Water Into Alcohol?
By: Zach Collins
Question: In the first miracle that Jesus performed, in John 2, how do we know that Jesus did not turn water into alcoholic wine?
Recently, a person submitted this question that I want to address via an article. In the English language, the term “wine” has come to carry the connotation of alcoholic drink, nothing more and nothing less. As a result, for centuries, many have utilized this passage to promote social drinking amongst Christians, by saying, “If Jesus turned water into wine, it must be permissible to drink wine in a social setting.” But, let me pose you a question of consideration. Is the wine referenced in John 2 fermented or unfermented wine?
The Greek word for “wine”, found in the New Testament, is oinos. The word “wine”, in the Bible, is more akin to the word “drink” in our culture. If I say, “I need a drink”, what kind of drink would I be talking about? Well, to determine the “drink” I am referencing, you would first need context of my statement. Such is the case for “wine” in the Bible. Unlike the English language, the word “wine”, in the Greek, can either refer to fermented or unfermented drink. To determine its usage, we must examine the context of the passage.
Let’s begin with a little background. In John 2, we find the account of Jesus at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. Amid this traditional celebration, an embarrassment, according to tradition occurs, when the wedding host runs out of “wine.” Mary, the mother of Jesus, came to Him and said, “They have no wine”, (v. 3). At first, Jesus is hesitant but then performs His first earthly miracle by turning water into “wine. But, was this “wine” alcohol or grape juice?
First, let’s explore some important observations from the text:
1. Who was Jesus? Jesus Christ was God (John 1:1-4). This is evidenced by the fact that He could perform this miracle at all. Additionally, Jesus kept the Old Testament perfectly (Matthew 5:17), a feat only achieved by Him. Now, here’s the question. Since Jesus was God, was He aware of the many warnings, in the Old Testament, as it pertained to alcoholic beverages? Absolutely! (c.f., Proverbs 20:1; Proverbs 23:29-35)
2. How much “wine” did Jesus make from water? In John 2:6, we find an often overlooked but significantly important piece of information in the text. Each of these six waterpots held twenty to thirty gallons of water. For equivalency purposes, according to the text, Jesus made anywhere from 120 to 180 gallons of “wine.” Now, here’s the question. If this “wine” was alcoholic, as some have suggested, would it have been sufficient to make everyone at this feast intoxicated? Absolutely!
Now, based on these two observations, ask yourself these commonsense questions:
1. Do you believe, for a minute, that Jesus, who was God, would provide these patrons at a marriage celebration over 100 gallons of intoxicating beverage, including His own mother? The very assertion that my Lord would do so is nothing short of blasphemy.
2. The Bible condemns drunkenness, (Romans 13:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). In fact, in Matthew 18:6, Jesus taught that it is a sin to play a part in the sins of others. If Jesus was sinless, (Hebrews 4:15), wouldn’t it be sin for Jesus to play part in the sinfulness of drunkenness? The answer is yes. If Jesus either promoted or partook in these alcoholic beverages, He is not the perfect sacrifice of God and, therefore, we are still in our sins.
By mere observation and commonsense, we can rightly divide the words of truth and determine that the “wine” referenced in John 2 is unfermented grape juice, not beverage alcohol. Jesus didn’t turn water into alcohol, He turned water into grape juice.
