Now, our Lord said to his disciples, I'm not going to drink of the fruit of the vine anymore until I drink it anew with you in my father's kingdom. So the question has to be asked, what did he mean by the father's kingdom and when and where is the father's kingdom?

Let me ask this question, is his kingdom the New Testament age, which he died to inaugurate, or is it heaven or glory itself? And the answer is both. Now listen carefully. We are now in the Father's Kingdom. However, the total and absolute fruition of it will not appear until Christ returns. Let me show you what I'm talking about. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to Luke 10 and verse 9. I just want to show you a couple of verses. Luke 10 and verse 9. And you've got to remember while Christ—I'm going to show you the difference between when Christ was alive and when Christ died. Just a moment. Look in Luke 10 and verse 9.

Our Lord says when he sends his disciples out, he says, "And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." Now, since Jesus Christ was the king and is the king, he did in one sense of the word bring the kingdom with him. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to Luke 11 and verse 20. Luke 11 and verse 20.

What did he tell these people? "But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you." Well, there was a sense in which the kingdom of God was present when Jesus Christ was here, because Jesus Christ is the king. And he told the people, if I cast out demons with the finger of God, no doubt the kingdom of God is here with you. Now I want you to skip over to the book of Colossians chapter one. Colossians chapter one, I want to show you the difference in just a moment.

Now, the question has got to be asked, are we in the kingdom? And the answer is yes, we're in the kingdom. You said, but Brother Weaver, we pray in the Lord's Prayer, "thy kingdom come." That's true. We want it to come fully, finally, totally, completely. Yes, we do. But it's here now. But it's coming in a more definite way, I can assure you. But look, if you would, in the book of Colossians, chapter 1, just to show you what the Apostle Paul says. Colossians 1, notice if you would please, verse 12. Colossians 1, verse 12.

"Giving thanks unto the Father." Why should we thank the Father? Here's why. "Which hath made us meet" or suitable "to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." Well now, how did he make us suitable to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light? "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us"—where? "Into the kingdom of his dear Son." Now, here's my question. Are we in the kingdom? Yes. Did not Christ bring the kingdom with him? Yes. But let me show you how there is a difference between when Christ was alive on this earth and when Christ died and rose again. I want you to look in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. I want you to look carefully, remember the word testament here is the word covenant. OK, so we talk about the Old Testament or the Old Covenant and the New Testament and the New Covenant. OK, now watch carefully. Hebrews 9, look at verse 16, "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator."

"For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth." Now stop there just for a moment. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of a testator. Let me try to explain it like this. Let's suppose that I wrote a will, and I left everything that I had to Ed Wolfe. You won't get much, brother. But I left everything I had to Ed Wolfe. It's in my will. What is a will? This is my last will and testament. Now, although I've left everything to Ed, how much does he get right now? Zilch. Nothing. Why? I'm still alive. In order for me to put that will into effect, I have to die. Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant, of the New Testament.

Now listen to me carefully. You know, if I left everything to Ed in my will, that really and truly doesn't mean he's going to get everything. You say, how can you say that? Well, because the executor of that will or some shyster lawyer might could beat him out of it and claim this and claim that. And you understand what I'm saying? He might end up with some of it, but—and I can't do a thing about it because I can't come back and say, no, no, no, that's not what I meant, I meant this, I'm dead, I can't do that. Guess what?

Jesus Christ instituted the New Covenant. He died to put it into effect. And then He arose from the dead, ascended on high, is sat down at the right hand of God the Father. He is now the executor of the estate. He will put into full effect the testament that He bequeathed. By the way, you know what the Bible teaches in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 through 6? Turn there.

I want you to see it. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 through 6. This is powerful. Look at Ephesians 2, beginning there with verse 4. Ephesians 2, verse 4. Here it is.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:4-6

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us."

Thank God for that.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:4-6

"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ."

Let me ask you this question. Where is Christ right now? He's seated at the Father's right hand. He is in the Father's kingdom and glory. Where are we right now, positionally? We're in Him. When He died, we died. When He was buried, we were buried. When He was resurrected, we were resurrected. When He ascended, we ascended. When He sat down, we sat down. We are in the Father's kingdom. Are you listening? Eternity is just the consummation of that kingdom.

Now, what did our Lord say to his disciples? "I won't drink any more of the fruit of the vine until I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father." Do you remember what 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 16 called the supper? The cup of blessing. And then the Apostle Paul asked, "Is this not the communion of the blood of Christ?" With whom are we communing when we take the Lord's Supper? Not just with each other, but with Jesus Christ himself. Do you understand that the use of wine in the Lord's Supper fulfills the Old Testament types of the Nazirite vow and of the Aaronic priesthood?

Conclusion: Resting in Christ's Finished Work

He concludes that wine in the Lord's Supper testifies to the finished work of Christ, allowing believers to relax and trust in Him, and closes in prayer.

They could never relax in the presence of God. But now in Jesus Christ, we use wine in the Lord's Supper to show that the work is finished. All of those who trust in Jesus Christ may safely relax in Him, believe in Him, and rest in Him. There are no ceremonies to perform, no rituals to exercise, no details to work out. No, everything is finished. Everything is in Jesus Christ, just as that Nazirite could have wine after he finished his task, just like that priest could have wine after he finished his task. What did Jesus Christ say in John 19 on the cross? "It is"—what? "Finished." And what is he doing now in the Lord's Supper?

He's drinking wine anew with his disciples in his father's kingdom. So wine in the Lord's Supper is a testimony to the finished work of Jesus Christ. He's finished his work. He's now seated at the right hand of God. And we may safely trust in him, relax in him. I am so thankful, folks, my salvation does not depend on what I have done or what I have not done, what I'm going to do or what I'm not going to do. My salvation depends solely and totally and completely upon the perfect person and work of Jesus Christ. It's what He has done. And it is finished. Let's pray.

Father, speak to our hearts. Help us, Lord, to see the absolute blessing of God and the truth of Your Word and the fulfillment of these Old Testament types, and how we may relax and trust safely in Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, to be a testimony to His finished work and honor Him in all that we say and do. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Typology of the Old Covenant

Summary: The Old Testament prohibitions against wine for Nazirites and priests were types pointing to the inadequacy of the old covenant and the need for a true Sabbath and perfect priest.

Evidence: The prohibition against alcohol in the vow of the Nazirite and in the service of the priest was a picture that the true Sabbath and the true cleansing and the true forgiveness had not yet come.

The Finished Work of Christ

Summary: Jesus Christ's once-for-all sacrifice brings perfection, eternal redemption, and rest, fulfilling all Old Testament types and allowing believers to relax in His completed work.

Evidence: Jesus Christ has done for us that which millions of Aarons could never have done. Jesus Christ has secured for us an immutable, unchangeable, and unalterable position before the one true and living God.

Wine as a Symbol of Rest and Completion

Summary: The use of wine in the Lord's Supper declares that the true Sabbath has come and that believers may now rest in Christ's finished work, just as Nazirites and priests could drink wine after their service was completed.

Evidence: So wine in the Lord's Supper is a testimony to the finished work of Jesus Christ. He's finished his work. He's now seated at the right hand of God. And we may safely trust in him, relax in him.

The Inadequacy of the Old Covenant Priesthood

Summary: The Aaronic priesthood could not bring perfection or permanent cleansing, requiring endless repetition of sacrifices and strict abstinence from wine during service.

Evidence: Perfection could never be had under the Aaronic priesthood. If it could have been had under the Aaronic priesthood, there would have never been a need for another priest under the Melchizedek order.

The Believer's Position in Christ

Summary: Believers are positionally seated with Christ in heavenly places, already participating in the Father's kingdom, and the Lord's Supper is a communion with Christ Himself.

Evidence: Where are we right now, positionally? We're in Him. When He died, we died. When He was buried, we were buried. When He was resurrected, we were resurrected. When He ascended, we ascended. When He sat down, we sat down.

Key Arguments

The Nazirite and priestly abstinence from wine was a type of the old covenant's incompleteness.

Summary: God forbade Nazirites and priests from wine during their service to show that the true Sabbath and perfect cleansing had not yet come, and that men could not relax in God's presence under the old covenant.

Evidence: The reason God forbade the priests to use wine as they served him in the tabernacle and in the temple was to demonstrate the fact that the Aaronic priesthood was inadequate and that the true Sabbath had not yet come.

The undressed vine during sabbatical years symbolized the incomplete rest.

Summary: The Hebrew word for 'undressed' (Nazir) links the untrimmed grapevines to the Nazirite's unshorn hair, both signifying separation to God until the true rest appears.

Evidence: As long as those great vines went undressed every seventh year, it's teaching us that God's true Sabbath had not yet appeared.

Christ's priesthood is superior and brings perfection.

Summary: Unlike the Aaronic priests, Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins forever and sat down, having perfected believers for all time, making further sacrifices unnecessary.

Evidence: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; ... For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Wine in the Lord's Supper fulfills the Old Testament types.

Summary: Just as Nazirites and priests could drink wine after their service ended, the use of wine in the Lord's Supper signifies that Christ's work is finished and believers may rest in Him.

Evidence: And after that the Nazirite may drink wine. ... So wine in the Lord's Supper is a testimony to the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Christ drinks wine anew with His disciples in the Father's kingdom.

Summary: Jesus' promise in Matthew 26:29 is fulfilled in the church age as believers commune with Him in the Lord's Supper, and will be consummated in glory.

Evidence: He's drinking wine anew with his disciples in his father's kingdom.

Scripture References

Numbers 6:1-8

Context: Read at the opening to introduce the Nazirite vow and its stipulations, including abstinence from wine and grape products.

Numbers 6:2

Context: Used to define the Nazirite as one who separates himself to the Lord.

Numbers 6:3-4

Context: Cited as the first stipulation of the Nazirite vow: no wine, strong drink, or any grape product.

Numbers 6:5

Context: The second stipulation: no razor on the head, letting the hair grow.

Numbers 6:6-8

Context: The third stipulation: no contact with a dead body.

Numbers 6:9-12

Context: Explained that if a Nazirite violated a stipulation, he had to offer sacrifices and start over.

Numbers 6:20

Context: Shows that after the Nazirite's vow was completed, he could drink wine, illustrating the principle of rest after finished work.

Leviticus 10:8-10

Context: God's command that priests not drink wine when entering the tabernacle, to distinguish between holy and unholy.

Leviticus 25:1-5, 11

Context: The sabbatical year and Jubilee regulations, where the vine is 'undressed' (Nazir), linking grapevines to the Nazirite concept.

Numbers 13:23

Context: The spies brought back a cluster of grapes, symbolizing the fertility and blessing of Canaan as a type of rest.

Hebrews 4:1-9

Context: Discusses the creation rest, Canaan rest, and the remaining Sabbath rest for God's people, showing the true rest is in Christ.

Hebrews 7:11

Context: Argues that perfection was not possible under the Levitical priesthood, necessitating a priest after Melchizedek's order.

Hebrews 9:6-9

Context: The Holy Spirit signified that the way into the holiest was not yet open while the first tabernacle stood, showing the old system's limitations.

Hebrews 10:1-4

Context: The law's sacrifices could never make the worshippers perfect, pointing to the need for Christ's sacrifice.

Hebrews 7:19-27

Context: Contrasts the many Aaronic priests with Jesus' unchangeable priesthood and His ability to save to the uttermost.

Hebrews 9:11-15

Context: Christ entered the holy place once with His own blood, obtaining eternal redemption and purging the conscience.

Hebrews 10:5-14

Context: Christ's one offering sanctifies believers and perfects them forever, after which He sat down at God's right hand.

Numbers 18:8-12

Context: God gave the priests the best of the wine and other offerings to consume after their service, showing they could drink wine when not ministering.

Matthew 26:28-29

Context: Jesus' words at the Last Supper, promising not to drink the fruit of the vine until He drinks it new in the Father's kingdom.

Ephesians 2:4-6

Context: Believers are raised up and seated with Christ in heavenly places, showing their present position in the kingdom.

Historical References

Nadab and Abihu

Context: Mentioned as possibly being drunk when they offered strange fire, though the Bible does not explicitly state this; their deaths precede the command for priests to abstain from wine in Leviticus 10.

Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist as lifelong Nazirites

Context: Identified as the only three lifelong Nazirites in Scripture, in contrast to Jesus who was a Nazarene (from Nazareth).

The Rechabites

Context: Briefly referenced from the previous week's message as an example of a vow (by Jonadab) that does not apply to believers today.

Important Quotes

The prohibition against alcohol in the vow of the Nazirite and in the service of the priest was a picture that the true Sabbath and the true cleansing and the true forgiveness had not yet come.

Significance: Summarizes the central typological argument that the Old Testament restrictions pointed forward to Christ's completed work.

The inclusion and use of wine in the Lord's Supper, the institution of bread and wine, is a declaration that in the new covenant the church has come into the true Sabbath and the true cleansing, and the true forgiveness of sins, and there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.

Significance: States the main thesis that wine in the Supper proclaims the arrival of the true rest in Christ.

So wine in the Lord's Supper is a testimony to the finished work of Jesus Christ. He's finished his work. He's now seated at the right hand of God. And we may safely trust in him, relax in him.

Significance: Concluding declaration that wine symbolizes the completed redemption and the believer's rest in Christ.

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Significance: Key verse from Hebrews 4:9 used to show that the true Sabbath rest is found in Christ, not in the old covenant types.

Perfection could never be had under the Aaronic priesthood. If it could have been had under the Aaronic priesthood, there would have never been a need for another priest under the Melchizedek order.

Significance: Highlights the inadequacy of the old covenant priesthood and the necessity of Christ's superior priesthood.

Discussion Questions

How does the Nazirite vow's prohibition against wine help us understand the significance of using wine in the Lord's Supper?

Context: Weaver argues that the Nazirite's abstinence was a type of the incomplete rest under the old covenant, and that drinking wine after the vow parallels the believer's rest in Christ's finished work.

In what ways does the Old Testament priesthood demonstrate the inadequacy of the old covenant, and how does Christ's priesthood fulfill what was lacking?

Context: The message contrasts the repetitive, imperfect sacrifices of the Aaronic priests with Christ's once-for-all offering and His unchangeable priesthood.

What does it mean that believers have entered the 'true Sabbath' rest, and how should this affect our approach to the Lord's Supper?

Context: Weaver explains that the Sabbath rest is not a day but a spiritual reality in Christ, and the Supper is a celebration of that rest.

How does the concept of 'relaxing in the presence of God' under the new covenant differ from the old covenant approach, and what role does wine play in illustrating this?

Context: Under the old covenant, priests could not relax or drink wine while serving; in Christ, believers can rest because His work is finished, and wine in the Supper signifies this.

What does Jesus' promise to drink the fruit of the vine new in the Father's kingdom (Matthew 26:29) mean for our present participation in the Lord's Supper?

Context: Weaver teaches that this promise is fulfilled now as believers commune with Christ in the Supper, and will be consummated at His return.

Applications

Rest in Christ's Finished Work

Summary: Believers should cease striving to earn God's favor and instead rest in the completed redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ, trusting His perfect sacrifice.

Evidence: My salvation depends solely and totally and completely upon the perfect person and work of Jesus Christ. It's what He has done. And it is finished.

Celebrate the Lord's Supper with Understanding

Summary: When partaking of the Lord's Supper, believers should recognize that the wine signifies the finished work of Christ and the rest they have in Him, not a continuation of Old Testament types.

Evidence: So wine in the Lord's Supper is a testimony to the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Reject Pagan Dualism

Summary: Believers should reject the Greek philosophical idea that matter is inherently evil, recognizing that all things, including wine, are gifts from God to be used according to His commands.

Evidence: Matter is not evil in and of itself. Evil resides in the heart of man, not in anything material.

Live in the Reality of the New Covenant

Summary: Since Christ has brought the true Sabbath and eternal redemption, believers should live with confidence and joy, not in fear of inadequate performance, but in the security of His unchangeable priesthood.

Evidence: Jesus Christ has secured for us an immutable, unchangeable, and unalterable position before the one true and living God.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T02:23:11Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:51:25Z

Clean Transcript

The Lord's Supper - Part 10

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

The message you are about to hear was produced by Freedom Ministries. If you would like to support this ministry by becoming a sermon partner or obtain additional high-resolution CDs, DVDs, or MP3s featuring the teaching of Pastor John Weaver, please visit the Freedom Ministries website at www.freedomministry.com. This ministry is completely supported by donations and it is through those donations that we are able to provide sermons for sermonaudio.com. Please visit our website at www.freedomministry.com to subscribe or make your donation today. Thank you. This is message number 10, and it's the end of this series dealing with the Lord's Supper.
#1 | 0:04 to 1:06 | cleaned
And let's begin reading with Numbers chapter 6, beginning there with verse 1. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazirite, to separate themselves unto the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine or strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head, until the days be fulfilled in the which he separated himself unto the Lord. He shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separated himself unto the Lord, he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, or for his brother, or for his sister, when they die, because the consecration of his God is upon his head."
#2 | 1:07 to 2:16 | cleaned
"All the days of his separation, he is holy unto the Lord." Now, we've been looking at the Lord's Supper for the past nine weeks. And we've looked at the names, the significance, the partakers, the reproof, and for the last several weeks we've been looking at the elements. And certainly, as I pointed out, there is no discussion when it comes to the bread, because very obviously it is unleavened bread.
#3 | 2:16 to 2:44 | cleaned
And when we discussed the liquid in the cup, I asserted that I believed that it was normally wine, but that it should be wine, and that when our Lord used the expression "the fruit of the vine" in Luke 22, that it was a metonymy where the matter or the substance of a thing was put for the thing itself. I showed you numerous metonymies in the Bible, the fruit of the body, the fruit of the loins, where brass was substituted for heavy chains, etc., and then of course where fir trees were substituted for lances and spears. I also pointed out the distinction between the social use and the religious use of wine. The social use certainly fell under the matter of liberty, but the ceremonial or religious or ecclesiastical use of wine, there was no liberty there because like in Leviticus 23, Numbers chapter 15, God demanded wine with the sacrifices. Then we looked at wine, its condemnation and its commendation in the Bible.
#4 | 2:44 to 3:55 | cleaned
And please remember that when I presented both sides, I'm trying to show you everything that the Word of God says about the subject. That means this. That means that you cannot pit one scripture against another. You cannot hold one scripture above another. You must take the entirety of God's Word and bow to it. The biblical position that we came to was this. We must view wine or any alcohol as the gift and blessing of God as long as it is used in the way that God commanded and God commended, while at the same time we must despise and detest any misuse and abuse of it because God condemns that in the scripture. And then I pointed out how that really and truly only God's people can enjoy or appreciate anything and everything that God has given us, because the Bible does say that all things is ours.
#5 | 3:56 to 4:56 | cleaned
Now, last week I tried to deal mainly with some of the objections and questions, and one of the main points I made was how we have become literally filled with paganistic Greek philosophy because it is that Greek philosophy that asserts a dichotomy between matter and spirit. And it is pagan philosophy that tries to say that matter somehow is inherently evil in and of itself. Let me repeat what I said last week. Matter is not evil in and of itself. Evil resides in the heart of man, not in anything material. By the way, it is the same paganistic Greek philosophy that tries to say that there is a difference between the secular and the sacred. For the child of God, there is no division between the secular and the sacred. For the child of God, everything is sacred.
#6 | 4:56 to 5:57 | cleaned
You remember what the Bible says, "Whether therefore ye eat, or whether ye drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." So there is no division between the secular and the sacred for the child of God.
#7 | 5:58 to 6:13 | cleaned
Now, then I dealt with the weaker brother and showed you in the context of Romans 14 and in the context of 1 Corinthians chapter 8, the weaker brother was not someone who had a propensity to drink. The weaker brother was someone who would not touch it at all, because of a misconception where he thought that somehow that matter was evil in and of itself, or that somehow an idol had some influence upon meat.
#8 | 6:13 to 6:40 | cleaned
And then I pointed out the word stumble. Skandalon was the Greek word. And you only cause a brother to stumble when you encourage him to do what you are doing when he does not have your knowledge. I went through and tried to show you the biblical understanding of the word offend. So to offend a weaker brother means that you encourage him to do what you're doing without him having your knowledge.
#9 | 6:40 to 7:08 | cleaned
And that's when he sins against his weak conscience, the Bible says. And, of course, when we cause him to do that, we sin against God ourselves. So the weaker brother then was dealt with. And then, of course, I closed with dealing with the Rechabites there in the book of Jeremiah showing how very clearly the vow that Jonadab placed upon his descendants did not affect us at all.
#10 | 7:08 to 7:36 | cleaned
Now, today I am going to deal still with this same concept and show you why I believe there is an absolute necessity of using wine in the Lord's Supper. I just read from Numbers chapter 6 dealing with the Nazirite's vow. I don't know if you've ever thought about this or not, or have ever wondered about it, or have even asked yourself this question. Why was the Nazirite forbidden wine or anything from a grape as long as he had that vow upon him?
#11 | 7:36 to 8:13 | cleaned
Let me ask you this. Have you ever considered and have you ever wondered why the priests were not allowed the use of wine as they ministered to God in the tabernacle and in the temple, although wine was involved in the sacrifices? Why were the priests forbidden the use of wine as they went about their daily tasks in the temple?
#12 | 8:14 to 8:40 | cleaned
Now, let me just remind you that the Old Testament, basically speaking, is a picture book. What it does is it draws out very clearly truths and places them in living color before our eyes. Unhappily, most people are colorblind and they can't see the truth no matter how plainly or how beautifully it is pictured or painted. So you've got to ask yourself this question. What in the world does the Nazirite vow have to do with using wine in the Lord's Supper? And what in the world does the abstinence of the priest using wine during their service of the tabernacle and the temple have to do with using wine in the Lord's Supper? Well, I believe as we look at this, it will give us a very clear explanation. Now, if you would look in verse 2, God says in Numbers chapter 6, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves, shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazirite."
#13 | 8:40 to 9:53 | cleaned
Look at the word Nazirite. The word Nazirite is Nazir, N-A-Z-I-R in the Hebrew. And it literally means separated or consecrated. So the very word Nazirite then means separated or consecrated. Now, look if you would please in verse 2 again. "...speaking to the children of Israel, and saying to them, when either man or woman shall separate themselves, to vow a vow of a Nazirite, to separate themselves, what? Unto the Lord." Now look in verse 8.
#14 | 9:53 to 10:33 | cleaned
"All the days of his separation he is holy, what? Unto the Lord." So this particular vow then was someone setting themselves apart to fulfill a certain function to the Lord. And in other words, he was holy unto the Lord.
#15 | 10:33 to 10:50 | cleaned
Now, there are four main passages in the Bible that teach about Nazirites. There are Judges 13, verses 5 through 7, Judges 16, verse 17, Numbers chapter 6, and Amos 2, verses 11 and 12.
#16 | 10:51 to 11:14 | cleaned
Now, let's ask a very simple question. Who in the world was a Nazirite? Well, a Nazirite was nothing more than an Israelite who had taken a special vow for a limited period of time and had consequently become a special temporary priest.
#17 | 11:14 to 11:33 | cleaned
Now let me say that again. A Nazirite was nothing less than an Israelite who had taken a vow and had become a special temporary priest and, as we just read, was separated unto the Lord. Now, the Nazirite vow could be taken any time, but it was especially taken during the time of war. If you would look in your Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter 5, you are going to see a song of Deborah and Barak as God, of course, gave them victory over their enemies. But I want you to look at verse 2 because there is an alternate reading.
#18 | 11:34 to 12:13 | cleaned
Some of you may have it in your marginal readings in your Bible, but here it is. Judges 5, verse 1, "Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on the day, saying, Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves." Now note that, "for the avenging of Israel were the people willingly offered themselves." Some Hebrew scholars translate that as this, "that long locks of hair hung loose in Israel that the people volunteered, bless the Lord." That long locks of hair hung loose in Israel, in other words, it was a reference then to the soldiers who had taken a Nazirite vow. Now it should be noteworthy that in the book of Numbers chapter 6 and verse 2 that either a man or a woman could take a Nazirite vow. But nowhere in scripture is there an illustration of a woman taking a Nazirite vow. But the Bible says when either man or woman shall separate themselves.
#19 | 12:14 to 13:30 | cleaned
Now, I'm not sitting here telling you that there were no women Nazirites whatsoever. I don't know. All I am saying is there is no illustration of one given to us in the Bible. You've got to remember that according to Numbers chapter 30, there were certain limitations placed upon women and their vows. For instance, if a woman uttered a vow and her father heard it, he could disannul her vow. If a woman uttered a vow and her husband heard it, he could disannul her vow. In other words, the woman could not take the vow apart from her head, her father, or her husband. So there were limitations placed upon the vows that women were able to take. Now as you look back in the book of Numbers, chapter 6, there are three main stipulations placed upon the Nazirite vow.
#20 | 13:31 to 14:30 | cleaned
First of all, number 1, in verses 3 and 4, "He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, nor dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk." So you can say no wine, no alcoholic beverage whatsoever, nothing even from grapes, no grape juice, no grape, no grape husk, nothing. So that was the first stipulation.
#21 | 14:31 to 15:06 | cleaned
The second one is found in verse 5, no razor was to touch his head. "All the days of the vow of his separation, there shall no razor come upon his head until the days be fulfilled in which he separated himself from the Lord. He shall be holy and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow." So if you took a Nazirite vow, no wine, no shaving the head, no trimming the head whatsoever. And then of course, in verses 6-8, he was not to touch a dead body. "All the days that he separated himself from the Lord, he shall come at no dead body." It doesn't matter if it's father, mother, brother, sister, he cannot touch any dead body. Now, there was no time limit given for a Nazirite vow. Tradition says that usually it was about 30 days, sometimes 60 or 90 at the most, but there was no time limit set.
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So a man could take a vow for a year or two years if he chose. However, if you look at Numbers chapter 6, if he violated one of these three stipulations, he had to offer an offering and then start all over. Look at it in verse 9, "And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration, then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing. On the seventh day shall he shave it, and on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day." Now look, "and he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and he shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering, but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled."
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So if he touched a dead body, or if a razor came to his head, or if he touched anything from a grape, or any type of wine or alcohol, that was over. In other words, he had then to make an offering and start all over again. By the way, as far as I can tell, in all the years that I've studied the scripture, there have been only three life-long Nazirites in the Bible.
#24 | 17:13 to 17:38 | cleaned
They were Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist. Jesus Christ was not a Nazirite. He was a Nazarene. He was from the town of Nazareth. There's a difference between a Nazarene and a Nazirite.
#25 | 17:38 to 17:56 | cleaned
Now, let's take this prohibition against the use of wine or alcohol. A Nazirite was considered to be a special temporary priest. He had taken a vow to perform some special sacred service, and therefore he was precluded from drinking wine during that time, as were all priests, if you will look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus, chapter 10. Leviticus, chapter 10. And notice, if you would please, verses 8 through 10. Leviticus 10, verse 8.
#26 | 17:57 to 18:39 | cleaned
"And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine, nor strong drink, thou nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses."
#27 | 18:39 to 19:09 | cleaned
Now, verse 10 tells us specifically why this prohibition was laid down. Number one, that the priest's judgment would not be clouded, that he could tell the difference between the holy and the unholy, the unclean and the clean, and that he might make sure that he was capable and able of teaching all the statutes that the Lord had given unto him.
#28 | 19:09 to 19:34 | cleaned
Now, let me ask this question. It's going to pop into your minds. Why then does God prohibit the priests from having wine during his service in the tabernacle later on in the temple, even though wine was used in the sacrifices? Here's why. It is not that the wine was unclean, for God certainly used that in his sacrifices. It is because men are unholy and unclean. And because of that fact, listen carefully, under the old covenant, they could not relax with alcohol in the presence of God.
#29 | 19:35 to 20:26 | cleaned
Now some have suggested that the deaths of Nadab and Abihu were related to this. If you look in Leviticus 10 in verse 1, "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." Well, this is when God killed Nadab and Abihu, who were the sons of Aaron. And Moses now comes to Aaron and says, don't you mourn for them. This is what God has done and then you come down to verse 8 and 9 and he says you're to drink no wine.
#30 | 20:28 to 21:14 | cleaned
Now it could be that these boys were drunken. I don't know that. It could be that they were well-soused. I don't know that. The Bible doesn't say. What the Bible does say is they offered strange fire before the Lord. There could have been something to do with alcohol in the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. I don't know. The Bible does not make that clear. But the Bible also tells you, if you'll look in verse 24 of Leviticus 9, when that altar was set up, "and there came a fire out from before the Lord and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering, the fat."
#31 | 21:15 to 21:58 | cleaned
And when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Let me ask you a question. Who was it that started the fire on that altar? God Himself did. Did you know that there were specific commands, even back in Leviticus 6 verses 9 through 13, that that fire was never, ever to go out? The fire was never, ever to go out.
#32 | 21:59 to 22:22 | cleaned
Now, why in the world? Because God is the one who started that fire. God is the one who initiated, and the priests, therefore, were under direct command from God not to let that fire go out. Why did they let it go out? I don't know. Maybe it was because they were drinking. Maybe it was because they were just simply unattended. I don't know. But the one thing for sure, when they tried to start the fire themselves, God killed them. God put them to death.
#33 | 22:23 to 22:54 | cleaned
Now, ask yourself this question. Why then were the priests forbidden the use of wine or alcohol as they ministered in the presence of God? You say, Brother Weaver, you've already answered that because God wanted to make sure they put a difference between the holy and the unholy, the clean and the unclean. But there's another answer. Let me give it to you, and I'm going to show it to you from the Bible. The reason God forbade the priests to use wine as they served him in the tabernacle and in the temple was to demonstrate the fact that the Aaronic priesthood was inadequate and that the true Sabbath had not yet come.
#34 | 22:55 to 23:48 | cleaned
Now think about that just for a moment. Why were they forbidden the use of wine? Number one, that the Aaronic priesthood was inadequate. And number two, that the real Sabbath had not yet come.
#35 | 23:51 to 24:04 | cleaned
Now, do you realize that one of the most important tasks of the priesthood in the Old Testament was to exclude Israel from God and to guard his holy place from defilement? Do you remember what happened in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 19 when God came down and God spoke there? What did the people say? They said to Moses, "Speak thou to us and we will hear, but let not God speak to us lest we die." Now, the principle, therefore, was carried over into the priesthood.
#36 | 24:05 to 24:44 | cleaned
So the priests then were mediators, they were go-betweens. What did the priests do? The priests represented God to the people and represented the people to God. In other words, the people didn't have to do what the priests were able to do. And the priests then represented the people to God. And as you know, only the high priest could go into the holiest of all, and he was only able to go in how many times?
#37 | 24:45 to 25:10 | cleaned
Once a year, and that not without the shedding of blood. He had to have blood as he went. So the priest then, although he was a mediator, and although he may have been a descendant of Aaron, he was still inadequate to do what needed to be done. The Nazirite, when he took his vow, had to abstain from wine just exactly the way the priest had to abstain. Why? The Bible is telling us that the Nazirite had a holy task to perform, listen carefully, and he was not to relax, nor to rest, nor to enjoy the Sabbath of wine until his vow was over.
#38 | 25:11 to 26:05 | cleaned
Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 25. Let me try to set the stage for you. You see, grapes were forbidden the Nazirite the same way that wine or alcohol was forbidden to the Nazirite. I want you to look what God says. "And the Lord spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord." Now wait. God tells the children of Israel, "When you get into the land, then you shall allow the land to keep a sabbath to the Lord." Verse 3.
#39 | 26:06 to 26:54 | cleaned
"Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof. But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest in the land, a sabbath for the Lord. Thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard."
#40 | 26:55 to 27:11 | cleaned
Now look at verse 5. "That which groweth of its own accord of the harvest thou shalt not reap. Neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed, for it is a year of rest unto the land." Now, skip down, if you would please, to verse 11. He now talks about the year of Jubilee. I'll explain this in just a moment. "A Jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you. Ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed." When the children of Israel got in the land, every six years they were able to reap the fruit of the land. But on the seventh year, the land rested.
#41 | 27:12 to 27:59 | cleaned
And God specifically said, you're not to prune your grapevines. He talks about the vine undressed. The year of Jubilee was the 50th year, seven times seven, 49, and then 49 was a sabbatical year and then the 50th year was a year of jubilee, it too was a sabbatical year. Once again he talks about the vine undressed.
#42 | 27:59 to 28:24 | cleaned
Now the interesting thing is this, I want you to look, some of you have marginal references in your Bible. If you do, look in your marginal references because in verse 5 and in verse 11, when it talks about the vine undressed, some of you may have "a vine of thy separation" or "the vine of thy consecration" as an alternate reading. You know why? Let me tell you why.
#43 | 28:24 to 28:53 | cleaned
Because the Hebrew word for undressed is Nazir, N-A-Z-I-R, the same exact word. In other words, the grapevines growing wildly everywhere during the sabbatical year were like the hair or the locks of the hair of the Nazirites that grew long untrimmed. And just like the Nazirites' locks were separated unto God, so God says these grapevines, these vines undressed, are separated, they're consecrated, they're mine. You can't cut them. You can't prune them. So now you have the word separated and consecrated in reference to grapevines as well as in reference to the Nazirite. Both were separated from trimming.
#44 | 28:53 to 30:00 | cleaned
I want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers, chapter 13. I'm sure that you would remember this, but I'm going to show it to you. You remember that grapes were a symbol of fertility and the blessing of the land of Canaan. You remember in the book of Numbers, chapter 13, the spies had come back. And I want you to note what they're carrying on their shoulders. Numbers, chapter 13. And look, if you would please, at verse 23, "And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with how many clusters of grapes? One cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff." Can you imagine it taking two men to carry one cluster of grapes?
#45 | 30:01 to 30:54 | cleaned
What does that tell you? That tells you the fertility and the goodness of the land. And when the people saw those grapes, I mean, my goodness, they understood that when they got into Canaan, it was going to be a sign of blessing and rest.
#46 | 30:58 to 31:16 | cleaned
Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter four. I want to start trying to tie things together. Please follow this because we're talking about the Nazirite. We're talking about the grapevine. We're talking about the Sabbath. Look in the book of Hebrews chapter four. And by the way, I hope you understand that there are different Sabbaths that are mentioned in the Bible. In Hebrews chapter four, you can read about a number of those Sabbaths. For instance, the Bible says in verse seven, "For we who have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. And he spake in a certain place on the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all of his works." Now that is the creation rest. That's when God created the world and rested. Now look.
#47 | 31:16 to 32:19 | cleaned
"And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest." So he's talking about another rest. "Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief." Now he's talking about those children of Israel in the wilderness. "Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is written, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts."
#48 | 32:19 to 32:42 | cleaned
"For if Jesus"—someone tell me who this Jesus is in verse eight. Joshua. The word Joshua and the word Jesus are identical. They're one and the same. "For if Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterwards have spoken of another day?"
#49 | 32:43 to 33:00 | cleaned
Now, let me just stop there. There is the creation rest. That is true. There is also the Canaan rest. So when the children of Israel got into the land of Canaan with all these grapes and all these blessings, it was indeed a time of rest. Think of where they were before. They were in Egypt, in slavery. Now God has sovereignly brought them out of Egypt and brought them into the land and given them the land.
#50 | 33:00 to 33:32 | cleaned
And yes, in one sense of the word, it is a Sabbath. It is a rest. It's a vast difference from what they were and what they had down in Egypt. But now let me ask you a question. Think about this. Don't answer out loud. But was Canaan rest what God gave the children of Israel in the Old Testament? Was that the true rest? No. That's why those priests could not have wine. That's why the Nazirite could not have wine. That's why those vines had to grow undressed every sabbatical year and every year of Jubilee.
#51 | 33:35 to 34:19 | cleaned
Now, I want you to look in verse nine. After having talked about the creation rest, after having talked about the Canaan rest, the Bible says in verse nine, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." Whoa, did you hear that? Now, if the creation rest is not our rest, and if the Canaan rest is not our rest—by the way, when you read the word rest in Hebrews 4 and verse 9, let me read it to you as it is in the Greek. "There remaineth therefore a sabbatismos to the people of God." What is sabbatismos? A Sabbath. There remaineth a Sabbath to the people of God. Now, let me ask this another way. Were those sabbatical years the real Sabbath? No. They were types. They were pictures. They were emblems. Were those Old Testament priests the real priests? No. They were types. They were pictures. They were emblems.
#52 | 34:19 to 35:25 | cleaned
Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. God says there remaineth therefore a rest for the people of God. The very fact that when Israel did enter into and occupy the land, that she was not permitted to harvest those grapes the sabbatical year, nor trim those vines the sabbatical year, demonstrated that those Sabbaths were not the real Sabbath. The real Sabbath was yet in the future. Because those vines were undressed, separated, consecrated to the Lord, just like the locks on the Nazirite's head. Separated and consecrated to the Lord. His locks were not to be cut until what? His vow was performed, until his vow was finished.
#53 | 35:29 to 36:18 | cleaned
As long as his hair was long, his task was incomplete. As long as those great vines went undressed every seventh year, it's teaching us that God's true Sabbath had not yet appeared.
#54 | 36:19 to 36:40 | cleaned
Now, each of us understands that the Old Covenant, under the Aaronic Priesthood, was inadequate, incapable, and unable to accomplish real cleansing from sin. And if you don't believe that, I want you to look in Hebrews 7. Hebrews 7, verse 11. Hebrews 7, verse 11, just a few verses here. Hebrews 7, verse 11. "If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,)"
#55 | 36:40 to 37:17 | cleaned
"what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron?" What's he saying? Perfection could never be had under the Aaronic priesthood. If it could have been had under the Aaronic priesthood, there would have never been a need for another priest under the Melchizedek order. And we're talking about Jesus Christ. So look in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 6.
#56 | 37:18 to 37:42 | cleaned
"Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience."
#57 | 37:45 to 38:26 | cleaned
Now what does that tell us? That nothing that those Old Testament priests did could make the worshipper perfect, complete, or holy. No. It was all temporary. And all of those Old Testament sacrifices had to be repeated over and over. Look in chapter 10, verse 1. Hebrews 10, verse 1. "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of those things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins." Now, why do those people keep coming every year if the blood of bulls and goats could not take away their sins? Because they were remembering that they were sinners and they had sinned and they could not get a permanent forgiveness and covering and atonement by the use of goats and bulls and things like that.
#58 | 38:26 to 39:41 | cleaned
In other words, all of those lambs that were sacrificed in the Old Testament could never take away sin. The only thing they did was point forward to the true Lamb of God who could take away sin. The Lord Jesus Christ. And all these Old Testament sacrifices they were doing were pointing to the future. And they said, He's coming. He's not here yet. We don't have the real Sabbath just yet. We don't have the real completed redemption just yet, but He is coming. Now listen carefully. The prohibition against alcohol in the vow of the Nazirite and in the service of the priest was a picture that the true Sabbath and the true cleansing and the true forgiveness had not yet come. Consequently, under the old covenant, are you listening? Men could not relax in the presence of God. Under the old covenant, the priests had to stay on their toes.
#59 | 39:41 to 41:04 | cleaned
They had to make sure that every sacrifice was done exactly the way God demanded. Every service, every ritual, every ceremony performed, every I dotted, every T crossed. If they didn't, what would happen? They'd be killed. Why do you think that high priest had pomegranates and bells on the hem of his garment? Why do you think they had to tie a rope around his ankle as he went into the holy of holies? Most holy. Because if God killed him in there, they weren't going in after him. They'd drag him out. As long as they could hear those bells, they know that he was alive.
#60 | 41:06 to 41:48 | cleaned
Because there was no perfection in the old covenant. Men could not relax in the presence of God. Now listen carefully. The inclusion and use of wine in the Lord's Supper, the institution of bread and wine, is a declaration that in the new covenant the church has come into the true Sabbath and the true cleansing, and the true forgiveness of sins, and there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. Jesus Christ has fulfilled every type, every picture, every symbol, every emblem in the Old Testament. And now, men may relax in Him. Let me show you.
#61 | 41:50 to 42:43 | cleaned
Look in Hebrews chapter 7, verse 19. Beginning there in verse 19, "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made a high priest: (for those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek:) by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: but this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens."
#62 | 42:43 to 43:58 | cleaned
"Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself." What is Scripture telling us? Jesus Christ is not like those Aaronic priests. Jesus Christ has an unchangeable priesthood, and therefore He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him.
#63 | 43:58 to 44:28 | cleaned
Look in chapter 9, beginning in verse 11. Hebrews 9, verse 11. "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." Does it sound to you like Jesus Christ is a faulty priest or a perfect priest?
#64 | 44:29 to 45:40 | cleaned
Look in chapter 10, beginning there with verse 5. Hebrews 10, verse 5. "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Once for all. Look down in verse 12. Hebrews 10 verse 12. "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."
#65 | 45:43 to 46:56 | cleaned
You see, what the Aaronic priesthood could not give was perfection. That is why they had to do those sacrifices over and over and over and over and over. That is why those priests, when they went in, had to make sure they abstained from alcohol whatsoever. They could not relax in the presence of God. The true Sabbath had not yet come. The true salvation had not yet come. The true cleansing had not yet come.
#66 | 46:58 to 47:34 | cleaned
That Nazirite was a temporary priest. When he took that vow, he was separating himself to God and saying, I'll not touch wine, I'll not trim my hair, and I'll not touch a dead body until I've completed this task unto God.
#67 | 47:37 to 47:57 | cleaned
Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles and look in your Bibles to Numbers chapter 6 and verse 20. We're talking about the Nazirite. I'm trying to show you the significance between the Nazirite vow, the priestly abstinence, and wine in the Lord's Supper. Now, you'll remember, as we just read, from Numbers 6, verses 3 and 4, the Nazirite, when he had his vow, could not have wine. Look at it in Numbers 6 and verse 20.
#68 | 47:58 to 48:39 | cleaned
"And the priest shall wave them, that is, the sacrifices that he brings at the completion of his vow, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazirite may drink wine." When could the Nazirite drink wine? When his vow was finished, when his task was completed, he could then rest and relax in the presence of God. But until then, he could not.
#69 | 48:39 to 49:24 | cleaned
Look in your Bibles to Numbers 18. Let me just show you. As long as the priests were in the tabernacle and in the temple doing service unto God, they could not have wine. After they were finished with their service in the tabernacle and the temple, what did God give them? Look at Numbers 18, beginning there with verse 8. Numbers 18, verse 8, "And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever. This shall be thine of the most holy things."
#70 | 49:25 to 50:11 | cleaned
Here's what God's giving him. "This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, every sin offering of theirs, every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and thy sons. In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee. And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thine house shall eat it." And look at verse 12, "All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee." My question is this, were the priests able to drink the best of the wine after their service was over?
#71 | 50:12 to 51:18 | cleaned
What's the answer? Yes. Yes. Now, listen to me. I'm going to show it to you. There is a specific reason for using wine in the Lord's Supper. And that specific reason is it is the fulfillment of an Old Testament type. Men who are in Christ now may safely relax and trust His atonement, His offering, and His sacrifice. We are hidden in the hollow of His hands. Jesus Christ has done for us that which millions of Aarons could never have done. Jesus Christ has secured for us an immutable, unchangeable, and unalterable position before the one true and living God. We have now come unto Jesus Christ, who is our true salvation, our true Sabbath, and our true rest.
#72 | 51:19 to 52:33 | cleaned
Do you remember Hebrews 4 and verse 9? When after discussing the Canaan rest, he said this, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." Do you remember that? Do you also remember what our Lord said in Matthew 11, verses 28 and 29? Let me just quote it. Here's what our Lord said. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you"—what?
#73 | 52:33 to 53:04 | cleaned
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find"—what? "Rest unto your souls." Let me say it like this. Our minds, that is our heads, our locks of hair, have now become totally and completely separated and consecrated to the one true and living God through Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus Christ is the end of all the symbols, types, and pictures.
#74 | 53:06 to 53:38 | cleaned
Now, one last thing before I try to tie this together for you. I want you to go back in your Bibles to Matthew 26. Matthew 26. Matthew 26. This is a metonymy I told you about earlier. Matthew 26 and verse 29. Look what our Lord said to his disciples. He's instituted the Lord's Supper. In verse 28, he says, "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Now, in verse 29, he says, "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." Now, the fruit of the vine is a metonymy where the substance or the matter is put for the thing itself. Now, our Lord said to his disciples, I'm not going to drink of the fruit of the vine anymore until I drink it anew with you in my father's kingdom. So the question has to be asked, what did he mean by the father's kingdom and when and where is the father's kingdom?
#75 | 53:38 to 54:57 | cleaned
Let me ask this question, is his kingdom the New Testament age, which he died to inaugurate, or is it heaven or glory itself? And the answer is both. Now listen carefully. We are now in the Father's Kingdom. However, the total and absolute fruition of it will not appear until Christ returns. Let me show you what I'm talking about. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to Luke 10 and verse 9. I just want to show you a couple of verses. Luke 10 and verse 9. And you've got to remember while Christ—I'm going to show you the difference between when Christ was alive and when Christ died. Just a moment. Look in Luke 10 and verse 9.
#76 | 55:01 to 56:00 | cleaned
Our Lord says when he sends his disciples out, he says, "And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." Now, since Jesus Christ was the king and is the king, he did in one sense of the word bring the kingdom with him. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to Luke 11 and verse 20. Luke 11 and verse 20.
#77 | 56:04 to 56:29 | cleaned
What did he tell these people? "But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you." Well, there was a sense in which the kingdom of God was present when Jesus Christ was here, because Jesus Christ is the king. And he told the people, if I cast out demons with the finger of God, no doubt the kingdom of God is here with you.
#78 | 56:37 to 57:01 | cleaned
Now I want you to skip over to the book of Colossians chapter one. Colossians chapter one, I want to show you the difference in just a moment.
#79 | 57:02 to 57:10 | cleaned
Now, the question has got to be asked, are we in the kingdom? And the answer is yes, we're in the kingdom. You said, but Brother Weaver, we pray in the Lord's Prayer, "thy kingdom come." That's true. We want it to come fully, finally, totally, completely. Yes, we do. But it's here now. But it's coming in a more definite way, I can assure you. But look, if you would, in the book of Colossians, chapter 1, just to show you what the Apostle Paul says. Colossians 1, notice if you would please, verse 12. Colossians 1, verse 12.
#80 | 57:12 to 57:45 | cleaned
"Giving thanks unto the Father." Why should we thank the Father? Here's why. "Which hath made us meet" or suitable "to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." Well now, how did he make us suitable to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light? "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us"—where? "Into the kingdom of his dear Son." Now, here's my question. Are we in the kingdom? Yes. Did not Christ bring the kingdom with him? Yes. But let me show you how there is a difference between when Christ was alive on this earth and when Christ died and rose again. I want you to look in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. I want you to look carefully, remember the word testament here is the word covenant. OK, so we talk about the Old Testament or the Old Covenant and the New Testament and the New Covenant. OK, now watch carefully. Hebrews 9, look at verse 16, "For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator."
#81 | 57:45 to 59:12 | cleaned
"For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth." Now stop there just for a moment. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of a testator. Let me try to explain it like this. Let's suppose that I wrote a will, and I left everything that I had to Ed Wolfe.
#82 | 59:13 to 59:43 | cleaned
You won't get much, brother. But I left everything I had to Ed Wolfe. It's in my will. What is a will? This is my last will and testament. Now, although I've left everything to Ed, how much does he get right now? Zilch. Nothing. Why? I'm still alive. In order for me to put that will into effect, I have to die. Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant, of the New Testament.
#83 | 59:46 to 1:00:33 | cleaned
Now listen to me carefully. You know, if I left everything to Ed in my will, that really and truly doesn't mean he's going to get everything. You say, how can you say that? Well, because the executor of that will or some shyster lawyer might could beat him out of it and claim this and claim that. And you understand what I'm saying? He might end up with some of it, but—and I can't do a thing about it because I can't come back and say, no, no, no, that's not what I meant, I meant this, I'm dead, I can't do that. Guess what?
#84 | 1:00:34 to 1:01:17 | cleaned
Jesus Christ instituted the New Covenant. He died to put it into effect. And then He arose from the dead, ascended on high, is sat down at the right hand of God the Father. He is now the executor of the estate. He will put into full effect the testament that He bequeathed. By the way, you know what the Bible teaches in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 through 6? Turn there.
#85 | 1:01:19 to 1:01:57 | cleaned
I want you to see it. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 through 6. This is powerful. Look at Ephesians 2, beginning there with verse 4. Ephesians 2, verse 4. Here it is. "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us." Thank God for that. "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ."
#86 | 1:01:57 to 1:02:36 | cleaned
Let me ask you this question. Where is Christ right now? He's seated at the Father's right hand. He is in the Father's kingdom and glory. Where are we right now, positionally? We're in Him. When He died, we died. When He was buried, we were buried. When He was resurrected, we were resurrected. When He ascended, we ascended. When He sat down, we sat down. We are in the Father's kingdom. Are you listening? Eternity is just the consummation of that kingdom.
#87 | 1:02:37 to 1:03:13 | cleaned
Now, what did our Lord say to his disciples? "I won't drink any more of the fruit of the vine until I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father." Do you remember what 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 16 called the supper? The cup of blessing. And then the Apostle Paul asked, "Is this not the communion of the blood of Christ?" With whom are we communing when we take the Lord's Supper? Not just with each other, but with Jesus Christ himself. Do you understand that the use of wine in the Lord's Supper fulfills the Old Testament types of the Nazirite vow and of the Aaronic priesthood?
#88 | 1:03:16 to 1:04:23 | cleaned
They could never relax in the presence of God. But now in Jesus Christ, we use wine in the Lord's Supper to show that the work is finished. All of those who trust in Jesus Christ may safely relax in Him, believe in Him, and rest in Him. There are no ceremonies to perform, no rituals to exercise, no details to work out. No, everything is finished. Everything is in Jesus Christ, just as that Nazirite could have wine after he finished his task, just like that priest could have wine after he finished his task. What did Jesus Christ say in John 19 on the cross? "It is"—what? "Finished." And what is he doing now in the Lord's Supper?
#89 | 1:04:24 to 1:05:28 | cleaned
He's drinking wine anew with his disciples in his father's kingdom. So wine in the Lord's Supper is a testimony to the finished work of Jesus Christ. He's finished his work. He's now seated at the right hand of God. And we may safely trust in him, relax in him. I am so thankful, folks, my salvation does not depend on what I have done or what I have not done, what I'm going to do or what I'm not going to do. My salvation depends solely and totally and completely upon the perfect person and work of Jesus Christ. It's what He has done. And it is finished. Let's pray.
#90 | 1:05:28 to 1:06:31 | cleaned
Father, speak to our hearts. Help us, Lord, to see the absolute blessing of God and the truth of Your Word and the fulfillment of these Old Testament types, and how we may relax and trust safely in Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, to be a testimony to His finished work and honor Him in all that we say and do. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
#91 | 1:06:32 to 1:07:08 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T02:23:11Z

The Lord's Supper - Part 10

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this concluding message on the Lord's Supper, John Weaver argues for the necessity of using wine in the ordinance by showing how the Old Testament prohibitions against wine for Nazirites and priests were types pointing to the inadequacy of the old covenant and the lack of true rest. He explains that the inclusion of wine in the Lord's Supper declares that in Christ the true Sabbath has come, His work is finished, and believers may now safely relax in His completed redemption.

Introduction and Review of the Series

Scripture Reading — Numbers 6:1-8

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazirite, to separate themselves unto the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine or strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head, until the days be fulfilled in the which he separated himself unto the Lord. He shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separated himself unto the Lord, he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, or for his brother, or for his sister, when they die, because the consecration of his God is upon his head."

Pagan Philosophy and the Weaker Brother

He recaps last week's teaching on how Greek dualism wrongly views matter as evil, and clarifies the biblical concept of the weaker brother and causing offense.

The Nazirite Vow and Priestly Abstinence

Weaver reads Numbers 6 and Leviticus 10, highlighting that Nazirites and priests were forbidden wine during their service, and asks why this was so.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 6:6-8

"and he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and he shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering, but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled."

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 10:8-10

"And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine, nor strong drink, thou nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses."

The Inadequacy of the Old Covenant

Now think about that just for a moment. Why were they forbidden the use of wine? Number one, that the Aaronic priesthood was inadequate. And number two, that the real Sabbath had not yet come.

Now, I want you to look in verse nine. After having talked about the creation rest, after having talked about the Canaan rest, the Bible says in verse nine,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 4:1-9

"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 4:1-9

"There remaineth therefore a sabbatismos to the people of God."

Christ's Perfect Priesthood and Finished Work

Weaver contrasts the repetitive, imperfect Old Testament sacrifices with Christ's once-for-all offering, showing from Hebrews 7-10 that Jesus brings perfection and eternal redemption.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 9:6-9

"Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 10:1-4

"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of those things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins."

Look in Hebrews chapter 7, verse 19. Beginning there in verse 19,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 7:19-27

"For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made a high priest: (for those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek:) by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: but this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 9:11-15

"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance."

Does it sound to you like Jesus Christ is a faulty priest or a perfect priest?

Look in chapter 10, beginning there with verse 5. Hebrews 10, verse 5.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 10:5-14

"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

Once for all. Look down in verse 12. Hebrews 10 verse 12.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 10:5-14

"But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

Wine as a Sign of Completed Rest

Scripture Reading — Numbers 6:20

"And the priest shall wave them, that is, the sacrifices that he brings at the completion of his vow, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazirite may drink wine."

The Kingdom and the Lord's Supper

Scripture Reading — Matthew 26:28-29

"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Now, in verse 29, he says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 26:28-29

"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."

I want you to see it. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 through 6. This is powerful. Look at Ephesians 2, beginning there with verse 4. Ephesians 2, verse 4. Here it is.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:4-6

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us."

Thank God for that.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:4-6

"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ."

Conclusion: Resting in Christ's Finished Work

He concludes that wine in the Lord's Supper testifies to the finished work of Christ, allowing believers to relax and trust in Him, and closes in prayer.

The Lord's Supper - Part 10

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	710693718
Subject	Church Government
Course	Church Order: Worship, Sacraments, and the Lord's Supper
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-04-02
Dictation Name
Book	Book 041: The Lord's Supper — Chapter 10
Source Timed Segments	91

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review of the Series: Weaver introduces the final message in the Lord's Supper series and reviews previous topics including the elements, the metonymy of 'fruit of the vine,' and the biblical view of wine as both a gift and a potential danger.
Pagan Philosophy and the Weaker Brother: He recaps last week's teaching on how Greek dualism wrongly views matter as evil, and clarifies the biblical concept of the weaker brother and causing offense.
The Nazirite Vow and Priestly Abstinence: Weaver reads Numbers 6 and Leviticus 10, highlighting that Nazirites and priests were forbidden wine during their service, and asks why this was so.
The Inadequacy of the Old Covenant: He explains that the prohibition demonstrated the inadequacy of the Aaronic priesthood and that the true Sabbath had not yet come, using Hebrews 4 and the concept of the vine undressed (Nazir) in Leviticus 25.
Christ's Perfect Priesthood and Finished Work: Weaver contrasts the repetitive, imperfect Old Testament sacrifices with Christ's once-for-all offering, showing from Hebrews 7-10 that Jesus brings perfection and eternal redemption.
Wine as a Sign of Completed Rest: He notes that Nazirites could drink wine after their vow was completed (Numbers 6:20) and priests received wine after their service (Numbers 18), illustrating that wine in the Lord's Supper signifies the finished work of Christ.
The Kingdom and the Lord's Supper: Weaver explains that Christ's promise not to drink the fruit of the vine until He drinks it new in the Father's kingdom (Matthew 26:29) is fulfilled now in the church age and consummated at His return, and that the cup of blessing is communion with Christ.
Conclusion: Resting in Christ's Finished Work: He concludes that wine in the Lord's Supper testifies to the finished work of Christ, allowing believers to relax and trust in Him, and closes in prayer.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

The Nazirite and priestly abstinence from wine was a type of the old covenant's incompleteness.

God forbade Nazirites and priests from wine during their service to show that the true Sabbath and perfect cleansing had not yet come, and that men could not relax in God's presence under the old covenant.

The reason God forbade the priests to use wine as they served him in the tabernacle and in the temple was to demonstrate the fact that the Aaronic priesthood was inadequate and that the true Sabbath had not yet come.

The undressed vine during sabbatical years symbolized the incomplete rest.

The Hebrew word for 'undressed' (Nazir) links the untrimmed grapevines to the Nazirite's unshorn hair, both signifying separation to God until the true rest appears.

As long as those great vines went undressed every seventh year, it's teaching us that God's true Sabbath had not yet appeared.

Christ's priesthood is superior and brings perfection.

Unlike the Aaronic priests, Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins forever and sat down, having perfected believers for all time, making further sacrifices unnecessary.

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; ... For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Wine in the Lord's Supper fulfills the Old Testament types.

Just as Nazirites and priests could drink wine after their service ended, the use of wine in the Lord's Supper signifies that Christ's work is finished and believers may rest in Him.

And after that the Nazirite may drink wine. ... So wine in the Lord's Supper is a testimony to the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Christ drinks wine anew with His disciples in the Father's kingdom.

Jesus' promise in Matthew 26:29 is fulfilled in the church age as believers commune with Him in the Lord's Supper, and will be consummated in glory.

He's drinking wine anew with his disciples in his father's kingdom.

Scripture References

Numbers 6:1-8: Read at the opening to introduce the Nazirite vow and its stipulations, including abstinence from wine and grape products.
Numbers 6:2: Used to define the Nazirite as one who separates himself to the Lord.
Numbers 6:3-4: Cited as the first stipulation of the Nazirite vow: no wine, strong drink, or any grape product.
Numbers 6:5: The second stipulation: no razor on the head, letting the hair grow.
Numbers 6:6-8: The third stipulation: no contact with a dead body.
Numbers 6:9-12: Explained that if a Nazirite violated a stipulation, he had to offer sacrifices and start over.
Numbers 6:20: Shows that after the Nazirite's vow was completed, he could drink wine, illustrating the principle of rest after finished work.
Leviticus 10:8-10: God's command that priests not drink wine when entering the tabernacle, to distinguish between holy and unholy.
Leviticus 25:1-5, 11: The sabbatical year and Jubilee regulations, where the vine is 'undressed' (Nazir), linking grapevines to the Nazirite concept.
Numbers 13:23: The spies brought back a cluster of grapes, symbolizing the fertility and blessing of Canaan as a type of rest.
Hebrews 4:1-9: Discusses the creation rest, Canaan rest, and the remaining Sabbath rest for God's people, showing the true rest is in Christ.
Hebrews 7:11: Argues that perfection was not possible under the Levitical priesthood, necessitating a priest after Melchizedek's order.
Hebrews 9:6-9: The Holy Spirit signified that the way into the holiest was not yet open while the first tabernacle stood, showing the old system's limitations.
Hebrews 10:1-4: The law's sacrifices could never make the worshippers perfect, pointing to the need for Christ's sacrifice.
Hebrews 7:19-27: Contrasts the many Aaronic priests with Jesus' unchangeable priesthood and His ability to save to the uttermost.
Hebrews 9:11-15: Christ entered the holy place once with His own blood, obtaining eternal redemption and purging the conscience.
Hebrews 10:5-14: Christ's one offering sanctifies believers and perfects them forever, after which He sat down at God's right hand.
Numbers 18:8-12: God gave the priests the best of the wine and other offerings to consume after their service, showing they could drink wine when not ministering.
Matthew 26:28-29: Jesus' words at the Last Supper, promising not to drink the fruit of the vine until He drinks it new in the Father's kingdom.
Ephesians 2:4-6: Believers are raised up and seated with Christ in heavenly places, showing their present position in the kingdom.

Historical References

Nadab and Abihu: Mentioned as possibly being drunk when they offered strange fire, though the Bible does not explicitly state this; their deaths precede the command for priests to abstain from wine in Leviticus 10.
Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist as lifelong Nazirites: Identified as the only three lifelong Nazirites in Scripture, in contrast to Jesus who was a Nazarene (from Nazareth).
The Rechabites: Briefly referenced from the previous week's message as an example of a vow (by Jonadab) that does not apply to believers today.

Important Quotes

The prohibition against alcohol in the vow of the Nazirite and in the service of the priest was a picture that the true Sabbath and the true cleansing and the true forgiveness had not yet come.

Summarizes the central typological argument that the Old Testament restrictions pointed forward to Christ's completed work.

The inclusion and use of wine in the Lord's Supper, the institution of bread and wine, is a declaration that in the new covenant the church has come into the true Sabbath and the true cleansing, and the true forgiveness of sins, and there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.

States the main thesis that wine in the Supper proclaims the arrival of the true rest in Christ.

So wine in the Lord's Supper is a testimony to the finished work of Jesus Christ. He's finished his work. He's now seated at the right hand of God. And we may safely trust in him, relax in him.

Concluding declaration that wine symbolizes the completed redemption and the believer's rest in Christ.

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Key verse from Hebrews 4:9 used to show that the true Sabbath rest is found in Christ, not in the old covenant types.

Perfection could never be had under the Aaronic priesthood. If it could have been had under the Aaronic priesthood, there would have never been a need for another priest under the Melchizedek order.

Highlights the inadequacy of the old covenant priesthood and the necessity of Christ's superior priesthood.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the Nazirite vow's prohibition against wine help us understand the significance of using wine in the Lord's Supper?

[Context]

Weaver argues that the Nazirite's abstinence was a type of the incomplete rest under the old covenant, and that drinking wine after the vow parallels the believer's rest in Christ's finished work.

[Question]

In what ways does the Old Testament priesthood demonstrate the inadequacy of the old covenant, and how does Christ's priesthood fulfill what was lacking?

[Context]

The message contrasts the repetitive, imperfect sacrifices of the Aaronic priests with Christ's once-for-all offering and His unchangeable priesthood.

[Question]

What does it mean that believers have entered the 'true Sabbath' rest, and how should this affect our approach to the Lord's Supper?

[Context]

Weaver explains that the Sabbath rest is not a day but a spiritual reality in Christ, and the Supper is a celebration of that rest.

[Question]

How does the concept of 'relaxing in the presence of God' under the new covenant differ from the old covenant approach, and what role does wine play in illustrating this?

[Context]

Under the old covenant, priests could not relax or drink wine while serving; in Christ, believers can rest because His work is finished, and wine in the Supper signifies this.

[Question]

What does Jesus' promise to drink the fruit of the vine new in the Father's kingdom (Matthew 26:29) mean for our present participation in the Lord's Supper?

[Context]

Weaver teaches that this promise is fulfilled now as believers commune with Christ in the Supper, and will be consummated at His return.

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