Did Jesus Make Alcoholic Wine? | Tough Tuesday E08

Jesus' first miracle has left a lot of Christians confused. Because Jesus turned water into wine, then surely there is no problem with Christians drinking alcohol today, is it? Is that what the Bible says? In today's Tough Tuesday we will look at John 2:9.

► Recommended resource

If you are new here, we make videos to explore what life with Jesus looks like. Feel free to drop a comment and let us know where you are watching from, we'd love to get to know you! Welcome to the family :)

JOIN THE FAM
🔔 And don't forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell

NEW TO FAITH? 👋
We have designed a series especially for you or your friends who are curious about faith. Starting with the fundamental questions such as, 'does God exist', 'can we trust the Bible', 'who is Jesus', it takes you on a journey through the main teachings of the Bible.

💡 Every video we make gives you an opportunity to inspire and empower a friend to live life with Jesus. That's why we want to encourage you to not just watch the video for yourself, but to #WatchForAFriend and think about who you can share this with.

NEXT LEVEL STUFF

Grace & Peace 🙏
The Sandelins

SPECIAL THANKS to the Australian NNSW conference for their support with the production!

[mahershalal]

We Christians are very partial about this topic.
However, the Bible talks more favorably about the use of wine than it does against.
1. It was a neccesary part of even the simplest meal Gen 14:18, 1 Sam 16:20.
2. It was drank by all classes and ages Lam 2:12, Zecha 9:17
3. The failure of the winecrop or its destruction by enemies was viewed as a great calamity Deut 28: 30, Micah 6:15
4. It was a token of Gods blessings Amos 9:14, Joel 3:18
5. Moderate effects of wine were not detastable at all @Sam 13:28, Ecc 10:19 etc
6. Drink offerings were part of Gods prescribed ritual Lev 23:23, kept in Gods temple 1Chronicles 9:29
7. Christ adapted himself to Jewish customs Mat 11:19, Luke 7:34

[davidjennings]

I was convicted by the Holy Ghost about drinking beer and have not touched it since, it's been 2 years now. Have not touched or even wanted to touch any alcohol since that day. Thank you Jesus..

[clancymuldoon]

There seems to be a confusion of the Bible’s prohibition against drunkenness, with the consumption of alcohol. There are several biblical stories of those who used alcohol unwisely and became drunk. Yes, the Bible has many references to avoiding drunkenness, the ill effects, the dangers; and a person is wise to follow those and to abstain if they so choose.

The Bible’s prohibition against misuse does not demand no use. That would rule out marital sex, eating, speaking, touching, thinking, looking, hearing, etc.

I’m not encouraging the consumption of alcohol. I’m encouraging the proper reading of scripture. The Bible does not explicitly forbid drinking alcohol. We are commanded not to be drunk with wine. We err when we read an ancient text with modern eyes and impose our context on an ancient context. Some food for thought:
1. Grapes were an important crop of the Israelites, and had to be preserved. Grapes were harvested in June/July and preserved as fermented wine.
2. Yeast occurs naturally on grapes, as well as other fruits and within 24 hours after crushing, fermentation begins.
3. There was no “new” wine year round. They had to preserve the fruit of the vine. Jesus himself said, Matthew 9:17 “And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the skins burst and the wine is spilled out and the skins are destroyed. Instead they put new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved." Notice he said “preserved.” Wineskins were animal skins dried and sewn together as bags to hold liquids. The new juice ferments and gases form and stretch the skins. Old wineskins have no more room to stretch and thus, burst. Jesus knew the culture he lived in and we don’t. Read that verse again.
4. Passover was in the spring. Did Jesus make new wine again for the Last Supper?
5. Also consider Luke 7:33-34, “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Was he constantly, for three years, making new wine? Our all-powerful Lord could have, but realistically?

A Bible passage can never mean what it never meant. We must go back to context, a historical-grammatical and cultural context. The Bible forbids gluttony and drunkenness, but not eating and drinking. Looking forward to this time of rejoicing: Revelation 19:6-7 “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the All-Powerful, reigns! Let us rejoice and exult and give him glory, because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

[CanadaIsrael]

Don't be drunk with wine. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. The holy spirit will never leave you down but instead give you beautiful gifts to take you through your life Victorious

[nagendrarp]

I never tasted alcohol. Thank You lord Jesus Christ for protecting me. Thank You lord Jesus Christ 🙏

[stevenrichardson]

Dear Brother, that list in proverbs, would appear to address, the overuse/abuse of alcohol, and not addressing the use of wisdom or self control.
I have never experienced, what the list says, by having a glass of wine with a meal.

[briansloan]

I spent 35 years in the ministry encouraging people that it was safer to simply abstain. So, in that I agree. But, the argument that the wine was not fermented isn't accurate. A well done video that is spoken with good quality and intentions, but a multitude of great scholars believe this argument is incorrect.

[ThPrdigalSn]

If it was forbidden it would specifically be written so in the Torah where food and drink laws are recorded. Lots of animals are mentioned as unclean, but wine is never forbidden in the law.

[CrabRackune]

I've only recently began to be serious in trying to be a better follower of Christ. I'm also still an alcoholic. I'm trying to quit... but it's incredibly difficult. I've been drinking every day since I turned 17. I'm in my mid 30's now. It's a very scary subject for me, but this at least helped clear up some of the confusion I had on the matter. For that I thank you brother! God bless you all

[joshuamclean]

I suppose oinos could have been grapejuice- but it would not fit in to the culture of the day. They drank wine.

[Jake_Steiner]

Here's the problems with the ancient Hebrews drinking grape juice as opposed to wine: fruit juice doesn't keep without refrigeration or pasteurization for and will either spoil or ferment rather quickly, secondly water was not as safe to drink unless it came from a deep well which could still be poisoned with a dead animal or bird, thirdly for this reason wine was the most common beverage of even children all throughout the Mediterranean, finally and most importantly the harvesting fresh grapes in the Levant was limited to a short single season in the autumn. Therefore when Jesus passed around the wine for His disciples at the Last Supper in the Spring, there would have been no fresh grapes for squeezing into juice. I may be a simple farmer but I believe that God gave us the knowledge to preserve our foods healthily, and one of those would be the production of wine.

[Heard_f_God]

People will argue against sound teaching because they do not want to let go of their sins. I approve of this message and anyone who is in the Spirit KNOWS that this man is speaking truth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches!

[kirklyles]

Hello. I have pondered this issue for some time but my pondering is irrelevant. As is my opinion. Only truth and scripture, which of course, is truth, prevails. Consider this, Paul said that a bishop should not be given to wine. He then said that a deacon should not be given to MUCH wine. Why would he make this distinction if the wine was merely grape juice and non-alcoholic? I am aware that scripture says drunkards will have no part in the Kingdom of Heaven. A drunkard is certainly someone who is given to much wine, and I would speculate, frequently.
Also. When the master of the wedding feast makes his statement " but when Men have well drunk, then the Lesser wine is brought out, but you have saved the best for last.", the original Greek word there, which is Strong's 3184, is defined as having drink til intoxicated or simply being intoxicated.
I myself do not drink so I'm not trying to defend some action of my own as some may be doing, but I am simply seeking the truth of the matter. In fact, I absolutely hate taking sides or trying to prove I am right about anything. I am always seeking truth. Please address the things that I have stated.

[krisjustin]

It’s good to see this robust discussion demanding more study of the word of God. I’m also pleased to see supportive responses as well as polite disagreements both with evidence from scripture and references to cultural contexts. Great job guys!

[LightOfChristOfficial]

Please answer why John 2:10 specifically says they were drunk (intoxicated) at the wedding, Jesus gave them more of the "best wine* and habbakuk 2;15 makes Jesus seem as if there's a contradiction? I'm on your side, I'm not for alcohol. I need clarification for total abstinence regarding John 2:10.

[christianperez]

Brother, to start I want to say I love Jesus also. But scripture is very clear. It says wine not grape juice.
You may have a glass of wine as long as you do not get drunk.
The apostle Paul also recommends Timothy to drink some wine to calm his digestion problems.

[dannysmith]

Incredible, you've added to THE WORD OF GOD and placed your opinion over IT. Jewish weddings are in the spring. Grapes are harvested in the fall. They had to ferment to preserve. GOD tells us to give wine to the sick, as in Timothy for his frequent illnesses. To heal wounds. The passage says "after the people were well drunk ". YESHUA himself drank wine. There was no refrigeration in those days. HOWEVER, drunkenness is a whole different story. It is indeed a sin. Your intentions are good, but not biblically accurate or balanced. My ministry is to addicts, not everybody becomes one.

[isaaccox]

Context is important here. Scripture can be twisted to say a lot of things it doesn’t say. Yes oinos can mean non fermented but it’s very rare to use it in that context. Especially when the Jewish custom of the day was to have wine at weddings. The wine wouldn’t have been complimented if it was grape juice…it would have been complained about. Furthermore the Bible wouldn’t call wine a “gift” from God that could make men’s hearts “merry” if it was non fermented. Trying to justify why the wine was non alcoholic is just so reaching. It’s mental gymnastics to the extreme. So many details and context have to be worded just right to give the impression that the wine was unfermented and even then it just seems so off. It’s such a reach logically. Not to mention the fact that grape juice wouldn’t preserve.

[hellonewbeginnings]

Thank you so much for this! I have my own business and ministry as a recovery coach who specializes in alcohol. I Have studied alcohol for six years and I know what it does to you on a cellular level. I also have studied scripture and how they drank wine in ancient times. When you know what alcohol does to you, even light levels of drinking and how harmful it is you want answers. plus I have seen in my own personal life and those surrounding me how alcohol affects those that drink it, including myself, I started to dig deep into the Bible because I couldn’t understand how Jesus would want us to drink such a harmful substance. Once I studied the Bible and then also knew the facts on what alcohol does there’s no way it made sense that he would want us to drink that, or they drink wine back in the day it was always mixed with a very, very low alcohol content. Very close to kombucha or a really, really light beer. Our alcohol today is completely different. I advocate for alcohol awareness and honestly it’s the Christians that don’t want to hear it that I noticed. I Just give fact base information and let everyone choose what they wish. But I do believe if every person studied alcohol and how it affects you mentally physically emotionally and spiritually, on a cellular level most people especially Christian would have a different outlook.

[briantheguy]

Thank you for your words and your service. I would encourage you to reach out to a local Rabbi and have lunch. Discuss this topic of which you believe that Jews during the time of Christ drank non-alcoholic grape juice. I am not Jewish, but well-traveled and understand the area culture. Please learn the historical context of when and where this wedding took place. Understand how the substance termed “wine” fit into the social picture during that time and actually what it was.