A Quick, Compelling Bible Study Vol. 66: What the New Testament Says About Wine

Today we conclude our two-part series on what the Bible says about wine. Last week we studied the Old Testament, and now we uncork the New, noting the pivotal role wine plays in Jesus’s Messianic ministry.

Wine is first mentioned in the New Testament’s first book, the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus says:

“‘Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved’” (Matthew 9:17).

That “new wine” lesson was also recorded in Mark 2:18-22 and Luke 5:33-39, reinforcing its significance about how Jesus symbolically represented “new wine” that cannot be contained within old skin. He came to fulfill the Old Testament — old wine preserved in the old skin. He taught how the new wine is “ruined” when poured into old goatskins that “burst” after being stretched to its limit from when the old wine is fermented and expanded.

Jesus’s symbolic identity with wine is strengthened in his first famous miracle when he turned water into wine. The miracle appears only in John's Gospel while Jesus, his mother, and disciples attended a wedding feast at Cana in Galilee that (gasp) is about to run out of wine. Mother Mary pressures her son for a miracle, and Jesus initially resists saying, “My hour has not yet come.” Take a moment and read the short passage.

After Jesus quietly changes six large jars of water into wine with no fanfare, the “master of the banquet” comments to the bridegroom about his unusual party etiquette, saying:

“‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now’” (John 2: 9-10).

“What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (John 2:11).

A colleague of mine, Russ Breault, has written about the first miracle explaining, “Transformation is the key. Changing water into wine is a metaphor for what Jesus desires to do in the life of every believer. His first miracle reveals the core mission of His ministry – the Gospel message has the power to transform. Jesus later calls it being ‘born again,’ ” And Russ reemphasizes the real reason for the miracle, “the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in Him.”

Then about three years later, on the night he was betrayed during the Last Supper, Jesus again transformed wine (and bread). On that occasion into his blood and body as recorded in three Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and I Corinthians.

“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, [of wine] and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’” (Matthew 26:17-29).

Every Sunday around the world, in Catholic, Orthodox, and some Protestant churches, believers renew their faith through the sacrifice of Jesus’s body and blood in a ritual known as the Eucharist — the highlight of, and some would say the reason for — the Mass. Protestant churches refer to this ritual as Communion. Nonetheless, in both faiths, church attendees ingest a small wafer for His body and take a sip of wine (or grape juice) for His blood.

“Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.” (Mark 15:23).

As Jesus was about to take his last breath, Matthew, Mark, and John record that sour wine vinegar was lifted to His lips, and He said, “It is finished” (John 19: 29-30).

Let’s backtrack for a moment to earlier in Jesus’s ministry — well before the Last Supper — to highlight the importance of wine. (In Vol. 34, we previously discussed bread.)

“‘Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them’” (John 6:53-59).

Please don’t think that Jesus is talking about cannibalism. The truth is Jesus holds Himself up as the source of eternal life — His body and blood, that He will sacrifice on the cross for our sins — the bread and wine of the Eucharist.

Back to human failings for a moment. In the New Testament, wine is also mentioned in conjunction with excessive drinking and other destructive behaviors in a few passages here and here, as well as in a more positive light:

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

To close out today’s study, I asked the learned Rev. David G. Caron, OP, Director of Spiritual Outreach for Cross Catholic Outreach, to offer a quote about Jesus and wine. He wrote:

“St. Catherine of Siena speaks of a relationship with God as Holy intoxication. Catherine says, ‘…a wine which intoxicates the soul so that the more one drinks of it, the more one wants to drink.’ Jesus, with his life and teachings, introduced people, in his own way, to holy intoxication.”

"Jesus’s symbolic identity with wine is strengthened in his first famous miracle when he turned water into wine. "

"Then about three years later, on the night he was betrayed during the Last Supper, Jesus again transformed wine (and bread). On that occasion into his blood and body as recorded in three Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and I Corinthians. "

However, as with the wine, in every such miracle the change was really physical, the water really became wine, multiplied bread and fishes were physically just that, a person healed of physical disease was really physically healed, versus merely appearing to be wine, etc. but which in reality they did not look, feel, smell, etc. nor would scientifically tests to be physical, but contrary to all such, what is seen is said to no longer even exist, being changed in substance into the real entity, in this case the "true body and blood of Christ" in every particle "in a different mode of existence."

Until that is, the non-existent hosts begin to visibly (which aspect now becomes critical) manifest decay, as which point the true body and blood of Christ also ceases to exist under that form in its locality.

Thus the so-called plain literal interpretation of the Lord's supper is hardly that, for if "Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you," (1 Corinthians 11:24) and "Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:27-28) means that physical bread was transformed into His Body and Blood at the Last Supper, then it would manifestly be the same manifestly physical body and blood that proved Jesus Christ came in the flesh, crucified body and shed blood of Christ - which looked, smelled, behaved and would scientifically test as being real human flesh - and which John and others emphasized, versus His appearance not conforming to what He physically was as in docetism and the Eucharist christ:

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. (Luke 24:39)

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life," (1 John 1:1)

"This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth." (1 John 5:6)

"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 4:2-3)

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist: 2 John 7

But what the Lord and the Jews (and Greeks) did was often engage in allegorical and metaphorical language, including as concerns nourishment:

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. (Isaiah 55:1-3)

And such use for eating or drinking is what the apostles would have been familiar with, to which the Lord's representative use of bread and wine for His body and bread is correspondent to, versus the foreign concept of requiring physical consuming human flesh for spiritual purposes. A few more examples from Scripture pertinent to this are:

And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord. And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. (2 Samuel 23:16-17)

Here, David clearly calls drinking water human blood, and consistent with the command of Deuteronomy 12:16; 15:23 (cf. Lv. 17:10,11), he poured it on to the ground, and did so as an act of worship unto the Lord. What David did not do was contrive some metaphysical justification for drinking this, but to be consistent with the professed plain-language hermeneutic Catholics insist they hold to in regards to "this is my body," then they should also insist this was literal in this case. As well as when God clearly states that the Canaanites were “bread:

• “Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us” (Num. 14:9)

Other examples of the use of figurative language for eating and drinking include,

• The Promised Land was “a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof.” (Num. 13:32)

• David said that his enemies came to “eat up my flesh.” (Ps. 27:2)

• And complained that workers of iniquity ”eat up my people as they eat bread , and call not upon the Lord.” (Psalms 14:4)

• And the Lord also said, “I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.” (Zephaniah 1:3)

• While even arrows can drink: “I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh ; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.' (Deuteronomy 32:42)

• But David says the word of God (the Law) was “sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. (Psalms 19:10)

• Another psalmist also declared the word as “sweet:” “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalms 119:103)

• Jeremiah likewise proclaimed, “Your words were found. and I ate them. and your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jer. 15:16)

• Ezekiel was told to eat the words, “open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee...” “eat that thou findest; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” (Ezek. 2:8; 3:1)

• John is also commanded, “Take the scroll ... Take it and eat it.” (Rev. 10:8-9 )

And Scripture refers to Christ being spiritual food and drink which even OT believers consumed:

• And did all eat the same spiritual meat; "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." (1 Corinthians 10:3-4)

• And Christ's word in Jn. 6, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst," (John 6:35) are correspondent to,

"Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." (Isaiah 55:2-3)

• Moreover, like as bread is broken, Is. 53:10 states that "it pleased the Lord to bruise him," and the word for "bruise" (da^ka^') basically means to crumble, to break, crush, etc. as well as bruise..., (Strong's). And like as wine is poured out, so Is. 53:12 also states of Christ, "he hath poured out his soul unto death," both of which are correspondent to the words of the Last Supper regarding bread and wine.

And which use of figurative language for Christ and spiritual things abounds in John, using the physical to refer to the spiritual:

• In John 1:29, Jesus is called “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” — but he does not have hoofs and literal physical wool.

• In John 2:19 Jesus is the temple of God: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” — but He is not made of literal stone.

• In John 3:14,15, Jesus is the likened to the serpent in the wilderness (Num. 21) who must “be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal” (vs. 14, 15) — but He is not made of literal bronze.

• In John 4:14, Jesus provides living water, that “whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life,” — but which was not literally consumed by mouth.

• In John 7:37 Jesus is the One who promises “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” — but believers were not water fountains, but He spoke ”of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.” (John 7:38)

• In Jn. 9:5 Jesus is “the Light of the world” — but who is not blocked by an umbrella.

•I n John 10, Jesus is “the door of the sheep,” and “the good shepherd [who] giveth his life for the sheep”, “that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” vs. 7, 10, 11) — but who again, is not literally an animal with cloven hoofs.

• In John 15, Jesus is the true vine — but who does not physically grow from the ground nor whose fruit is literally physically consumed.

Thus even a partial examination reveals that such use of figurative speech especially abounds in John, with over 35 instances of such even before the use of "meat" and drink" in chapter 6. And which gospel characteristically contrasts the physical with the spiritual, as is the case contextually in chapter 6, in which the Lord feeds multitudes physically and in response to the demand for more, tells the supplicants labor not for the meat which does perish, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, and which He then defines as believing on Him. (Jn. 6:27-29) And which is how He "lived by the Father," and said that we are to live by Him (Jn. 6:57) believing and thus doing His will, that being His "meat," (Jn. 4:34) and thus the Jn. 6 discourse ends with the Lord declaring that the flesh (as in consuming it) profits nothing, but His words they "are spirit and are life." (Jn. 6:63)

Thus in contrast to the "real" Christ of Catholicism in the form of bread and wine, in John and rest of the Scripture spiritual life is never obtained by literally physically eating anything, nor spiritual nourished by the same, but by believing the gospel and being strengthen in faith by the word of God, and thus living it out. Consistent with this, it is the word of God that is referred to as "milk" (1Cor. 3:2; 1Pt. 1:22) and "meat," (Heb. 5:12,14) and is said to nourish souls, (1Tim. 4:6) and build them up, (Acts 20:32) and thus the primary active function of pastors is to preach the word, (2Tim. 4:2) which is how they "feed the flock." (Acts 20:28; 1Pt. 5:2)

"“‘Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them’” (John 6:53-59)"

Which, if taken as an imperative as other "verily, verily statement, must mean that those who do not believe in the Catholic contrivance of the Lord Supper are spiritually dead. And that taking part in the Lord's supper would be what was preached by the NT as a means of obtaining spiritual life.

However, no where is the Lord’s supper presented as a sacrifice for sins and a means of obtaining spiritual life, nor is the conducting of it a uniquely pastoral function, or their primary unique function, much less that of pseudo RC priests.

Instead the primary work of NT pastors (besides prayer) is preaching. (Act 6:3,4; 2 Tim.4:2) with believing the gospel being the means of obtaining life in oneself, by which one is regenerated, (Acts 10:43-47; 15:7-9; Eph. 1:13; cf. Psalms 19:7) thus desiring the sincere milk (1Pt. 2:2; cf. (1Co. 3:22) and then the “strong meat” (Heb. 5:12-14) of the word of God, and by the preaching of which pastors “feed the flock” (Acts 20:28; 1Pt. 5:2) ) by which they are "nourished." (1 Timothy 4:6 ) Glory be to God.

And which conflates with the interpretation in John 6 of v. 53, etc, that "As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me," (John 6:57) not meaning literally physically consuming His Father's flesh but living according to His word and thus the doing of it, which is how man lives and was Christ “meat.”

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (John 4:34)

Thus as the Lord proceeds to say,

What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? [thus no longer being present to feed them His literal flesh] It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:62-63)

For it is by believing the gospel with effectual regenerating faith that obtains eternal life:

To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. (Acts 10:43-48)

And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. (Acts 15:7-9)

Glory to God!

"Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."

Besides a literal understanding of this being required if Catholics are going to be consistent with a professed literal understanding of John 6, yet such being clearly untenable in the light of the rest of the NT that follows, such language is consistent with John's use of metaphorical language, using the physical to refer to the spiritual:

• In John 1:29, Jesus is called “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” — but he does not have hoofs and literal physical wool.

• In John 2:19 Jesus is the temple of God: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” — but He is not made of literal stone.

• In Jn. 9:5 Jesus is “the Light of the world” — but who is not blocked by an umbrella.

• In John 15, Jesus is the true vine — but who does not physically grow from the ground nor whose fruit is literally physically consumed.

And which is consistent with the abundant use of figurative language which preceded it, such as where the Canaanites were said to be "bread" for Israel, and David called potable water the "blood" of men, and thus refused to drink it, and poured it out unto the Lord. (2 Samuel 23:16-17)