Would Jesus drink Alcohol?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
2,968
420
83
No. Jesus would not drink alcohol.

It distorts your thinking.
Not by a simple glass of wine.

Jesus did not have a weak liver. He had an absolutely perfect liver.

At the last Supper they served real wine.. All the men drank wine on the Passover. ..

Jesus when speaking of his blood told them to take and to drink all of it.

Its getting silly now.....
 

Snackersmom

Senior Member
May 10, 2011
1,647
263
83
Not by a simple glass of wine.

Jesus did not have a weak liver. He had an absolutely perfect liver.

At the last Supper they served real wine.. All the men drank wine on the Passover. ..

Jesus when speaking of his blood told them to take and to drink all of it.

Its getting silly now.....
Hi Genez, I totally agree with what you are saying. My point was that The "fruit of the vine" Jesus drank at The Last Supper HAD to be alcoholic, because Passover is celebrated in March or April, a time of year when grape vines are only just breaking dormancy and will not be producing ripe fruit for 3-4 months.

So those who argue that Jesus was only drinking fresh grape juice at Passover need to understand that grapes are not harvested year-round. The last of the fresh grapes would have been harvested at least 6 months prior to Passover, probably more like 7 or 8.

I'm sure the people of Israel did enjoy some fresh non-alcoholic grape juice at harvest time, but absent the modern pasteurization and bottling techniques it would have begun to ferment very soon after it was pressed. Turning the juice into wine was the only way to preserve it so it could be enjoyed year-round.

We forget this because now we are able to crack open a bottle of non-alcoholic Welch's anytime we feel like it, but that is a modern luxury.

I'm sure you already know these things, I was speaking more to those who imply that fresh unpasteurized grape juice could remain non-alcoholic for 6+ months and still be drinkable. :)
 

GRACE_ambassador

Well-known member
Feb 22, 2021
3,218
1,614
113
Midwest
Hi Genez, I totally agree with what you are saying. My point was that The "fruit of the vine" Jesus drank at The Last Supper HAD to be alcoholic, because Passover is celebrated in March or April, a time of year when grape vines are only just breaking dormancy and will not be producing ripe fruit for 3-4 months.

So those who argue that Jesus was only drinking fresh grape juice at Passover need to understand that grapes are not harvested year-round. The last of the fresh grapes would have been harvested at least 6 months prior to Passover, probably more like 7 or 8.

I'm sure the people of Israel did enjoy some fresh non-alcoholic grape juice at harvest time, but absent the modern pasteurization and bottling techniques it would have begun to ferment very soon after it was pressed. Turning the juice into wine was the only way to preserve it so it could be enjoyed year-round.

We forget this because now we are able to crack open a bottle of non-alcoholic Welch's anytime we feel like it, but that is a modern luxury.

I'm sure you already know these things, I was speaking more to those who imply that fresh unpasteurized grape juice could remain non-alcoholic for 6+ months and still be drinkable. :)
Precious friends, "with God ALL things are Possible", thus with this...:

"As for the question of whether fresh grape juice could remain non-alcoholic
for six months or more, the answer is yes, but with some qualifications. Freshly
squeezed grape juice contains natural sugars and yeasts that, under the right
conditions, can ferment and turn the juice into wine. However, if the juice is
kept cool and away from oxygen, the fermentation process can be significantly
slowed down or even stopped.

In ancient times, people did not have access to refrigeration, but they did have
ways of keeping liquids cool. For example, they could store them in
underground cellars or cisterns, which naturally maintain a lower temperature
than the surrounding environment. They could also insulate containers to
prevent heat transfer. Additionally, they could cover the containers with a layer
of olive oil, which forms a barrier against oxygen and further slows down
fermentation." (AI Sum)

...with this God-Given possibility, I still believe that my Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ, drank non-alcoholic "fruit of the vine", and is the one that He
would have me also use in communion, to represent His Pure BLOOD, same
As
the unleavened bread representing His "sinless" and Holy Body.

Amen.
 

Snackersmom

Senior Member
May 10, 2011
1,647
263
83
Precious friends, "with God ALL things are Possible", thus with this...:

"As for the question of whether fresh grape juice could remain non-alcoholic
for six months or more, the answer is yes, but with some qualifications. Freshly
squeezed grape juice contains natural sugars and yeasts that, under the right
conditions, can ferment and turn the juice into wine. However, if the juice is
kept cool and away from oxygen, the fermentation process can be significantly
slowed down or even stopped.

In ancient times, people did not have access to refrigeration, but they did have
ways of keeping liquids cool. For example, they could store them in
underground cellars or cisterns, which naturally maintain a lower temperature
than the surrounding environment. They could also insulate containers to
prevent heat transfer. Additionally, they could cover the containers with a layer
of olive oil, which forms a barrier against oxygen and further slows down
fermentation." (AI Sum)

...with this God-Given possibility, I still believe that my Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ, drank non-alcoholic "fruit of the vine", and is the one that He
would have me also use in communion, to represent His Pure BLOOD, same
As
the unleavened bread representing His "sinless" and Holy Body.

Amen.
Hi Miss Grace, I appreciate your sweet posts!

We may have to agree to disagree on this, though :). I'm not saying that what Jesus drank would have qualified as "strong drink", but I do believe it would have contained some measure of alcohol. Even kombucha, which most Christians consider acceptable to drink, has some alcohol in it.

But I'm sure we can agree that Jesus never got even remotely drunk, which would have been a sin. So regardless of what, exactly, He was drinking, I am positive that He was moderate and was never impaired by it in any way. :)

Love to you Miss Grace!
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
2,968
420
83
Never.

Jesus would not, and did not, ingest alcohol.

Jesus is all about purity of body and soul. There is nothing at all pure about alcohol. It is toxic to the human body. It is poison. It is great as an antiseptic, sure. It kills microorganisms and bacteria that it comes into contact with.

Good for human ingestion? Not so much. Take a good look at the fermentation process and think again if it makes any sense at all that Jesus would make, or serve, alcohol to anyone.

Alcohol is literally the feces of the yeast microorganism. The yeast consumes the sugar of fruits/vegetables and excretes alcohol. It also flatulates carbon dioxide so the carbonation, all the little bubbles in wine, is the gas that exits the yeast's rectum.

Does this sound like a holy and pure substance that Christ would enjoy or give to many people to ingest after they had all "well drunken"?

The fact is that wine in the Bible is referred to by a single English word when the original language used multiple words to refer to what we call wine and also what we call grape juice (unfermented).

Jesus never drank alcohol and what He actually made was pure, fresh grape juice from water - as much of a miracle as creating alcohol, if not more so.

Contrary to popular belief, the Bible speaks negatively of ingesting alcohol in many places.

George Cruikshank's painting "The Worship of Bacchus" was a very well known and sought after work in its day. It depicts how society uses alcohol and is destroyed by it. Bacchus is the ancient Greek god of wine and intoxication.

Here is a great link about the painting and what it was all about:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1120541/

:mad: Stop eating yogurt and cheeses you sinner!



:) But, to keep it balanced and sane.

Gluttony is a sin!

Likewise.. Getting drunk is a sin.
 

MaryM

Well-known member
Nov 25, 2022
506
301
63
Hey Braweh, guess what Jesus did for his first miracle, he turned water to wine! There is nothing wrong with an occasional glass of wine.

Cheers! Bottoms up!
Absolutely. They, Jesus and the disciples ,drank wine probably at all the meals in people's houses. Certainly at the last supper.
I see absolutely no problem about alcohol in moderation - I have a glass of wine or something whenever I want. It has nothing to do with Christianity. I see no reference at all to it in the Bible.

Drunkenness and the sins that can happen from that is another matter. That is about lack of discipline.
 

MaryM

Well-known member
Nov 25, 2022
506
301
63
Jesus is/was most certainly NOT a Jew and that was very irreverent.

Nobody stays sober by drinking alcohol.

And nobody drinks alcohol to stay sober.

Jesus never touched it in His life.
Who says Jesus never drank wine?
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
2,968
420
83
Precious friends, "with God ALL things are Possible", thus with this...:

"As for the question of whether fresh grape juice could remain non-alcoholic
for six months or more, the answer is yes, but with some qualifications. Freshly
squeezed grape juice contains natural sugars and yeasts that, under the right
conditions, can ferment and turn the juice into wine. However, if the juice is
kept cool and away from oxygen, the fermentation process can be significantly
slowed down or even stopped.

In ancient times, people did not have access to refrigeration, but they did have
ways of keeping liquids cool. For example, they could store them in
underground cellars or cisterns, which naturally maintain a lower temperature
than the surrounding environment. They could also insulate containers to
prevent heat transfer. Additionally, they could cover the containers with a layer
of olive oil, which forms a barrier against oxygen and further slows down
fermentation." (AI Sum)

...with this God-Given possibility, I still believe that my Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ, drank non-alcoholic "fruit of the vine", and is the one that He
would have me also use in communion, to represent His Pure BLOOD, same
As
the unleavened bread representing His "sinless" and Holy Body.

Amen.
Sure he did..... And, he tithed 10% of his income faithfully to his local synagogue.

And, he did not socialize with tax collectors and prostitutes either.
And. would never dance to the music playing in the taverns...



And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise,
the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and
the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured
into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants
the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’” Luke 5:37-39​

New wine ferments.

The fermentation process puts off gas that expands the wineskin and stretches it.
If the wineskin had gone through its initial stretching? To start the process over again
with new wine in the used skin? The skin will stretch beyond its limits and burst.
Jesus was saying that real wine is alcoholic.

That was not grape juice Jesus was talking about!
He even said that the fully matured wine is the best to drink!

That means when he turned the water into wine? It was fermented.
For the wedding taster stated that the best was saved for last! John 2:9-10

And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say,
‘The old is better.’”

The real problem is?

Some (with a sin nature so inclined) get drunk on the power of legalism.

They lust to control and police over other people's lives to do their will ....

Jesus publicly denounced the legalists......


legalism and peace.... grace and peace!

,
 

jamessb

Active member
Feb 10, 2024
738
122
43
Santa Fe NM
Jesus is/was most certainly NOT a Jew and that was very irreverent.

Nobody stays sober by drinking alcohol.

And nobody drinks alcohol to stay sober.

Jesus never touched it in His life.
a) Jesus WAS a Jew. It is not "irreverent" to state a fact.
b) Jesus drank wine and even encouraged others to do so at "the last supper".

The Bible is perfectly clear about both these points.
 

TheLearner

Well-known member
Jan 14, 2019
8,193
1,577
113
68
Brighton, MI
Not by a simple glass of wine.

Jesus did not have a weak liver. He had an absolutely perfect liver.

At the last Supper they served real wine.. All the men drank wine on the Passover. ..

Jesus when speaking of his blood told them to take and to drink all of it.

Its getting silly now.....
winner
 

TheLearner

Well-known member
Jan 14, 2019
8,193
1,577
113
68
Brighton, MI
Isaiah 25:6
God’s Banquet for His Servants
The Lord All-Powerful will give a feast for all the people on this mountain. At the feast, there will be the best foods and wines. The meat will be good and tender, the wine pure and clear.
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
2,968
420
83
Isaiah 25:6
God’s Banquet for His Servants
The Lord All-Powerful will give a feast for all the people on this mountain. At the feast, there will be the best foods and wines. The meat will be good and tender, the wine pure and clear.

Many do not realize.... When Isaiah wrote that?
Israel was being plagued with an epidemic of national alcoholism.

Isaiah 28:7-8

But they also have erred through wine,
And through intoxicating drink are out of the way;
The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink,
They are swallowed up by wine,
They are out of the way through intoxicating drink;
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
For all tables are full of vomit and filth;
No place is clean.





Yet, Isiah knowing God's thinking, wrote about the proper aspect of the blessings of the joys of good food and drink. Isaiah 25:6

Isiah did not become reactionary and begin swinging a legalism hatchet..... as some in doctrinal weakness end up doing.

Israel was filled with alcoholism. Isiah preached against getting drunk, not drinking.


grace and peace ....................
 

Snackersmom

Senior Member
May 10, 2011
1,647
263
83
Precious friends, "with God ALL things are Possible", thus with this...:

"As for the question of whether fresh grape juice could remain non-alcoholic
for six months or more, the answer is yes, but with some qualifications. Freshly
squeezed grape juice contains natural sugars and yeasts that, under the right
conditions, can ferment and turn the juice into wine. However, if the juice is
kept cool and away from oxygen, the fermentation process can be significantly
slowed down or even stopped.

In ancient times, people did not have access to refrigeration, but they did have
ways of keeping liquids cool. For example, they could store them in
underground cellars or cisterns, which naturally maintain a lower temperature
than the surrounding environment. They could also insulate containers to
prevent heat transfer. Additionally, they could cover the containers with a layer
of olive oil, which forms a barrier against oxygen and further slows down
fermentation." (AI Sum)

...with this God-Given possibility, I still believe that my Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ, drank non-alcoholic "fruit of the vine", and is the one that He
would have me also use in communion, to represent His Pure BLOOD, same
As
the unleavened bread representing His "sinless" and Holy Body.

Amen.
Hi Miss Grace, peace to you!

I was thinking about your article more (not trying to argue!), and I don't believe it was written by anyone who has actually tried to keep grape juice fresh for 6+ months. I live on a farm, we squeeze our own grapes, and even in the refrigerator the juice doesn't last more than a few weeks before it starts to get fizzy with fermentation. If I pasteurize it first to kill all the yeast it can be stretched to a couple months if I'm lucky, but again that is under constant refrigeration (which is much colder and more stable than a cave would be).

So I really don't think it is realistic to believe anyone in Jesus' time would even try to preserve juice that long without fermentation, because you risk losing the entire batch to a bacterial bloom if you don't allow the yeast to do their work right away (yeast eats up the sugars and turns them to alcohol. Bacteria likes to eat sugar too, but usually turns it into a putrifying mess that would gag a mule). Grape juice was very hard-won, nobody wanted to risk losing it after all that hard work.

Plus there wouldn't have been any demand for off-season grape juice, since drinking alcoholic wine wasn't forbidden in that culture unless you had taken a Nazirite vow. And we know Jesus hadn't taken that vow, because if so He would have been forbidden from consuming ANY "fruit of the vine", even fresh grapes and raisins (Numbers 6: 3-4). Jesus even said he treated wine differently from John The Baptist in Luke 7:

33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Of course with God we know all things are possible, but the scenario your AI generated seems incredibly unlikely and wildly impractical given the resources of the day. They would have had to store the juice in funky animal hide wineskins or large clay jars that are nearly impossible to clean thoroughly.... nobody would have wanted to even try to keep the juice from fermenting, because rapid fermentation kept the juice safe from nasty bacteria.

I appreciate you wanting to defend our Lord, but you don't need to defend Him from this because having a glass of wine with your meal was perfectly acceptable in His day. And if it wasn't then God would have placed Him under a vow not to imbibe like He did for John The Baptist. But no such vow is recorded for Jesus, and considering that He was far more important than John I'm sure The Bible would have made sure to mention it.

Anyways, love and peace to you Miss Grace! I will continue taking non-alcoholic grape juice for my communion as well, but only because it's what my church happens to use. :) Cheers!
 

JTB

Well-known member
Aug 31, 2021
2,259
734
113
Whenever this subject comes up, I'm reminded of the time Jesus thought, now that everyone's buzzed let's bring out the good stuff
 

HealthAndHappiness

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2022
10,298
4,344
113
Almost Heaven West Virginia
Hey Kids,

We are warned in the 23rd Proverb,

"Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder."

Then someone else tells us that Jesus was the Bartender for guys like this at a wedding?!
 

Genez

Junior Member
Oct 12, 2017
2,968
420
83
Hey Kids,

We are warned in the 23rd Proverb,

"Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder."

Then someone else tells us that Jesus was the Bartender for guys like this at a wedding?!
That was written to alcoholics ...
You should stop treating anyone enjoying a glass of wine as if he were a drunkard.


Before you were saved?
Were you a drunkard?
Did you ever drink at all?

Medically speaking a glass of red wine with a meal can be good for digestion....
Did you know that?

Also?

Did you know that a glass or two of red wine with a meal will not turn you into a drunkard?
You seem to lack understanding about this matter....

Paul understood it....

He wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23, the following.

Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses."

The real problem is... Its a poor witness to the world when Christians can not get this right. It makes Christians look stupid, and be scaring them off to consider becoming a Christian..


................
 
Feb 2, 2024
65
62
18
Bihor county, Romania
I dont have problem with normal alcohol consumption, but the insane prevalence of alcoholism that exists in my part of the world (Eastern Europe, its widely known for this reason) makes it very hard to dissociate the two things. Im afraid to drive because pf the amount of drunks that travel around our roads at 150 km/h or more, have in mind roads here tend to be narrower than in America so they are more dangerous. I personally know several cases of deaths in the road so its very ugly here. And I live in very flat area, cant imagine how it would be in the mountains :eek:.