Wine or Grape Juice in Jesus’ Cup? (2)

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 1^st 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 19^th 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 16^th until the 19^th century, the majority of Protestants communed using wine from a common cup and leavened bread. However, in the 19^th 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 1^st 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”.

Wine or Grape Juice in Jesus’ Cup? (1)

Bread and wine are symbols which represent the body and blood of Jesus the Savior.  The partaking of these symbols as the eucharist or communion in the early New Testament (NT) church is addressed in the topic “Bread and Wine in the Church”.  Little of the material covered in that topic is repeated here.

At Jesus’ Last Supper before His crucifixion, He instructed His disciples in the symbolic ceremony. Mt.26:26-28 “Jesus took some bread…and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body’. And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  This became the eucharist.

Accordingly, after Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, in the 30s AD a communal sharing of consecrated bread and wine became a regular practice or sacramental rite at church gatherings.

However, there is controversy among church denominations (mostly since the 1800s AD) about what form of beverage should be in the communion “cup”.  This topic addresses the contents of Jesus’ “cup”.

Wikipedia: Sacramental Wine “The majority of mainstream liturgical churches require that sacramental wine be pure grape wine. In most liturgical rites, a small quantity of water is added to the wine when the chalice [cup] is prepared. However, some Christian churches disapprove of the consumption of alcohol, especially by children, and hold that it is acceptable to substitute grape juice for wine. These denominations include Pentecostals, Baptists, Methodists, some Churches of Christ, and other evangelical groups. In this case, generally only pasteurized grape juice is used. In some Protestant churches each communicant drinks from a small individual cup.”  Well-known liturgical churches using wine for communion are the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic.

What is wine?  Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s present definition of wine: “The alcoholic fermented juice of fresh grapes used as a beverage. From Latin vinum.”  If it’s unfermented, it’s not actual wine.

Steve Shirley Should Wine or Grape Juice Be Used For Communion? “Juice becomes fermented when yeast is added to it and it begins to break down the sugars that are present in the juice, producing carbon dioxide and alcohol. However, grape juice does contain small amounts of naturally occurring yeast, and can ferment naturally over time.”

In our Greek NT, “cup” is potáyreeon, Strongs g4221.  It occurs 33 times.  In the NT, cup g4221 refers to: a drinking vessel; or metaphorically, one’s lot or experience, joyous or adverse.  “Cup” as a drinking vessel is seen in: Mt.26:27; Mk.14:23; Lk.22:17, 20; 1Co.10:16, 21, 11:25-28.  What was in Jesus’ cup?

Wikipedia: History of Wine “Consumption of ritual wine was part of Jewish practice since Biblical times and, as part of the eucharist commemorating Jesus’ Last Supper, became even more essential to the Christian Church.”  Reid Mitenbuler What Did Wine Taste Like Thousands of Years Ago? “Priests, monks, and nuns cultivated vineyards to make wine an everyday drink in places where it hadn’t existed before.”  Christian religion actually promoted and increased the knowledge of wine (production)!

In the NT and Old Testament (OT) Septúagint/LXX, the Greek term for “wine” is oínos g3631.  It occurs 33 times in the NT.

In the OT, the most-used Hebrew term for fermented wine is yáhyin h3196.  It occurs 140 times.

But OT “wine” prior to the fermentation process, grape juice, is tiroshé h8492, occurring 38 times.  Tiroshe is translated as “new wine”, in many Bibles.  This “new wine” was unfermented, or less fermented.  Grape juice.  (A half dozen less-used Hebrew terms also relate to wine or alcoholic drink.)

Rex M.D. Russell What the Bible Says About Healthy Living “Some Biblical commentaries suggest that yayin is wine fermented from the previous year, and tirosh is a somewhat less fermented drink from the recent harvest. Others concede that yayin is a fermented and intoxicating beverage, but tirosh is simply freshly squeezed juice from grapes.”  (Ho.4:11 may indicate a fermented tirosh.)

Tirosh would naturally ferment into wine, unless (impractical) steps were taken to preserve it as juice.  Mitenbuler op. cit. “Preservation efforts are the most noticeable culinary difference between ancient and modern wine.”  Wine was a valued product of agriculture.  Let’s compare tirosh and yayin in the OT:

Pr.3:10 “Your vats [yéhqeb h3342] will overflow with new wine [tirosh h8492].”  Ellicott Commentary Pr.3:10 “Vats, into which the newly pressed [grape] juice flowed.”  ref “wine vat” in Mk.12:1.  Cambridge Bible Pr.3:10 “The wine-press of the Jews consisted of two receptacles or vats placed at different elevations; in the upper the grapes were trodden, while the lower one received the expressed [grape] juice.”  (cf. Joel 3:13 “The press [gath h1660] is full, the vats [h3342] overflow.”)  Unfermented grape juice, not wine, flowed from the “winepress” (so called).  Mic.6:15 ESV “You shall tread grapes [or new wine h8492], but not drink wine [h3196].”  Is.65:8 the Lord says new wine (h8492) is found in the cluster of grapes.  Fermented wine/yayin h3196 isn’t found in grapes.  Quora What is Tirosh? “It’s literally grape juice in Hebrew.”  However, word meanings in languages can change over the centuries.

University of Chicago Biblical Notes, 1891, p.181 “Tirosh and Yayin denote not two kinds of wine but the same wine at different stages, before and after fermentation. The juice of the grape is tithed as tirosh [ref 2Ch.31:4-5] but drunk as yayin. At first it is a simple product of husbandry and valued for the promise that is in it. Finally it is treated as a drink, and praised or condemned as it is used or abused.”

Right use of fermented wine can be of benefit.  Ps.104:15 “Wine [yahyin h3196] makes glad the heart of man.”  De.14:25-26 “Go to the place the Lord chooses. You may spend the money for…wine [h3196] or strong drink [h7941 shekár], or whatever your heart desires…and rejoice.”  God encouraged wine-drinking (in moderation) to aid Israel’s rejoicing at His pilgrim feasts.  In Is.25:6 KJV, the prophetic banquet the Lord prepares includes aged wine on the lees h8105 of yeast sediment (from fermentation).

The Jews mixed wine in their water.  2Mac.15:39 “It is hurtful to drink wine or water alone. Wine mingled with water is pleasant, and delights the taste.”  In Bible times, water by itself was often dirty, contaminated with pathogens.  Charles Swindoll Dirty Water, Prohibition, and the Bible “Pure drinking water was often unavailable.”  Mitenbuler op. cit. “Ancient wine provided valuable nutrients and was used to sanitize water well past the Middle Ages.”  Also, Israel would water down their wine.

Paul told Timothy in the NT, 1Ti.5:23 “No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine [oinos g3631] for your stomach’s sake and your frequent ailments”.  But excessive alcohol consumption could worsen ailments, and lead to drunkenness.  Paul also wrote, Ep.5:18 “Be not drunk with wine [g3631]”.  Due to its alcoholic content, drinking wine to excess can cause intoxication.  Moderation is key.

Professor R. Laird Harris wrote, “All the wine [of Bible times] was light wine, i.e., not fortified with extra alcohol. Concentrated alcohol was only known in the Middle Ages when the Arabs invented distillation (‘alcohol’ is an Arab word) so…20% fortified wines were unknown in Bible times. Probably ancient wines were 7–10%. To avoid the sin of drunkenness, mingling of water with wine was practiced.”  The blend of water and wine was 50/50–65/35?  Prior to Is.1:22, 700s BC…wine undiluted?

Alfred Edersheim described 1^st century Jewish practices. The Temple, p.187 “Red wine alone was to be used at the Páschal [Passover] Supper, and always mixed with water.”  Cups containing wine were customary at Passover in Jerusalem.  Benson Commentary Pr.23:31 “Red, the color of the best wines in that country, which therefore are called blood, Ge.49:11; De.32:14; and used by them in the Passover.”

Mishnah Pesachim 10:1 “Even the poorest person in Israel must not eat (on the night of the Passover) until he reclines [cf. Lk.22:14]. And they must give him no fewer than four cups of wine.”  Even the poor who couldn’t afford the cost of wine at other times were given wine at Passover.

The Biblical expression “fruit of the vine” (ref Mt.26:29; Mk.14:25; Lk.22:18; Is.32:12; Hab.3:17; Zec.8:12) referred to grapes from the grapevine, common in Palestine.

Wayne Jackson Was the Fruit of the Vine Fermented? “There is considerable historical evidence that the common Passover beverage used in the 1^st century was wine.”  Jesus kept Passover (Lk.2:41-42).

Dr. Jack Lewis states, “Wine was ordinarily used at the Passover and is called ‘fruit of the vine’ in Berakoth 6:1 [Talmud].”  Berakoth 6:1 “Over wine one recites: Who creates fruit of the vine.”

And Jesus’ Last Supper was also a Passover meal celebration!  Jesus told His disciples to prepare it.  Mk.14:12 “On the first day of unleavened bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, ‘Where do want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”  Lk.22:7-8 “Then came the first day of unleavened bread, when the Passover lamb must be killed. ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us to eat.”  This would be His Last Supper.  (see the topic “Jesus’ Last Supper Timing”.)

In the OT the Lord didn’t command wine or any drink at Passover.  But we read from the above sources that wine was the “fruit of the vine”, and was customarily consumed in 1^st century Judea at Passover.

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.”

The annual Passover was 6 months after the grape harvest in the Land.  Grape juice would’ve naturally undergone some fermentation during that time, even if yeast wasn’t added.  David C. Hopkins Life on the Land, p.186 “Stored [new] wine naturally fermented unless it was boiled down or kept cool.”

Again, in the Greek NT, “wine” is oinos g3631, occurring 33 times.  In the OT Greek LXX, oinos g3631 was used to translate the Hebrew yayin h3196 in 130 of its 140 occurrences.  And the LXX also used oinos to translate the Hebrew tiroshe h8492 in 37 of its 38 occurrences (all except Is.65:8)!  Therefore, we see that the Greek oinos g3631 in the LXX referred to either fermented or unfermented drink.

{Sidelight: The Greek term for vinegar and “sour wine” is óxos g3690.  It occurs in 6 NT verses, all relating to Jesus’ crucifixion (Mt.27:34, 48; Mk.15:36; Lk.23:36; Jn.19:29-30).  Oxos/sour wine g3690 was a variety, quality or adulteration of oinos/wine g3631, such as acrid wine or vinegar.  This cheap “wine” was a common beverage.  It was a stimulant, and had standard wine/oinos and water as a base.  “Wine” and “sour wine” and pure vinegar differed.  (see the topic “Jesus’ Death – the Physical Cause”.)

Vinegar was made by the oxidation of wine or fermented fruit juice, or a mix of barley and wine.  It is highly acidic (acetic acid), and harms the teeth (Pr.10:26).  It wasn’t drank straight.  Livestrong.com What Are the Dangers of Drinking Vinegar? “Drinking vinegar can have unpleasant and dangerous side effects.”  ISBE: Vinegar “Undiluted vinegar was of course undrinkable, but a mixture of water and vinegar makes a beverage that was very popular among the poor.”  It was also popular among soldiers.

The Hebrew OT term for vinegar is chométs h2558, occurring 5 times (Nu.6:3; Ru.2:14; Ps.69:21; Pr.10:26, 25:20).  Nu.6:3 has both chomets h2558 vinegar and yayin h3196 wine.  They’re different Hebrew terms, representing different things.  (Nu.6:3 LXX has oxos g3690 and oinos g3631).  There’s no indication that oxos “sour wine” or vinegar was in the cup at Jesus’ Last Supper Passover meal!}

Also, in Ac.2:13 disciples were mocked, supposedly full of sweet wine (or ‘must’?), g1098 gleúkos.  In the OT LXX, this term is found only in Jb.32:19.  Bible linguists differ regarding what gleukos meant back then.  Callixenus wrote (300s BC), “They were trampling on the grapes and the new wine (gleukos) ran out over the whole road”.  Greek Bible scholar Dr. Spiros Zódiates, “Some believe that it [gleukos] is what distills of its own accord from the grapes which is the sweetest and smoothest. It was mentioned at Pentecost (Ac.2:13) indicating that the ancients probably had a method of preserving the sweetness, and by consequence the strongly inebriating quality of the gleukos for a long time.”

In the NT, oinos g3631 usually referred to fermented wine.  Lk.10:33-34 the good Samaritan poured oil and wine (oinos)…not grape juice…into the traveler’s wounds!  Red wine is an antiseptic.  Mt.9:17 Jesus said new wine (g3631) would cause brittle old wineskins to break (due to the fermentation process).

This topic is continued and concluded in “Wine or Grape Juice in Jesus’ Cup? (2)”.  In it, we’ll discuss concerns and symbolism of wine in Bible times, and when the use of grape juice for communion began.

Jesus’ Last Supper Timing

The timing of Jesus’ Last Supper (His final Passover meal) needn’t cause confusion or division among Christians.  Most Christians believe that Jesus’ sacrifice fulfilled the Passover and all the Old Testament (OT) types of sacrifices, which were offered anciently in Israel (and some elsewhere).

Jesus has been called the ‘Passover Lamb’.  But some Christians carry this analogy a step further, thinking that Jesus died at the very time the Passover lambs were being sacrificed at the temple.  Others think Jesus ate the annual Passover lamb meal with His disciples at the Last Supper, before He died the next afternoon.  Which is it?  It can’t be both ways!  Also, although Jesus is called the “Lamb of God” in scripture (Jn.1:29, 36), no verse actually calls Him the ‘Passover Lamb’.

The term “Passover” has different meanings in the Bible.  I see five different but related ways the term Passover is used in scripture:

Passover can refer to: #1 the sacrificial lamb/kid from the flock (Ex.12:5, 21, De.16:2); #2 the festival offering/Chagigáh meal from the herd on the afternoon of Abíb 15 (De.16:2, 2Ch.35:8); #3 the initial 24-hour occasion (Nu.33:3); #4 the entire Feast period (Ezk.45:21, Lk.22:1); #5 Christ, the Lord who passed-over Egypt (1Co.5:7, Ex.12:27).  Of these five, Passover most often referred to #1 the sacrificial lamb, #3 the initial 24-hour occasion, or #4 the entire feast period of Abib 14-15 to Abib 21 inclusively.

To provide the scriptural background, let’s review a few aspects of historical OT Passovers.  The first Passover occurred in Egypt in Ex.12:1-ff.  v.4-8 “Your lamb…the whole assembly of Israel shall kill it between the evenings. And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted with fire, with unleavened bread.”  The lambs must be roasted, not boiled in water.  v.10-11 “You shall not leave any of it over until morning. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover [péhsak Strongs h6453, Hebrew].”  It was eaten as one holy meal.  There wasn’t time for leavened bread to rise…by dawn the exodus would begin (v.30-37).  For further detail, see the topic “Passover and the Exodus Timing”.

The Lord later gave more instructions to Israel for the Passover.  Ex.12 isn’t the complete picture!  De.16:1-2 “You shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God from the flock and the herd, in the place where the Lord chooses to establish His Name.”  For future Passovers, God commanded them to sacrifice more than a lamb/kid from the flock.  v.3-6 “You aren’t allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your towns.”  Again, the roasted lamb/kid must be gone by morning.  Yet they’d keep feasting for the few days during which they must appear at the central sanctuary where God placed His Name (v.16).  The Passover from the herd was always eaten there in the day(s) following the lamb meal.

King Josiah obeyed.  2Ch.35:1 they “Celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem.”  The temple in Jerusalem was the place of God’s name in those days.  v.7-9 “Josiah contributed flocks of lambs & kids, plus 3,000 bulls. His officers contributed for the Passover offerings, 2,600 from the flock, 300 bulls.”  Passover bulls are from the herd, not the flock.  v.13 “They roasted the Passover lambs as prescribed, and boiled the holy offerings in pots.”  The Passover from the herd could be boiled.  v.16-18 “The sons of Israel celebrated the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread 7 days.” (Le.23:5-6.)

The Passover from the herd was called a chagigah or festival offering.  Ex.23:15 “Seven days you must eat unleavened bread in the month Abib. None may appear before Me empty without an offering.”

Theologian Joachim Jeremias The Eucharistic Words of Jesus, p.20 “It is true that Páschal sacrifices [chagigah] were eaten during the seven days of the feast (Nisán 15–21).”  Alfred Edersheim The Temple, p.170-171 “The Chagigah was a peace offering. The Chagigah for the 15^th of Nisan [Abib] was obligatory.”  Again, the Passover sacrifice from the herd was commanded by the Lord in De.16:2.  The offerer would share in eating the chagigah at the environs of the temple.

Days in ancient Israel began at sunset.  Jews in Jerusalem would remove leaven by candlelight from dwellings early on the night beginning Abib 14, before the Passover lambs were killed in the afternoon of Abib 14 (ref Ex.34:25).  So leaven was actually out for 8 days, Abib 14–21.  Josephus acknowledged this in Antiquities of the Jews 2:15:1. “We keep a Feast for 8 days, of Unleavened Bread.”

The wave sheaf was offered after the weekly sabbath during the feast, or on Abib 16.  Josephus op. cit. 3:10:5 “On the 16^th day of the month they offer the firstfruits of their barley, a sheaf of the ears.”  Only then could the barley harvest in Israel begin (Le.23:9-14).  Israelite men would remain at the city of the central sanctuary/temple for 7–8 days, or at least until the sheaf was waved to begin the harvest.  While there, they ate the Passover sacrifice from the herd for the chagigah.  Chag (h2282) meant “feast”.

The term “Passover” could also refer to the entire feast period.  The context determines the meaning.  Ezk.45:21 “In the first month on the 14^th day you shall have the Passover, a feast of 7 days, unleavened bread shall be eaten.”  As we’ve seen, the feast included the Passover from the herd too.  Lk.22:1 “The feast of unleavened bread drew near, which is called the Passover [páscha g3957, Greek].”  “Passover” and “Feast of Unleavened” were somewhat synonymous expressions in Jesus’ day.  The term “unleavened” (ázumos g106) was common in the old Greek, which became the Septúagint/LXX.

The timing of Jesus’ Last Supper and crucifixion parallels the Passover proceedings done Abib 14–15!

Mk.14:12 “On the first day of unleavened bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, ‘Where do want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”  Again, leaven was customarily removed in advance, so dwellings were free of leaven for 8 days.  Barnes Commentary “The feast continued for 8 days, including the day the paschal lamb was killed.”  That’s Abib 14–21 inclusively.  It was mandatory that the lamb/kid be killed and its blood sprinkled at the altar on Abib 14 (Ex.12:6), not Abib 13 or Abib 15.  All leaven had been removed by the afternoon of Abib 14.

The synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke…all use the two terms “Passover” and “unleavened”.  But the term “unleavened” never appears in John’s writings.  When John refers to the entire feast period, he calls it the “Passover”!  For example, Jn.6:4 “Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.”  Again, the meaning of the term Passover wasn’t limited to the beginning sacrificial lamb meal.  John’s usage is significant…as we examine the (incorrect) claim of some that John’s timing of Jesus’ crucifixion date differs from that of the three synoptics!

In Mk.14:12-17, Jesus’ Jewish disciples knew this was the correct time (Abib/Nisan 14) to sacrifice the Passover lamb they would eat with Him that night.  So they asked which house to prepare for the meal.  It would’ve been sin if Jesus (and they) had killed or eaten it at the wrong time!  But Jesus is a sinless Savior.  This day is their ‘preparation day’, so to speak, for the Passover lamb.  Gill Exposition Mk.14:12 “It was now Thursday morning, and the Passover was to be slain after the middle of the day, between the two evenings, and eaten in Jerusalem that night.”  (The lamb couldn’t remain overnight, Ex.12:6-10.)  Fourfold Gospel Commentary “The feast of unleavened bread began properly on the 15^th, and lasted 7 days, but this was the 14^th, on which the paschal lamb was slain. However, it was common to blend the names Passover and unleavened bread interchangeably to describe the entire 8 days.”

Mk.14:18-21 Jesus ate the Passover lamb meal with them that night (sunset began Abib/Nisan 15) at His Last Supper.  “One of you will betray Me. One who dips with Me in the bowl.”  His betrayal is addressed while they eat.  v.22-26 bread & wine is served.  They exit.

The inclusion of the betrayal discussion in all four gospel accounts is key to our understanding the timing and harmony in the four gospels!

Luke’s account of the Last Supper timing agrees with Mark’s.  Lk.22:7 “Then came the first day of unleavened bread, when the Passover lamb must be killed.”  Again, it was mandatory that the lamb be killed on Abib 14!  v.8 Jesus said, “Go and prepare the Passover lamb for us to eat”.  v.14-20 they partook of bread & wine.  (also see the topic “Bread and Wine in the Church”.)  v.21-23 “The hand of the one betraying Me is on the table.”  Luke’s account also includes the betrayal discussion at the meal.

Let’s compare Matthew’s account.  Mt.26:17 “On the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do you want us to prepare the Passover for you to eat.”  v.20 “When evening came [sunset began Abib 15], He was at table with the twelve disciples.”  Jesus said in v.21-25, “One of you will betray Me”.  v.26-30 they share the bread & wine (later it’s also symbolic), and exit.

The synoptic gospels of Mark, Luke, Matthew all address the betrayal and the bread & wine at supper.

Jesus had known He would die.  Even before He sent out the 70 missionaries, Jesus had said in Lk.9:22 (some time before His last Passover), “The Son of Man must be killed and raised up on the third day”.  Jn.13:1 “Before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world.”

Again, John never calls the 7–8 day feast the “Feast of Unleavened (Bread)”.  In John, the entire Feast period is the Passover (g3957).  But Jesus’ last meal in John’s gospel differs somewhat from the synoptic gospel accounts of His last meal.  In Jn.13, there’s no bread & wine mentioned at the meal.  And John’s account adds that Jesus washed His disciples’ feet during supper (Jn.13:4-ff).

Some Bible readers think the meal in Jn.13 was eaten one day earlier than the meal in Mk.14, Lk.22, Mt.26.  But in all four gospels it’s the same Passover lamb meal, the same Last Supper (also called the Lord’s Supper, 1Co.11:20).  How do we know it is, since John omits the account of bread & wine (and never uses the term “unleavened”)?  (also see “Wine or Grape Juice in Jesus’ Cup?”.)

We know it’s the same because…John’s meal includes the betrayal discussion too, as do the synoptics!  Jn.13:21-30 “Truly I say to you, one of you will betray Me. He it is, to whom I will give a morsel, when I have dipped it.”  If the betrayal discussion in John 13 was at a previous meal (one day earlier), there’d be no need to address this issue again in Mk.14, Lk.22, Mt.26 (at Passover)!

As the Jn.13 Passover lamb meal is ending, Jesus continues to speak at length to His disciples in Jn.14-17.  Then in Jn.18, Jesus is in the (exit) garden…the same as in Mk.14, Lk.22, Mt.26!  It’s the night of Abib/Nisan 15 (cf. Est.3:7).  As Judas betrays Him, Jesus is apprehended by a Roman cohort and taken to the high priest’s court.  Peter denies Jesus.  Jesus is awake all night.  This sequence is in Jn.18:1-27.

Then after dawn (during Abib 15) the Jews take Jesus to the government headquarters of Pontius Pilate.  Jn.18:28 “It was early morning; and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness, His accusers didn’t enter, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.”  Those Jews feared possible (rabbinic) defilement in the headquarters of gentiles, the Praetórium.  How is the term “Passover” used here in Jn.18:28?

David Stern Jewish New Testament Commentary, p.206 “The Pesach [Passover] in this verse refers to other food eaten during Pesach, specifically the chagigah (festival sacrifice). This is the Pesach meal they would have been unable to eat, because their defilement would have lasted till sundown. If ‘the Pesach’ meant the Passover lamb, defilement in the morning might not have been a problem.”  Not a problem because…most uncleanness/defilement (ref Ac.10:28a) would’ve lasted only until evening of a day…and the Passover lamb was eaten after sunset at the beginning of a new day!

Gill Exposition Jn.18:28 “Not the Passover lamb, for that they had eaten the night before. But the ‘Chagigah’, or feast on the 15^th day of the month.”  Robertson’s NT Word Pictures “In 2Ch.30:22 we read, ‘And they did eat the festival 7 days’, when the paschal festival is meant, not the paschal lamb or paschal supper. There are eight other examples of Passover in John’s gospel, and in all of them the feast is meant, not the supper. Not the meal of Jn.13:2, which was the regular Passover meal.”

Talmud Pes.vi.3 “One Levitically defiled cannot offer the Chagigah.”  Edersheim The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, p.866 “Entrance into the Praetorium on the morning of the first Passover day would have rendered it impossible for them to offer the Chagigah, which was also designated by the term Pesach [Passover].”  The chagigah meal from the herd/boiled things would be that day, Abib 15!  The Bible didn’t specify exactly when to eat from the herd (e.g. 2pm Abib 15)…but De.16:2, 2Chr, John’s gospel, the Talmud, etc. is historical evidence of this Passover week custom!  Jn.18:28 doesn’t refer to a lamb meal as upcoming that night…supposed defilement would end at sunset! (e.g. Le.15:7-8)

Jn.19:13-14 “Pilate brought Jesus out to them. It was the preparation of the Passover.”  “Preparation” doesn’t refer to the Passover lamb meal.  We saw in Mt.26:17, Mk.14:12, Lk.22:8 that Jesus’ disciples had prepared the Passover lamb meal the previous day (and Jesus ate it that night).  The koiné Greek term for preparation was paraskeué g3904.  For the Jews, every Friday is the “preparation”, and every Saturday is the sabbath.  Mk.15:42 “It was the preparation [g3904 paraskeue], that is, the day before the sabbath.”

JFB Commentary Jn.19:14 “It was the preparation, the day before the Jewish sabbath.”  Edersheim The Temple, p.138 “Friday is called in the gospels ‘the preparation.”  The term for Friday in modern Greek is Paraskevi, and the term for Saturday is sabbato/(sabbath)!  In Jn.19:14, it is the “preparation day” (Friday) which fell during the 7–8 day feast period/Passover.  Again, John never uses the term “Feast of Unleavened”…it’s all the “Passover” in John.

Jesus was then crucified. (also see “Jesus’ Death – The Physical Cause”.)  Jn.19:31 “It was the preparation, and the next day was to be a great [g3173 mégas] sabbath because it was the Passover. The Jews asked Pilate that their bodies be taken down.”  That Saturday was a “great” sabbath, not a “high” sabbath.  cf. Re.21:12 “The city wall was great [g3173 megas] and high [g5308 hupselós].”  The Greek term in Jn.19:31 is megas/great, not hupselos/high!  The sabbath in Jn.19:31 was great because it was the sabbath of Passover week when possibly a million people were in Jerusalem, or…Abib 16 was the annual wave sheaf day, according to the LXX, Josephus, Philo, Edersheim, Gill, Chief Rabbi Dr. J.H. Hertz.

Jn.19:41-42 Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb towards the end of the “preparation”.  Lk.23:52-56 “It was the preparation day, and the sabbath [g4521] was about to begin. The women saw the tomb. They returned and rested on the sabbath according to the commandment.”  The weekly sabbath command in Ex.20:8, “Remember the sabbath [h7676] day, to keep it holy”.  In scripture, the only “sabbath” (h7676, g4521) days are the weekly sabbath and Day of Atonement.  Other occasions are shabathóns (h7677), like sabbatoids.  As Jesus ‘rested’ in the tomb, the righteous women ‘rested’ on Saturday.

Then…He is risen (Mt.28:6)!  At dawn Sunday Abib 17, Jesus is alive; the tomb was empty (Lk.24:1-3)!

The Passover lamb was a type of Christ’s sacrificial death.  The annual Day of Atonement sacrifice too was a type of Christ (1Jn.2:2, 4:10; LXX Le.23:28 & 25:9)…but He wasn’t crucified on Atonement.  Nor on all typical morning/evening sacrifices, needless to say.  The Chagigah offering of Abib 15 was also a type of Christ…on which day He was crucified.  All sacrifices, sin offerings, etc. prefigured Him.

Recap: Days began & ended at sunset.  Wednesday night Abib 14 the Jews searched to remove leaven.  Thursday afternoon Abib 14 Jesus’ Passover lamb was properly killed, its blood to be sprinkled on the altar (2Ch.35:11, Le.3:7-8).  He ate the lamb Thursday night, early on Abib 15.  That very night, Abib 15, was an historic night of vigil, a “watch” (Mk.14:37, Ex.12:42).  Jesus was apprehended.  The crucifixion process began Friday Abib 15 (their “preparation”) between 9am and noon.  Jesus died before sunset began the weekly sabbath of Abib 16.

All four gospel accounts agree on the timing, and in them we also see glimpses of God’s OT Passover requirements.  Christ at His Last Supper/Passover didn’t violate any Passover commands which Christ as the Word of God (who “passed-over” Egypt) gave to Moses & Israel.  Again, “Passover and the Exodus Timing” details the timing of Israel’s first Passover and exodus from Egypt.  To further examine the timing issue, there is another topic which focuses on the “Three Days and Three Nights” (Mt.12:40).

Bread and Wine in the Church

Bread & wine are the symbols of the body & blood of Jesus the Savior.  The partaking of these symbols is called communion or the eucharist by many churches, and is considered a sacrament by some.

At Jesus’ Last Supper, He instructed His disciples regarding bread & wine in Lk.22:19-20. “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me…This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”  Accordingly, a communal sharing of the symbolic bread & wine became the practice of the church after His sacrificial death and resurrection.

A few churches believe the bread & wine actually becomes Christ’s body & blood in substance.  This is called transubstantiation.  But communion isn’t transubstantiation.  If communion were transubstantiation, then it would contradict the Holy Spirit’s decree for the church to abstain from blood (Ac.15:29)!  Christ had already forbidden human consumption of blood in the Old Testament (OT).  ref Ge.9:4 & Le.17:10.  Although Jesus is the figurative ‘bread of life’, human flesh (cannibalism) is unclean for food (Le.11:1-3, Ezk.4:12-14)!  Furthermore, at His Last Supper, Jesus was standing there in His physical body at the time He said the bread on that table “is My body” (e.g. Mt.26:26)!  Jesus then ate the bread; He didn’t eat His own body or drink His own blood.

The Christian faith isn’t magic.  The above verses help make it clear that the symbolic bread & wine don’t become in substance Christ’s body & blood; rather they represent His body & blood.  For example, Jesus said in Mt.13:38, “The field is the world and the good seed are the sons of the kingdom”.  But what Jesus meant was, the field and the seed represent the world and the sons.  It’s not literal.  Jesus said of the bread & wine in Mt.26:26-28, “This is my body…this is my blood.”  Likewise, the bread & wine are symbolic representations, not to be viewed literally.  We believe God is present in Spirit, yet not as physical food.

These symbols of bread & wine weren’t entirely new to those Jews in the 1^st century AD.  The earliest believers in Jesus/Yeshúa were Jews.  The practice of taking bread & wine has a long history.  Jews today call it kíddush, usually taken on the sabbath.

Religious bread & wine meals predate Jesus’ Last Supper.  David Stern Jewish New Testament Commentary (JNTC) Appendix, p.931 has a quote from the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS). “And 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. And they shall process according to this rite at every meal where at least ten persons are assembled.”  This is evidence that Jewish bread & wine meals at Qumrán anticipated the Messiah in the decades before Jesus’ human birth.

But the representative bread & wine is much more ancient than the 1^st century BC!  Back in Ge.14:18-19, “Melchisedek brought out bread and wine”.  He shared a (leavened) bread & wine meal with the uncircumcised gentile/non-Jew Abrám.

The Ps.110:1-4 prophecy about Jesus. “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek.” (also ref 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 Abram/Abraham, even prior to Jacob/Israel and the Jews, a bread & wine meal foreshadowed Christ’s priesthood and rule.

Recognizing this celebration as a Melchisedekian meal and order is significant!  (see the topic “Melchisedek Order Priesthood”.)  The archetypal meal wasn’t tied to a recurring religious date or season of the year.  Its timing may or may not coincide with other religious observances.

In Jn.6:51-54, 66, 31-33, Jesus’ flesh & blood are symbolized prior to the Last Supper.  (And Qumran was having their Community bread & wine meals prior to the Last Supper date.)  Jesus said in Jn.6:54, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life”.  Many early Jews thought bread & wine related to the coming Messiah…but not as His (literal) body & blood.

In Christianity today, there are various views about how often communion should be taken.  Some Christians now keep this (Melchisedek order) New Covenant bread & wine memorial annually, only at Passover time in the spring.

Since Jesus’ Last Supper occurred at Israel’s Passover, some (especially Jews) have tied the Lord’s Supper to Passover with unleavened bread.  1Co.5:1-9 is Paul’s mídrash about suspending the sinner, typified as “old leaven”.  v.7 “Christ our Passover”…it was Christ who ‘passed over’ the firstborn of Israel in Egypt (Ex.12:23).  He was the “Rock” who followed them in the wilderness (1Co.10:4 & De.32:3-4).  Perhaps some Jewish Christians in Jerusalem continued to customarily keep Passover at the temple (cf. De.16:5-6), as had been commanded in the old Levitical order.  Christ is the Passover of Jewish Christians, as Paul indicates.  (also see “Passover and Peace Offerings“.)

In Ex.12, Israel had been commanded to keep the Passover (from the flock) with a lamb or kid, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs.  The traditional custom of drinking wine at Passover was added centuries later.  But in all Last Supper passages, the Greek term for bread is always ártos (Strongs g740), never ázumos/unleavened (g106).

Jesus didn’t say bread & wine replaced Israel’s Passover meal, nor did He specifically call the bread & wine “a Passover”.  Even though Jesus’ last meal before His death coincided with their Passover meal, the bread & wine meal is a new covenant/ceremony in the order of Melchisedek.  It’s part of Jesus’ last will & testament (He.9:15-17)!  Therefore this communion wasn’t instituted until Jesus’ final meal before His death (which was also a Passover meal).

There was no Passover wine commanded to Moses/Israel in the Old Covenant.  Else Nazarites like Samson and Samuel would’ve been continually disobedient, ref De.16:1-2, Nu.6:2-3 & Jg.13:4-5…or cut off from Israel, ref Nu.9:13!  God had forbidden Nazarites to drink wine or grape juice, Nu.6:3.  Talmud Pesachim 10:1 it became a custom at Passover for each man to drink four cups.  That custom wasn’t commanded by God.  It was a Roman Empire custom for banquet type celebrations to include four servings of wine (cf. Lk.22:17, 20).

In 1Co.11, Paul shows that the Lord’s Supper is more than a Passover meal.  v.2 this Supper remembrance had become an authorized church practice.  In several verses Paul instructs them for when they “come/meet together”: v.17, 18, 20, 33, 34, 14:23, 26.  Paul is referring to regular gatherings in these verses, not infrequent occasions.

The celebrating of the Lord’s Supper was a main festive component of those church gatherings.  Frank Viola Pagan Christianity, p.239 “For the early Christians, the Lord’s Supper was a communal meal…a Christian banquet…called a love feast.”  Continuing with 1Co.11….

Paul reproved the Corinthians, saying their attitude was unfit for the Lord’s Supper.  1Co.11:20-22 it seems their mindset was the eating of their own supper.  A.T. Robertson “Selfish conduct…made it impossible for them to eat the Lord’s Supper.”  The hungry poor and the intoxicated rich there together.

1Co.11:23-24 Paul referred to the time Jesus instituted the observance as, “The night in which He was betrayed”.  That’s not an OT holyday emphasis.  Paul doesn’t tie bread & wine to the Passover.  Jesus had said, “Do this in remembrance of Me”.  v.25-26 “As often as you eat and drink…you proclaim the Lord’s death.”  The Greek for “as often” occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only in Re.11:6…as often as they smite the earth with plagues.  “As often” doesn’t indicate only once-a-year.

Jesus’ death was foreshadowed by all temple sacrifices each year, for that matter, not just the Passover.  e.g. Ro.3:25 Jesus is the Atonement (although He didn’t die in October on the date of Yom Kíppur).  Throughout the year, many churches will often proclaim Christ died for our sins, partaking of bread & wine.  (The DSS Essene meals at Qumran were often too.)

1Co.11:27 taking the Lord’s Supper meal selfishly was doing so unworthily.  They were ‘desecrating the Lord’s Table to satisfy personal cravings’.  v.28 “Let a man examine himself, and eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”  We should “examine” ourselves regularly, not just spiritually cram once-a-year!  David Stern op. cit. (JNTC), p.227 “The early believers were to recall Yeshua’s death for them as they began their meal. Then, after that, the entire meal time was to be devoted to fellowship.”

It was a full meal!  Were the poor brethren in Corinth “shamed” only once-a-year (v.22)?  It’s likely that for many of the poor and slave participants, the (weekly or bi-weekly) Lord’s Supper was their one real meal…a sacrificial banquet, if you will!

These were regular gatherings/meetings.  v.29-30 some saints, failing to discern the Lord’s body, were sick and passing away.  There’s healing in it also!  1Pe.2:24 “By His wounds you were healed.”  After Jesus suffered wounds on His body, figuratively the bread, we’re healed.  Is.53:4-5 emotional healing too!  McLaren Expositions Is.53:4 “Hebrew thought drew no sharp line of distinction between diseases of the body and those of the soul.”  People have testified to the healing!  It’s not magic.

1Co.11:31-34 Paul said to eat more at home if need be, so sufficient food for the poor would be available on the Lord’s Table.

The traditional full fellowship meal with bread & wine occurred often in the apostolic church.  (Gentiles in the church don’t recall any one-time Passover exodus from Egypt anyway.)  Jude 1:12 indicates these love feasts were common.  Writing of the early church, Samuele Bacchiócchi God’s Festivals, p.74 “During the course of the year the Lord’s Supper was celebrated as part of a religious service.”

1Co.10:16 “Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?”  Their ‘breaking bread’ referred to Christ’s body.  v.3-4, 11 Israel had received food & drink all those days in the wilderness (an OT type).  v.21 commune with the Lord at His Table.  The expressions “cup of blessing” (v.16) and “fruit of the vine” (Lk.22:18) are common in Jewish blessings.  Ac.20:6-7, 11 Paul was breaking bread at a Christian love feast in Troás (a couple weeks after Passover was held in Jerusalem; communion isn’t tied to it).

Archaeologists have discovered banquet halls within several excavated ancient synagogues.  In primitive church congregations, bread & wine may well have been taken weekly (as part of a Christian banquet or memorial).  Le.24:5-9 the priests in the ancient tabernacle/temple had eaten the showbread at the Lord’s table weekly on the sabbath.  The objection of some men that partaking of the eucharist elements too often will result in them losing their meaning…isn’t in the Bible!  He.13:10 but the disbelieving Levites at the temple in the 1^st century AD had no right to eat the Lord’s Supper meals.

Over time, three noted factors leading to a morning communion service were: #1 Roman legislation prohibited Christian meal gatherings.  #2 The growing gentile church (clergy) avoided the Jewishness link of common bread & wine meals (a practice carried-over into the church from the synagogue).  #3 Abusive behavior, as Paul warned in 1Co.11, led to abandoning the bread & wine full meals.  The general practice became, Didache 14:1 (ca 100 AD) “Eucharist on the Lord’s Day”.  A communion consisting of only a wafer & thimble of grape juice/wine became a Sunday morning custom.  No shared meal.  (see “Sabbath Day Became Sunday in Rome” and “Wine or Grape Juice in Jesus’ Cup?”.)

{Sidelight: Steven Shisley cites: “The apologist Tertullian (c 155–240 CE) recounts how his community in Carthage began to assemble in the mornings to participate in a separate Eucharistic ritual at an altar (De Corona 3). According to Cyprian, a 3rd-century bishop, Christians in Carthage regularly gathered as one large assembly in the morning at an altar for a Eucharistic sacrifice in buildings devoted to religious activities (Epistle 62.14–17; Epistle 33.4–5).”  Clergy changed the apostolic love feast meal.}

Did children participate in the early church love feasts?  Jesus said in Mt.19:13-15, “Let the children come to Me”.  Here Jesus didn’t exclude children.  Children had been included, not forbidden, in OT family meals at the Lord’s pilgrim feasts.  Mt.14:21 feeding the 5,000 included children.  And the Jn.6 account of the 5,000 (v.10) also specified His “flesh and blood” symbols (v.53).  However, children should be able to conduct themselves appropriately if they take the symbols.  At the Last Supper, Jesus’ 12 disciples/apostles hadn’t received the Holy Spirit yet either, as most children today haven’t.  (cf. Jn.20:22 & Ac.2:4, which were after the Last Supper.)

1Pe.2:5, 9 Christians are a royal priesthood.  OT priests ate the showbread weekly!  Manna, the bread from heaven, was gathered by the people daily (Ex.16:21-32).  It’s important we take communion thankfully with a good conscience.  Some may use leavened or unleavened bread, with wine or grape juice.  (Recovering alcoholics are advised to use grape juice.)

Some modern Christians partake only annually, yet throughout the year they are daily able to remain mindful of the Lord’s death for them (1Co.11:24-26).  Others feel they should partake more often to remain so mindful.  Consciences do matter.  Let’s not unfavorably view others who conscientiously observe the symbols at a different time, whether very often or infrequently…or in a different manner, part of a meal or a leavened/unleavened wafer & thimble cup.  It’s a holy celebration of what Jesus has done for us.  Let’s rejoice in it!