This topic was begun in “Wine or Grape Juice in Jesus’ Cup? (1)”. Part 2 here is the conclusion.
Part 1 identified the two most-used Hebrew Old Testament (OT) terms for “wine”…yáhyin (Strongs h3196) and tiroshé (h8492). Yayin was fermented wine. Tirosh usually referred to unfermented grape juice. Tirosh is called “new wine” in many Bibles. (Other terms for alcoholic drink were less-used.)
Part 1 also discussed the customary Jewish practice of using wine to celebrate Passover in 1st century Jerusalem. Jesus the man was Jewish, and He observed God’s annual Passover (Lk.2:41-42).
In the Greek New Testament (NT) and Greek OT Septúagint/LXX, the term for “wine” is oínos g3631. It occurs 33 times in the NT. However, yayin (fermented) and tirosh (unfermented) were both translated as oinos in the OT LXX! No differentiation was made. The context determined its meaning.
The NT writers didn’t identify the type of liquid in the “cup” at Jesus’ Last Supper. “Cup” is potáyreeon g4221, occurring 33 times. “Cup” as a drinking vessel is seen at the Lord’s Supper: Mt.26:27; Mk.14:23; Lk.22:17, 20; 1Co.10:16, 21, 11:25-28. No beverage is specified (not oinos).
In Part 2 we’ll discuss uses, concerns, and symbolism of wine from the Bible; also when Christian churches started using grape juice in communion or the eucharist. (Part 1 material won’t be repeated.)
In Bible times, wine (mixed with water) was used for other celebrations besides Passover. Jn.2:1-11 Jesus’ first miracle was, He changed water into wine (oinos g3631) at a wedding celebration. Probably His miracle wine was undiluted. In Is.1:22, the Lord had negatively compared debased ancient Israel to pure wine diluted with water. And Jesus didn’t change the Jn.2 water into grape juice. Jn.2:10 after the guests had drank, they wouldn’t notice any quality difference if it was grape juice. But they would notice a difference if it was wine. Jesus wasn’t opposed to wine (in moderation)!
Lk.7:33-35 Jesus was exaggeratedly even called a glutton and a ‘wino’ (oinopótes g3630), a friend of tax collectors & sinners. Winos drink fermented wine. In contrast, John the Baptizer didn’t drink wine.
De.14:25-27 rejoicing with wine (h3196 yayin) to celebrate the Lord’s OT feasts was fine! Included were Levites too. But priests weren’t allowed to drink wine while on duty (Le.10:8-9; Ezk.44:21).
Wine symbolized Jesus’ blood! The 19th century German theologian Augustus Neander wrote of Jesus’ Last Supper (Lk.22:17-20). “The broken bread was to represent His body. The wine is to represent His blood, about to be shed for them.” Got Questions: What is the Meaning of the Blood of Christ? “The pouring of wine in the cup symbolized the blood of Christ.” Answers.com: What is the Symbolic Meaning of Wine? “Wine signifies blood and blood signifies life, ‘the life is in the blood’ (Lev.17:14).”
Fermented wine yayin h3196 (not unfermented tirosh h8492) was called the blood of grapes. Ge.49:10-12 is a prophecy about the future King Messiah Jesus. “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until He comes to whom it belongs. He will wash His garments in wine [h3196], His robes in the blood of grapes.” That’s meaningful. Henry Commentary Ge.49:11 “He is the true Vine, wine is the appointed symbol of His blood.” Poole Commentary “The ‘blood of grapes,’ so the wine is called in Deu.32:14.” (De.32:14 has a less-used term for fermented red wine, chémer h2561-2. Chemer wine was at the feast of Babylon’s King Belshazzár in Da.5:1-4, e.g.)
Wine also symbolized God’s divine wrath. Re.14:9-10 “If anyone worships the beast…he will drink of the wine [g3631] of the wrath of God, which is unmixed in the cup [g4221] of His anger.” Pure wine of intoxication is in His metaphorical cup of judgment. Barnes Notes Re.14:10 “Without being diluted with water.” Re.16:19 “Babylon the great’ was remembered before God, to give her the cup [g4221] of the wine [g3631] of His fierce wrath.” Also ref Ps.75:8; Is.51:17-22, 63:6; Je.25:15-ff; Ezk.23:31-33.
Is.63:1-6 symbolically reflects blood as the wine of His wrath, not as celebration. v.6 “drunk”. v.2 “winepress” (gath h1660) is somewhat a misnomer. As grapes were pressed, it was grape juice, not wine, which flowed down the drain. (Usually grapes in the upper vat/receptacle were trodden by a team; but interestingly, in v.3 only One solely does the treading.)
{Sidelight: Just before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, He prayed at a place called “Gethsemane”, g1068 (Mt.26:36). It’s from the OT h1660 gath/winepress and h8081 oil, on the Mount of Olives. The later olive harvest was perhaps pressed into the same vats as grapes were recently pressed. Laura Reynolds “Why Are Olive Trees Planted Around Vineyards? “The two crops used a similar processing procedure. As wine press works ends, olive pressing begins.” Lk.22:42-44 in agony, Jesus sweated drops of blood (cf. hematidrósis) at the place of the press. Jesus Himself felt so pressed, shedding His blood for us!}
Ex.29:38-42 the twice-daily sacrifice at God’s tent of meeting included a drink offering of fermented wine (yayin h3196). The drink offering wasn’t grape juice! In Nu.28:7 this drink offering is called “strong drink” (shekár h7941). Also see Le.23:13. ATS Bible Dictionary: Drink Offering “A small quantity of wine, part of which was poured on the sacrifice, and the residue given to the priests.” It was part of the sacrificial system, prefiguring Christ’s blood sacrifice.
This drink offering libation of wine was poured out (cf. Ezr.7:17), as was Jesus’ shed blood (Jn.19:34; Lk.22:44). Jesus said in Lk.22:20, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood”. (The apostle Paul also compared his own life to a drink offering poured out, Php.2:17, 2Ti.4:6.)
1Ch.9:29 Levites had charge over the fermented wine (h3196) kept in the temple. The tirosh h8492 grape juice firstfruits initially tithed to the Levites (Nu.18:12; De.18:4; Ne.10:37) fermented into wine.
Again, there were restrictions for wine-drinking placed upon Aaron and his sons (the priests). Priests weren’t allowed to serve God in the tabernacle/temple if they’re intoxicated! Is.28:7 priests and prophets erred through their misuse of wine (h3196) and strong drink (h7941). 1Ti.3:8 deacons in the NT church aren’t to be heavy drinkers. (Paul advised only a little wine for Timothy, 1Ti.5:23.)
Jewish Christian historian Alfred Edersheim wrote of Jesus’ Last Supper, held in a large furnished upper room of a house (Lk.22:12). There Jesus instituted the eucharist. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, p.809 “Peter and John would find there the wine for the four cups, the cakes of unleavened bread, and probably also ‘the bitter herbs’. The wine was…red, mixed with water, generally in the proportion of one part to two of water.” Peter, John, and Jesus the man were Jews, here at Passover.
David Stern Jewish New Testament Commentary [JNTC] Lk.22:17a, p.144 “Luke is the only one of the four [gospel] writers describing the establishing of the New Covenant who mentions both a cup of wine before the meal (here) and another after (v.20).” Wine-drinking was customary at the Lord’s feasts.
The ingathering of the grape harvest occurred in the later summer, prior to the Feast of Ingathering or Booths of the early autumn. Back then it was something of an ordeal to preserve pure grape juice for 7 months until the Passover next spring! Joe Thorn A Theology of Wine “Drinking wine was normative.”
However, it was possible to maintain unfermented grape juice (albeit more difficult). Wayne Jackson Was the Fruit of the Vine Fermented? “It is known from ancient sources, that there were ways of preserving juice, thus preventing fermentation. The ancient Roman statesman, Cato, said: ‘If you wish to have ‘must’ (grape juice) all year, put grape juice in an amphora [narrow-necked jar] and seal the cork with pitch; sink it in a fish pond. After 30 days take it out. It will be grape juice for a whole year.’ (De Agri Cultura CXX)” Steve Shirley Should Wine or Grape Juice Be Used For Communion? “Heating it [juice] to 150–180° would result in a syrup which could be diluted with water, then drank as unfermented grape juice. Also, keeping it in temperatures below 40° would prevent fermentation.”
Which beverage was used by the church? Jennifer Tait New Wine, New Wineskins “The early Western church maintained the use of wine and unleavened bread. The Eastern church soon began to use leavened bread. From the 16th until the 19th century, the majority of Protestants communed using wine from a common cup and leavened bread. However, in the 19th century, temperance became teetotalism or total abstinence, moving all alcohol (wine included) into the list of forbidden beverages. Many began to question why a beverage considered dangerous to drink was still used on the Communion table.”
Joe Iovino Methodist History: Controversy, Communion, & Welch’s Grape Juice “In the 1800s, churches faced a dilemma. To combat the epidemic of alcoholism, the temperance movement advocated total abstinence from all alcohol. Raw grape juice stored at room temperature (home refrigerators weren’t available until 1913) naturally ferments into wine. This caused a problem for congregations [taking the Lord’s Supper] not wanting to use anything containing alcohol. ‘Lots of churches just didn’t have communion when grapes were out of season,’ reports Roger Scull.”
Welch Foods, Inc. is named for Thomas Bramwell Welch (1825-1903). He was a dentist, Methodist minister and “communion steward”, and Prohibitionist. Wikipedia “In 1869, Welch invented a method of pasteurizing grape juice so that fermentation was stopped, and the drink was non-alcoholic. He persuaded local churches [in Vineland, NJ] to adopt this non-alcoholic ‘wine’ for communion services, calling it ‘Dr. Welch’s Unfermented Wine.” It became the well-known Welch’s Grape Juice in 1893.
Thus pasteurization made it possible for churches to use grape juice year-round for the Lord’s Supper eucharist. Most Protestant churches today use grape juice when serving communion. Over the past 150 years, this relatively recent deviation from the practice of Bible times has become their church tradition.
However, there is evidence that Jewish religious bread and wine meals were held to honor the Messiah in the decades even prior to Jesus’ human birth and His Last Supper. JNTC Appendix, p.931 says the Jewish community at Qumrán had regular meals in honor of the Messiah, who they expected soon. Quoting their Dead Sea Scrolls: “When they gather for the Community table…let no man stretch out his hand over the bread and wine before the priest. He shall first stretch out his hand. And afterwards the Messiah of Israel shall stretch out His hands. They shall process according to this rite at every meal where at least ten persons are assembled.” These were frequent meals.
These Qumran Community meals weren’t Passover meals! Yet they partook of bread and wine, not grape juice, to honor the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah. Traditionally, wine celebrated Him.
But the representative bread and wine is much more ancient than the 1st century BC! In Ge.14:18-19 “Melchisedek the king brought out bread and wine [yayin h3196]; He was priest of the Most High God.” He served wine, not grape juice (tirosh h8492)! He shared a (leavened?) bread and wine meal with the uncircumcised gentile/non-Jew Abrám. The Ps.110:1-4 prophecy is about Jesus. “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek.” (also see He.6:20.)
Jesus, the Priest-King, is of the order of Melchisedek (not of the in-between Levitical order)! So way back in the days of father Abraham, even prior to Jacob/Israel and the Jews, a bread and wine meal foreshadowed Christ’s priesthood and rule. This is significant…we are of the order of Melchisedek! The archetypal meal wasn’t tied to a recurring religious date or season of the year, e.g. Passover. Its timing may or may not coincide with other religious observances. (see “Melchisedek Order Priesthood”.)
Pr.9:1-5 “Wisdom has built her house. She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine [h3196, fermented], she has set her table. ‘Come, eat of the bread and drink of the wine [h3196] I have mixed.” It is wisdom to partake of (symbolic) bread and wine. Melchisedek did so with Abraham.
In 1Co.11:20-34, drunkenness was a problem in the Corinthian church (v.21). They were consuming too much wine while celebrating the eucharist at regular love feasts. Drunkenness can have bad consequences (cf. Ge.9:20-27). But wine-drinking in moderation is fine (except for Levites on duty).
To conclude…Jesus and His disciples drank wine with His Last Supper (Passover) meal. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [ISBE]: Wine “The wine of the Last Supper may be described in modern terms as sweet, red, fermented wine, rather highly diluted.” Wine was in Jesus’ “cup”.
As a representation of Jesus’ blood and body, taking wine with bread is scripturally acceptable. Joe Thorn The Lord’s Supper – Wine or Welch’s? “Regarding children, in most of the United States it is not illegal for children to consume alcohol ‘in the performance of a religious ceremony or service.”
However, conscience matters! Je.35:5-8, 16-19 Jonadáb the son of Recháb commanded the Rechabites to be nomads, enduring hardship and abstaining from wine. His descendants obeyed their forefather. Some Christians abstain from wine, meat, card-playing, etc., as a matter of conscience or from fear of excess. They only use grape juice, not wine, for communion. We should respect their consciences.
Recovering alcoholics who become Christians, those with health problems and/or taking medications which could conflict with alcohol…should substitute grape juice for wine when taking communion.
Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper with either wine or grape juice! Over the years, I’ve used both. (Again, the NT writers didn’t specify the beverage in the “cup” at Jesus’ Last Supper.) When taking the eucharist, more important is our attitude of heart. Yet division may occur when a perhaps well-meaning church custom/tradition becomes a modern form of pharisaic oral law and promotes exclusivism. Jesus castigated the Pharisees for their oral traditions that contradicted OT scripture.
For more, see “Wine or Grape Juice in Jesus’ Cup? (1)” and the separate topic “Bread and Wine in the Church”. Also related is “Jesus’ Last Supper Timing”.
Bible Topic Exposition 