Wine and the Bible
I grew up in a family that considered drinking wine or any alcoholic drink to be contrary to Scripture. Many churches teach this. Are they correct? Let’s consider the teachings of the Bible.
There are certainly passages that warn against the overuse of alcoholic drinks. “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1) “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.” (Ephesians 5:18) There are passages that seem to treat it more positively. “He makes grass grow for the cattle,… wine that gladdens the heart of man.” (Psalm 104:14-15) And Paul tells Timothy to “use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” (1 Timothy 5:23) Many interpreters consider these kinds of passages to be referring to unfermented wine, grape juice. So what does the Bible really teach about this?
When I went off to a Christian college (which prohibited drinking wine), I started to have second thoughts about this issue. The first passage that made me reconsider was in John 2, where Jesus changed water into wine. It seemed clear that the wine he made was considered much better than the wine they had drunk previously. It seemed hard to imagine that this superior wine was just grape juice. Luke points out in Luke 5:39 that no one prefers new wine to old wine. So it seemed likely that Jesus made the water into alcoholic wine.
Another thing to consider is that Jesus was accused of being a drunkard compared to John the Baptist. (Matthew 11:19) John, like Samson, was a lifelong Nazirite. (cp. Numbers 6) A Nazirite was not to cut his hair or eat or drink anything made from grapes. In the Matthew passage Jesus says that, in contrast to John, he came eating and drinking, and they called him a glutton and a drunkard. That was probably an extreme exaggeration, but there’s no way to square this passage with the idea that Jesus never drank fermented wine.
In a passage that we alluded to earlier, Jesus mentions both old wine and new wine. (Luke 5:36-39) In a parable (or metaphor) he says that no one puts new wine in old wineskins because the fermentation will destroy the wineskin. This parable has been widely misinterpreted as meaning that Jesus’ message corresponds to new wine, which should be put in new wineskins. It might be possible to understand it this way if the wineskin metaphor stood alone. But it doesn’t; it’s part of a double metaphor. The other part is that no one puts a new patch on an old garment, because as it stretches, it will tear the garment. With a little bit of thought we realize that if Jesus was identifying with new wine being put in new wineskins, he would also be identifying with a new patch being put on a new garment. But that is ludicrous! You don’t patch new garments. It’s clear that the point he’s making here is that the appropriate patch for an old garment is an old patch. New garments are irrelevant to patches. Hence, he is identifying his message with old wine (not new) that should be put in old wineskins. Jesus’ message is not a new religion, but a patching of the old garment of Judaism, revealed by God through Moses. We all realize that in most circumstances, “new” is better than “old”. But when the context is patching and wine, it’s clear that he’s identifying with the old.
If these passages aren’t convincing enough, a passage that should settle the issue with finality is Isaiah 25:6. “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine– the best of meats and the finest of wines.” This is speaking of the future Messianic kingdom, and God’s banquet includes “aged wine”.
It’s clear that God considers fermented wine an appropriate drink for celebration. For many centuries Jews have typically drunk a glass or two of wine on Friday evening to celebrate the Sabbath. And this is entirely in line with Scripture. The teaching of the Bible is that it’s fine to drink wine. Just don’t drink so much that it affects your judgment or ability to function.
The churches that teach that the Bible prohibits drinking wine are clearly wrong. Maybe they’re just trying to be safe. But they’re teaching something that disagrees with the Bible, and they should reconsider.