BIBLE STUDY TOOLS – From teetotalers that got alcohol banned in America’s Prohibition era to Benedictine monks who made winemaking a core part of financing their monasteries, the church has diverse perspectives on the subject of alcohol.
But what does the Bible say? Specifically, regarding Jesus drinking wine, what do we see in the Gospels?
Jesus was around wine a great deal in his ministry, whether at weddings, meals, or the Passover celebration the night before his death. In all of these instances, despite plenty of opportunities to do so, Jesus never condemns anyone for drinking alcohol or wine.
For Jesus himself, we can look at two scriptures that indicate he also drank wine. First, in Matthew 26:27-29, he institutes the new covenant by sharing a cup of wine with the twelve apostles.
He blessed the wine and instructed the men to drink from it. Then Jesus makes this interesting statement, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
This fruit of the vine means wine. The implication is he drank before but wouldn’t drink again until the kingdom’s fulfillment.
He doesn’t make this statement to have anything to do with alcohol, good or bad. It’s about celebration and instituting a New Covenant. Wine symbolizes blood and the wedding analogy Jesus spoke of at the Last Supper, as well.
Next, Jesus noted that his critics called him a glutton and a winebibber (another term for drunkard) because he came “eating and drinking” (Matthew 11:9, Luke 7:34). He was revealing the critics’ hearts since they attacked him whether he fasted or went around eating with people (sinners especially).
They called him a drunk because they saw him drinking wine with sinners. However, since Jesus was tempted yet sinless (1 Peter 2:22), he drank wine but never took it so far that he got drunk.
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