Is this true that Jesus drank alcoholic wine as the lyrics, “Cause I heard Jesus, He drank wine”? Some question this. What kind of wine did Jesus drink? Did Jesus drink intoxicating amounts of wine?
The Definition of Biblical Wine
The word “wine” in the Bible is not always alcoholic or equivalent to modern wine. The Bible uses one Greek word for “wine” and “grape juice” which could mean alcoholic wine of varying amounts or non-alcoholic grape juice (1 Tim 3:8; Titus 2:3). The Hebrew word for “wine” is yayin and the Greek is oinos (MT; LXX). Biblical “wine” is grape juice that may or may not have fermented. However, the wine of today has considerably more alcohol than wine in the first century because of modified yeast. The Bible includes a number of examples of unfermented “wine”:
- “Wine” is the blood of the grape (Gen 49:11–12, Heb. yayin, Gr. oinos LXX; Deut 32:14, Heb. chemer; Gr. oinos LXX).
- The vineyard is the place of “red wine” (Isa 27:2, Heb. chemer).
- “Wine” refers to the grape juice from the grapes of the field (Deut 11:14; 2 Chr 31:5, Heb. tirosh; Gr. oinos LXX; Jer 40:10, 12, Heb. yayin; Gr. oinos LXX).
- Scripture describes “wine” that is in the grape (Isa 65:8, Heb. tirosh).
- The grape juice of the wine-press is “wine” (Prov 3:10, Heb. tirosh; Gr. oinos LXX; Isa 16:10; Jer 48:33, Heb. yayin; Gr. oinos LXX).
These references reveal that the word “wine” in Hebrew and Greek often refers to non-alcoholic grape juice in the Bible. Linguistics requires that one begin with the generic meaning and then determine other specific meanings of a word by its context and, or use.
In reading the Old Testament, Bible translations represent six different Hebrew words “wine” for which one word excludes alcohol. This word is asis meaning “sweet grape juice” or “new grape juice.” The word has no reference to alcohol, yet translators have interpreted it as “wine” to avoid interpreting the contexts with nuances and ambiguity. Therefore, the word “wine” does not necessarily mean alcoholic wine in the Bible.
The Bible does not appear to contain one positive statement about intoxicating wine or any such drink. The Bible does include positive words about generic “wine” that is grape juice (Gen 14:18; Num 15:5–10; Deut 14:26; Ps 104:15; Isa 55:1; Amos 9:14; John 2:1–11; 1 Tim 5:23). References to “strong drink” or “liquor” in the Bible refer to cider in biblical translations of sikera, σικερα, according to Danker and Gingrich’s Greek lexicon (cf. Deut 14:26; Luke 1:15; Wycliffe’s Bible).
Ancient Wine and Today’s Wine
In the Bible, alcoholic wine is not like wine today. The sugar of grape juice can only ferment to 3 or 4% alcohol with wild yeast — airborne yeast. For grape juice to exceed 4% alcohol, then the winemaker must add yeast. The yeast added to ancient wines produced between 4–11% alcohol. Alcohol kills these yeast cells and prevents levels of alcohol from exceeding ~10%. Today, wines average 12–20% alcohol due to modern fermentation by adding sulfur dioxide and Saccharomyces (a cultured GMO yeast) to a late harvest of ripened grapes with higher fructose (Winemaker Magazine, Wines & Vines, UC Davis, International Biblical Encyclopedia, “Alcohol in the Church,” Bible Wine). Today’s wine is not like biblical wine in regards to alcoholic content. Due to the later invention of distilling, strong drinks like liquor exceed 20% alcohol for which today’s wine is coming close to matching.
When reading the word “wine” in the Bible, the word may simply refer to grape juice or intoxicating wine not exceeding ~10% alcohol. The reader must interpret the word “wine” within its context to determine if it is alcoholic. However, biblical wine is certainly not like wine today.
Because of the use of the word “wine” in English Bibles, many presume that Jesus drank alcoholic wine. Jesus did not drink modern wine. The methods for fermenting highly-alcoholic wine had not yet been invented. Jesus’s opponents did accuse Him of being a “wine-drinker” from the Greek oinopoteis, because He came freely eating and also drinking grape juice unlike John the Baptist who restricted his eating and drinking (Matt 11:18–19; Luke 7:33–34). These antagonists appear to accuse Jesus of drinking alcoholic wine. However, when the reader considers the wedding that Jesus attended in Cana and Jesus’s institution of the Lord’s Supper, then His drinking of wine is not what many have presumed.
Water to Wine
What about Jesus turning water into wine? Upon reading John 2:1–11 in most English translations, many took the text as stating that Jesus turned water into intoxicating wine at the wedding in Cana, a small town in Galilee (John 2). These scriptures infer that the wedding guests “have well drunk” a large amount of oinos wine. The Greek word translated as “well drunk” is methuo meaning literally to fill or make full, and many times the word means “drunk” depending on the context. Translators correctly render methuo as “drunk” in contexts referring to drunkenness by drinking intoxicating wine or filling oneself with wine (Gingrich and Danker’s lexicon). John’s reference to the guests having “drunk well” and becoming full also implies that the wedding feast was relatively short especially if one takes this word in John 2:10 to mean that the guests were “drunk.”
In this case, Jesus either made more alcoholic wine for those who were drunk or He made more grape juice for those who would have their fill. Which is plausible: that Jesus created intoxicating wine for those who were drunk or that He made fresh “new wine,” grape juice, for those who had drunk well of the previous supply? If one interprets this passage as Jesus making alcoholic wine, then Jesus created more intoxicating wine for those who were already drunk or filled. If one perceives that the wedding guests were simply full of non-alcoholic wine, then Jesus made “new wine” with minimal to no alcohol.
Furthermore, “good wine” was limited late in winter and just before Passover when the wine had aged throughout the year (John 2:13). Jesus providing more aged and intoxicating wine would not have been an apparent miraculous sign. Jesus provided them with “good wine.” Was it “good wine” as though received from the grape press? The making of new wine would magnify Jesus’s sign because this was just before the Passover and before the first harvest of grapes. Therefore, Jesus’s production of fresh grape juice would have been an evident miraculous wonder of God.
The master of the feast depicted the situation that which the guests had filled themselves with wine from the meaning of “filled” of the Greek word methuo in John 2:9–10. A wedding feast may last a day and sometimes more (Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah). John depicted that many would have drunk well of the wine so the guests were full as implied by the Greek word methuo. Being filled with wine tells that this drinking of the wedding feast occurred in a short amount of time within a few hours. The guests would immediately drink the wine that Jesus made. If Jesus made alcoholic wine, Jesus would have made more intoxicating wine amounting to between 120 to 180 gallons of additional alcoholic wine. What would happen if three hundred guests “have well drunk” and then drank an additional 150 gallons of alcoholic wine? Jesus would have given each guest an additional 64 ounces of alcoholic wine. The average person would have drunk another 6–12 drinks of alcoholic wine if there were 300 guests. However, the abundance was part of the miracle like the 12 baskets of bread left over from feeding the 5,000. Maybe the wine was not meant to be consumed immediately.
Even considering a wedding party of a thousand guests who have well drunk, each person would have consumed about 19 ounces of wine. Presuming that this wine contained 10% alcohol because the scenario includes fermented wine and the guests drank it all in one day, Jesus would have aided a thousand people in binge drinking having intoxicated the guests with three additional drinks who were already intoxicated as indicated by the Greek methuo for having “well drunk.” For each guest to have had simply two more drinks, then the wedding would have had at least 1,600 attendees. Despite the number in attendance, Jesus would have presumably contributed a considerable amount of alcohol to those who were already filled with wine. For those proposing that Jesus made highly intoxicating wine like today’s wine, 16–24 ounces would intoxicate anyone at an alcoholic level of 12–15% according to the CDC. Either today’s intoxicating wine or first-century fermented wine appears to be an absurdity at this wedding.
To assume that Jesus made alcoholic wine is to assume that after everyone had drunk all the other wine, then Jesus made more intoxicating wine for all of those who had their fill. The scenario of Jesus producing alcoholic wine appears implausible and uncharacteristic of biblical commands to refrain from drunkenness. If Jesus did make a great amount of fermented wine, He would have aided the sin of drunkenness and excessive drinking and would have participated in a drinking party, which are all condemned by His disciple and apostle Peter in the Scriptures (1 Pet 4:3).
Wine and the Lord’s Supper
Did Jesus use alcoholic wine in the Lord’s Supper? What kind of wine would someone drink at a feast where yeast was thrown out? Many have assumed that Jesus drank wine because many churches have made alcoholic wine a part of the “Eucharist,” the Lord’s Supper. Did Jesus use highly alcoholic wine when He instituted the Lord’s Supper? First, the Scriptures never use the word “wine” in any of the four accounts of Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper. Jesus mentioned the specific content of the cup containing “the fruit of the grapevine.” The passages about the Lord’s Supper make no reference to alcoholic wine. The Greek word for “wine” is never used in Scripture to describe any part of the Lord’s Supper.
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the Passover Feast. What kind of wine did the Jews use during Passover? Jesus used unleavened bread in the Passover because this is also the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Israel threw out all leaven by God’s command including the leavened bread (Exod 13:6–7). The throwing out of the yeast implies that Israel removed the grape juice fermented by the leavening of yeast. Fermented wine was not likely a part of the Passover taught by Moses. Furthermore, Jesus referred to the contents of the cup as “fruit of the grapevine” in the Lord’s Supper indicating minimal to no fermentation even from wild yeast. The intent of the cup of the Lord was not to intoxicate.
What about those who got drunk by drinking the Lord’s Supper? Getting drunk by bringing intoxicating wine to the Lord’s Supper does not mean that Jesus gave the disciples alcoholic wine in the Lord’s Supper. First Corinthians 11:21–22 depicts, “Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk [methuo]” (ESV). This passage also uses the Greek word methuo, which can mean drunk or filled (cf. John 2:10). Some ate the Lord’s Supper as a meal so that they were filled and those who drank were also filled not necessarily drunk. However, Paul could have been correcting such intoxication as well. If one assumes that these Christians became drunk in the assembly using the grape juice for the Lord’s Supper, then they must also presume that those drinking brought enough intoxicating wine to get drunk and intended to use such for the Lord’s Supper. The use of alcoholic wine implies that some of these Christians brought intoxicating wine for the church to drink together for the Lord’s Supper. They would also have decided to drink and get drunk from that wine in assembly rather than wait for others. Whether the wine was alcoholic or not, 1 Corinthians 11 neither condones alcoholic wine for the Lord’s Supper nor suggests that Jesus used alcoholic wine for His disciples to commune with Christ in remembrance of His sacrificial blood.
Warnings about Wine
Jesus warned against drunkenness and filling oneself with intoxicating drinks that trap people in this life (Luke 21:34). The Bible warns those who do drink, linger, and look at the cup (Prov 23:29–35; Rom 14:17–22). Christians can and should warn others about alcohol.
The apostle Paul revealed that those who continue in drunkenness will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9–11; Gal 5:19–21). The Greek word translated “drunkenness” literally means “filling oneself” in Scripture (Eph 5:18–19; cf. Rom 13:13). Christ’s Spirit in Galatians 5:19–21 teaches that such “drunkenness” is a “work of the flesh” and “those who are doing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5 also condemned “wild parties” or “revelries” where any of the lists of sins like drunkenness would constitute a party as sinful and carnal. Paul also revealed in 1 Corinthians 6:10 that drunkards “will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Drunkenness and filling one’s body with intoxicants is a sin.
Filling oneself with alcohol is evil and compromises the sobriety of the Christian conscience and one’s heart (cf. Rom 2:14–15; 1 John 3:19–21). Christ’s words and those of His apostles and prophets urge all to avoid drunkenness, and so Christians should do likewise and warn others of drunkenness. Peter warned, “For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Nations want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness [lit. excessive drinking], orgies, drinking parties [lit. drinkings], and lawless idolatry” (1 Pet 4:3). The word for “drunkenness” in 1 Peter 4:3 is not the usual word for drunkenness, but the Greek word is oinophlugia made of two words oinos meaning “wine” and phlugia is “to do something in excess.” Excessive drinking is a sin. Furthermore, “drinking parties” is translated from the Greek word potos, which literally denotes occasions that people gather for the purpose of drinking.
The apostle Paul commanded Christians to remain sober and make no provision to become drunk on any level (1 Thess 5:8). Christ had no part with drunkenness and drinking parties, so His followers must not. According to Romans 14, Christians should not condemn their brother over a drink; although, every Christian has the scriptural example and the foresight to warn against its use and against looking at the cup (Prov 23:29–35; Rom 14:17–22). Solomon warned by the wisdom of God.
Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. (Prov 23:31–33)
Therefore, “Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Prov 20:1). The assertions of positive statements about drinking alcohol in the Bible are private interpretations.
Conclusion
The wine that Jesus drank was not intoxicating. Alcoholic wine is not characteristic of Jesus or any godly behavior in the Bible. Jesus neither encouraged drunkenness nor drank intoxicating wine. No one can rightly reference Jesus to justify excessive drinking, drunkenness, and drinking events. The Bible neither promotes nor supports the drinking of intoxicants. God’s grace compels Christians no longer to continue in any excessive drinking of alcohol because they have been forgiven.
Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Rom 13:13–14)
Bibliography
- Jeff Chorniak. “Wild Yeast: The Pros and Cons of Spontaneous Fermentation.” Winemakers Magazine. 2005. <http://winemakermag.com/758-wild-yeast-the-pros-and-cons-of-spontaneous-fermentation>.
- Jean L. Jacobson. “Upsides of Wild Fermentation.” Wine & Vines, 2012. <http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=features&content=98687>.
- “Marking Red Table Wine.” University of California Davis, 2016. <http://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/pdf/HWM3.pdf>.
- James Orr, M.A., D.D. “Wine; Wine Press.” International Bible Encyclopedia, 1915. <http://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/isb/view.cgi?n=9116>.
- “Alcohol in the Church.” 2016. <http://www.abidingplace.org/features/alcohol-in-the-church.html>.
- Kyle Pope. “Bible Wine.” Olsen Park church of Christ, 2013. <http://www.olsenpark.com/Sermons13/BibleWine.html>.
- Alfred Edersheim. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1883. <https://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes>.
Related posts:
“Reconsider the Biblical Concept of Drunkenness“
The Breath of God 
1. By citing the text in Deuteronomy proves that God did approve of people enjoying strong drink. Nothing is ever written that forbids the use of this only the abuse of it.
2. The text you cited about being mighty to drink wine demonstrates drinking to excess.
3. Staggering because of wine refers to the same thing.
4. 1 Timothy 3:8 reads, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money (NASB).
They can have wine but they are not to be “addicted” to it.
a. Given to wine – paroinos
b. NIDNTT: “It is the distinctive word for drunkenness in the Pastoral Epistles” (1:514, Drunken, P. J. Budd).
c. NIDNTT: Moderation must not be confused with license. Bishops and deacons must not be drunkards (1 Tim. 3:3, 8; Tit. 2:3) (3:922, Vine, C. Brown).
d. Danker: pert. to one who is given to drinking too much wine, addicted to wine, drunken 1 Ti 3:3; Tit 1:7 (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, paroinos, page 780).
e. Louw/Nida: a person who habitually drinks too much and thus becomes a drunkard – ‘drunkard, heavy drinker’ (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, 88.288, paroinos, page 773).
What do think I’m talking about Mark? I present scriptures against drunkenness and excessive drinking, and you accuse me of condemning whatever you mean by moderate drinking. Find a better word than “moderation”. Moderation could are subjective levels of intoxication.
Why do so many people want to stand up for alcohol?!
Why do people want to claim that Jesus got people drunk?!
You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household (Deuteronomy 14:26).
In terms of drinking alcohol (it reads “strong drink”) God does not condemn what He allows.
You should not use the Old Testament to justify anything or will you defend sacrifices in temple worship and polygamy with concubinage.
Consider all the occurrences of that word for “strong drink” or literally meaning filling drink that may or not being intoxicating determined by the context.
“If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto you of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people” (Micah 2:11, cf. Lev. 10:9-10).
“Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink; that justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!” (Isa. 5:22-23, cf. 5:11, 56:12).
“And even these stagger with wine, and with strong drink; the priest and the prophet stagger with strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment” (Isa. 28:7).
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler; And whosoever errs thereby is not wise” (Prov. 20:1).
“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; Nor for princes to say, Where is strong drink? Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted” (Prov. 31:4-5, cf. 1 Kings 20).
Scott, give it a rest. You are wrong about this and you know it. You say don’t use Old Testament scriptures to justify some viewpoint then you cite Old Testament scriptures to justify your viewpoint! Go back to the original scripture where Jesus turned water into wine and where the wine expert said it was the best he had ever had! Remember? He said most people serve the good wine first and then after they are drunk they serve the inferior wine. But he said they were serving the best wine last! Obviously this is not grape juice Scott! Don’t you see that Jesus made awesome wine and not just grape juice? Come on, man! Get a life! Alcoholic wine, like Jesus made, is totally fine to enjoy in moderation! You are so bound up and blind to the freedom you have in Christ and you are full of fear of “what may happen!” Dude, wake up! Get free from religion!
That’s very presumptive since I have not mentioned alcohol in moderation here unless you are referring to drunkenness and drinking parties.
First of all, I was showing the inconsistency of using the OT and not using it as an authority for any practice or to establish a command. I was not immediately contradicting myself. You cannot use Old Testament doctrine in place of the New Testament. The Old Testament is not authoritative in command, but only in example (Rom. 15:4, 1 Cor. 10:6, 11, cf. Heb. 11).
The bible does condemn Drunkenness, It doesnt condemn drinking in moderation. If jesus felt it was wrong he would have never made wine.
Jesus made “oinos”, which in this case is found not to be alcoholic.
As for drinking in moderation, what is moderate to who? Such can be subjective and ever permissive to some. Drinking in moderation would have to include any intoxication hindering one’s good judgment and self-control. Be safe.
I will live an never regreat why am serving my father for he is worthy of my praise.
God help us when people interpret to fit their predetermined beliefs and biasses. The reality of the time was that “grape juice” was very rare. There was no way to preserve either gapes or juice and most of it was preserved as wine. And the idea that there was somehow less sugar, so therefore less alcohol, in the wine, is just crazy.
I agree with Mike Morgan. This article on whether Jesus made wine with alcohol in it or not is just ridiculous. The wine expert at the wedding tasted it and clearly said that it was the best wine he had ever had! He said most people serve the best wine first and then “after they are drunk” then an inferior wine is served because they will not notice the difference because they are drunk! So he was clearly an expert of wine that makes you drunk. The superior wine that Jesus made from water, about 150 gallons, was the real deal but Legalists just don’t get it. Jesus also was not criticized by Legalists as a “wine bibber” for drinking grape juice. Paul taught that drinking alcoholic drinks in moderation was entirely proper and any suggestion otherwise is just not being intellectually honest regarding what the Scripture really teaches.
(I bet you believe you have to confess your sins every day, every hour, keeping “short accounts with God” to stay cleansed of sin and stay in fellowship with God too! That is not what I John 1:9 teaches.)
As Jesus said, “They do greatly err for they know not the Scriptures nor the power of God!”
James
You can accuse anyone of wine-bibbing. Paul did not teach moderate drinking, and yet he did not condemn it either. “Drunkenness” or literally filling oneself with intoxicating drink. If you think I’m standing against drinking all alcohol as sinful, your conclusion is presumptuous. You even admit your prejudice by supposing that I must continually confess sins and imply that I sin daily. clearly, your bias has aligned you with Morgan. I do find that Jesus was not encouraging drunkenness. Drunkenness is a sin.
Yet, the alcohol would be very minimal.
Doing some research on wine in the Bible which led me to this post (among many others)… I think everyone who comes here, or to any post given on individual opinion, would benefit from reading a well articulated/objective essay on the topic:
The Bible and Alcohol – hxxp://bible.org/article/bible-and-alcohol
(Replace the ‘x’s with ‘t’s)
Also, it’s important that you go back to the word origins if you are unclear, or at least use a KJV text when looking for scriptural context… NIV typically calls ‘wine’ – ‘juice’ in a few instances where the KJV (and original text) is pretty clear it is ‘wine.’ Selah
When we put ourselves in the place of reading these original language, we are reading a word that generically refers to grapejuice and could refer to wine.
I also recommend the primary sources found in another article here, which is <https://godsbreath.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/how-intoxicated-can-a-christian-get/>.
Thank you and may God bless you in your study.
The original New Testament was written by Jews. Jews of that time spoke and wrote in Aramaic – the everyday language they adopted since their capture by the Babylonians (before Babylon, they spoke and wrote in Hebrew). Archaeological documents of the time prove it to be true. Get a copy of the Aramaic New Testament in plain English and discover for yourself the errors in translation made from the Greek texts. There may be only 5% discrepancy, but see for yourself how dramatically that mere 5% changes things as it concerns some very basic Christian Doctrine.
The Apostles did not write to Greek and Roman states in Aramaic. You say this without evidences, witness. The NT was not Aramaic. It is Greek.
I still dont understand! why doesnt a simple answer,answer a simple question? what kind of wine did jesus drink? grape juice? or it does answer my question but im not reading carefully? all im asking for is a simple answer,no explanations.
“When Jesus used ‘wine’, then it would have been nonalcoholic to maybe 3% alcohol.”
I didn’t approach this from a religious point of view, but as a wine blogger looked at what kind of wine Jesus would have drunk, had he drunk wine. It’s a different argument to your piece, but I hope it adds another angle.
I appreciated your article on Jesus and wine. Some time ago I had noted the emphasis in the Old Testament on excessive drinking. I came away with the impression that ‘alcoholism’ would be a good description of the drinking in many of the passages.
Your warnings are valid, but as you know not well received in a culture that is driven to drinking and drugs.
Some of the things you said concerning wine at the wedding at Cana puzzled me. You quantified both the people in attendance at the wedding and the amount of wine they might have drunk. I do not know where you came up with those numbers: 300 guests? Half a gallon of wine per guest to indicate “well drunk”?
The miracle, and its inclusion in John, is not really about alcohol content in wine, but rather Jesus’ power manifesting itself in something of the highest quality. The real connection we should make is between the quality of wine and how Jesus came that we might have life, a life of the highest quality. He is master over quality.
Even though I am puzzled with the numbers, your final statement regarding the wine at the wedding in Cana is well put. If ‘well drunk’ really meant intoxicated, it would not make sense for Jesus to ‘give everyone another round on me!’
I am still not convinced that the wine at the wedding at Cana was non-intoxicating. There is just not enough in the text to be sure. Even if one concludes that there was intoxicating wine, we can be sure that Jesus did not become drunk nor promote drunkenness.
One last comment.
I grew up with a clever catch phrase: “If you drink one drink, you’re one drink drunk.”
I was very frustrated with the teachers of my youth when I learned how the human body processes alcohol from a drink such as beer or wine or cough medicine. In short, the liver breaks the alcohol down and processes it before it ever enters the blood stream and causes even the slightest ‘buzz.’
I believe the admonition to consider one’s use of alcohol intake is wise. However, we must not go so far as to say that scripture has demanded Christians to be “tee-totalers” (i.e. not the least amount of an alcoholic drink) on the basis of alcohol content alone.
In any case, I believe you did a good job in showing that Jesus must not be used as an ‘excuse’ to drink alcoholic drink.
[Picky comment . . . for future reference: In the next to last paragraph, wine would be ‘diluted,’ but not deluded.]
Thanks for the article.
I did not include drinking here. I did address excuses used for excessive drinking. Notice how “well drunk” is translated from methuo, which is translated “drunkenness” and condemned in Rom. 13:13, 1 Cor. 5:11, 6:10, and Gal. 5:21. The meaning is the methuo refers to drinking like drinking refers today to both general act and drinking alcohol.
Your points are noted.
The 300 is for perspective of Jesus supposedly did, but 600 would imply half-a-gallon each and 1200 are quarter of a gallon. One hundred fifty is a lot more. I find it hard to imagine more than a thousand in Cana being smaller than Nazareth.