https://odb.org/2026/07/08/the-holy-grail
Matthew 26:26–30 (NIV): 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
For centuries, people have been fascinated by the Holy Grail—the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. The legends surrounding King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table detail their obsession over the search for the cup. They believed it had magical powers. In film, Indiana Jones and his father, Henry, fulfilled Henry’s lifelong pursuit of the Grail.
While this makes for fascinating storytelling, the truth is much more straightforward. The cup itself has no special powers. The real power is found in what it represents. Matthew describes the scene in the upper room the night before Jesus went to the cross: “Then [Jesus] took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ ” (26:27-28). The cup is a picture of the blood that Jesus would shed on our behalf. (Bill Crowder, Our Daily Bread, 8th July 2026)
One of the most fascinating aspects of Christian life that was a sharp departure from my life as a non-believer is the practical absence of physical objects of power. Thus even as movies portray vampires being afraid of crosses and holy water (and garlic!), the Christian faith itself does not believe in its own objects having any sort of special powers. The same way that the cup that Christ drank from during His last Passover meal had no supernatural powers (contrary to popular culture on the Holy Grail). Even the Holy Bible as a book in itself is not an object of special powers.
However, the words from the written Word spoken out aloud by a born-again believer is powerful as the spoken Word of God is able to drive out demons and release the power of healing. Remember that the LORD God created the world and everything in it from His spoken word. It could change the spiritual atmosphere of a place. Ultimately the spiritual power of a believer lies within the believer’s life – redeemed, sanctified and lived for the glory of God. Objects in the Christian world is not the source of power, it is the Holy Spirit living within a transformed and sanctified believer’s life who has.
There is one exception despite this overall generalisation and that is the sacraments of the Holy Communion. In this respect, notwithstanding that the elements are just ordinary food items like a piece of bread (or nowadays it’s more common to use cornflakes) and the drink is just ordinary grape juice and not some drink flown in from Jerusalem (although some churches serve real wine), there is belief that the sacraments have power to heal when taken as part of the Lord’s Supper. Not in the items themselves but in the body and blood of Christ they represent and in the context of the ceremony itself. Ultimately, it is God who heals as we partake Holy Communion or the Eucharist.
Having said that, it is important to note that objects outside the faith and relics used by others to pray and worship other gods especially those involved in the dark arts have spiritual powers. That is why believers are discouraged from bringing such items into their homes as these items could lead to the proliferation of demonic and other spirits into the home.
What’s our application for this morning’s message? Rather than inanimate objects, we ourselves are the actual and real source of supernatural powers as Christ and the Holy Spirit live within us and our hearts animate the glory of God. We have the power of prayer from the words we utter to bring down supernatural powers from the heavenly realm into the natural to break demonic bondages for our fight is not against flesh and blood but against principalities of the air as per Ephesians 6:12. Our power as sanctified and redeemed believers lies in our prayers – we are just a prayer away from the supernatural realm in the heavenlies. When confronted face to face by demonic forces or evil spirits, pray against them in the name of Jesus and by the power of His blood, James 4:7 – “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
