Wine

Does “wine” in the Bible means “grape juice”?

In the ancient Near East, with its scarcity of water, wine was a necessity rather than a luxury, so it came to symbolize sustenance and life. Due to its close relationship to the ongoing life of the community, in association with grain and oil, wine is also representative of the covenant blessings God promised to Israel for obedience, and which He would withhold for disobedience. Finally, wine also represents joy, celebration, and festivity, expressing the abundant blessings of God.

Potentially, wine can generate either positive or negative results. Negatively, wine can be abused, causing a person to lose self-control. "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise" (Proverbs 20:1); and "do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation" (Ephesians 5:18). When Jesus made the water into wine, He did not intend for the wedding guests to get drunk. He provided the right amount for the number of people in attendance to enjoy themselves but not lose control.

Old Testament - Wine (yayin)

One of the first mentions of wine in Scripture is by Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God at Salem (Jerusalem) during the time of Abram, whose name was later changed to Abraham. Melchizedek “brought forth bread and wine” for Abram and his companions (Genesis 14:18). The Hebrew word translated wine in Genesis 14:18 is yayin. This word is used over 130 times in the Hebrew Bible to mean fermented wine, not grape juice.

This same beverage, when used excessively, causes drunkenness. Genesis 9:21 says that Noah drank too much yayin and became drunk. Lot also became drunk on this beverage (Genesis 19:30-36), and so did Nabal (1 Samuel 25:36). Nevertheless, God told his people to enjoy yayin at the yearly festivals (Deuteronomy 14:26). In addition to using wine as a beverage, God also commanded the Levitical priests to include in the sacrifices a portion of wine (yayin) as a drink offering (Exodus 29:40). These scriptures make it clear that there can be a right and a wrong use of wine.

Naturally fermented wine is between 10 percent and 14 percent alcohol. Higher alcoholic wines are fortified wines. On special occasions God even allowed use of what is translated as “strong drink.” This term comes from a different Hebrew word — shekar — which is used 22 times in the Old Testament, and refers to alcoholic drinks made from dates and other fruit.

The high alcoholic drinks called hard liquor today (40 percent to 50 percent alcohol, or 80 to 100 proof) did not exist in Bible times. They are produced by distilling grain-based mash or material from other sources. They did not come into widespread use until the Middle Ages. The danger of these high alcoholic drinks is that, unless one dilutes them, they easily lend themselves to abuse, drunkenness and alcoholism. (Liqueurs, flavored and sweetened distilled liquors, are somewhat different in that they are usually served in small amounts and sipped slowly.)

The Bible says that God gave wine to make men glad (Psalm 104:15). Why have some people turned this blessing of God into a curse? The answer is that many people do not follow God’s instructions.

A blessing of wine was prophesied as a heritage to the chosen people in Genesis 27:28: “May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness — an abundance of grain and new wine [tirosh].” The Hebrew word tirosh, meaning “new wine,” is used in 38 places in the Old Testament. People sometimes conclude that this word means grape juice, or fresh-pressed juice of the vine. However, Hosea 4:11 states: “Old wine [yayin] and new wine [tirosh] take away their understanding.” Grape juice could not have this effect. Tirosh is an intoxicating wine if used in excess.

New Testament - Wine (oinos)

John the Baptist did not drink wine (oinos in the Greek) or any other form of alcohol because it was prophesied that he wouldn’t (Luke 1:15). However, Jesus Christ did drink oinos (wine) (Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:34). Jesus did not preach against the use of wine; instead he did like most other Jews of his day. He drank wine in moderation. In ancient times it was normally diluted with water for drinking, and was one of the principal beverages at that time — as it is today.

Jesus’ first miracle was to change water into wine (oinos). Some people who preach total abstinence claim that this miracle was to turn water into grape juice. Imagine if you can a Jewish wedding banquet where everyone drank only grape juice! (The ancients did not have refrigeration or any other method of preventing grape juice from fermenting.) On this occasion, Christ turned six jars of 20 or 30 gallons each into wine (oinos). This was no small miracle. This wine was of the finest quality — “You have saved the best till now” (John 2:10). At wedding feasts, the hosts normally started with the best wine, and they would bring out lesser-quality wines later.

Jesus gave a parable involving the fermenting process of oinos in Matthew 9:17. At that time, instead of having metal or glass bottles to enclose wine, the skins of animals were used. The fermentation of the wine could burst an old skin, but it would not break a new stretchable skin.

Another proof that oinos is fermented wine is the fact that the apostle Paul said, “Do not get drunk on wine [oinos]” (Ephesians 5:18). Paul did not mean to avoid getting drunk on grape juice! Paul instructed Timothy, “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine [oinos] because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1 Timothy 5:23). He said to use only a littlewine, not a whole lot. The purpose of this wine was  Timothy’s frequent stomach ailments; small amounts of wine can help some stomach problems.

Some of the Corinthians Christians were getting drunk at the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:21). They were using fermented wine, probably following the example that Paul had set for them. Paul did not tell them that they were using the wrong kind of wine. He simply told them to eat and drink at home, and to participate in the Lord’s Supper in a respectful way. InRomans 14:21, Paul says that it is good not to drink wine or eat meat if it offends a weak brother. He is referring to fermented wine; grape juice wouldn’t offend anyone. The implication is that there’s nothing wrong with the wine in itself, only if it offends a weak brother.

Abuse, drunkenness condemned

Both the Old and New Testaments contain many examples and commands against excessive use of alcohol and drunkenness. Drunkenness is listed as one of the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:21). That means it is the result of the undisciplined, indiscriminate use of alcohol. Jesus warned his followers not to be drunk (Luke 21:34).

The apostle Paul told the Corinthian church to “you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but cannot control his or her drinking (1 Corinthians 5:11-13). This refers to people who will not face up to or won’t even try to overcome drinking problems, not people who are working on and overcoming their problems. The Bible says that drunkards will not enter the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:21). No one who abuses alcohol should be ordained in the ministry of Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 3:3, 8, Titus 1:7). If a minister drinks, it should be in moderation.

Throughout the Bible, God criticizes those who are “heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks” (Isaiah 5:22). Excessive drinkers are committing an evil (Proverbs 23:20-21, Isa. 28:1-8). When used improperly, wine is a mocker and deceiver (Proverbs 20:1). Those who “linger over wine” and spend a great deal of time in drinking will find all kinds of woe, sorrow and trouble (Proverbs 23:29-30).

Prohibitionists focus on the verses that condemn or show the results of wrong alcohol use, but neglect those verses that show there can be a proper moderate use.

The difference between new wine and old wine in the Bible

The Old Wine

When the Bible speaks about old wine, it may be referring to the Old Covenant teachings and the new wine, the New Covenant. The Pharisees and scribes were grumbling about the fact that John the Baptist’s disciples fasted but Jesus’ disciples ate and drank (Luke 5:33) and so Jesus tells them “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days” (Luke 5:34-35). What was Jesus trying to tell them? He gives them a parable right after this, probably to clarify what He had just told them, saying “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old” (Luke 5:36). Then He says “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins” (Luke 5:37-38). Jesus point was that “no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good’” (Luke 5:39). The old could have been the ministry of John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets. Does the Old Covenant represent the old wine and Jesus’ new and better covenant represent the new wine? The Old Covenant will not fit into the mold of the New Covenant because they are not the same and like putting new wine in old wineskins, it’s going to keep expanding (by fermentation) and burst the old wineskins.

The New Wine

During the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came over the believers, they began to speak in other languages and those who heard them speak in other people’s language they accused the believers being drunk, saying “These men are full of new wine” (Acts 2:13). It was an insult to be sure. Today, non-believers are still insulting believers by accusing them of being under some influence. Yes, we are under the influence…of the Holy Spirit and that is the new wine of the new age of grace that Jesus paid for with His own blood. It shouldn’t surprise us that people don’t understand it because naturally people will believe that after tasting the old wine, the new is not better for they will say “The old is good” (Luke 5:39). Remember who Jesus was talking too. He was interacting with the scribes and the Pharisees who were still living in and under the Old Covenant and thought “The old is good” and this new is undesirable. This is why Jesus used the parable of trying to put on a new patch onto an old garment. The new patch will shrink and pull away the threads from the already stretched garment that’s older. The new and the old cannot go together. In the same way, old wineskins cannot take the stretching that new wine will cause because it will burst the old wineskins and thus, they are not compatible with one another so the Old Covenant is not compatible with the new and better covenant brought about by Jesus Christ.

The Differences

The differences between the Old and the New Covenant is given in Hebrews 8:6 where it says “Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.” You cannot fit the old covenant of animal sacrifices into the new because Jesus’ perfect and once-and-for-all sacrifice voids or nullifies the need for the Old Covenant sacrifices. Those only covered sin but Jesus shed blood takes away sins and does so forever. This is what Jesus meant at the last Passover Meal He had with the disciples before He went to the cross, saying “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20) and as such, “Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant” (Heb 7:22). This was long ago prophesied and repeated for emphasis by the author of Hebrews when he wrote that “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah” (Heb 8:8) It is “By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear” (Heb 8:13) because of “Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Heb 12:24). How is it better than the blood of Abel? Remember Able was a keeper of sheep (Gen 4:2) and made blood sacrifices so Jesus’ sacrifice is infinitely more superior than Able’s (or animal sacrifices) for it doesn’t have to be repeated over and over again.

Conclusion

The gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be fit into the Old Testament’s Mosaic Law and covenantal sacrificial systems because these are insufficient to take away sins. This explains Jesus’ statement that “Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved” (Matt 9:17). Just as “new wine is for fresh wineskins” (Mark 2:22b) the New Covenant is for new converts and those who have repented and trusted in Christ and have not trusted in their own righteousness by the deeds or works of the law like the scribes and the Pharisees did. They cannot be saved by the old wine. There is only one way to be saved and that is through Jesus Christ and Him alone (Acts 4:12) “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2nd Cor 5:17).