Jesus drank alcohol?

[EinsteinsGirl]

It seems to me that there was a time during which Jesus did drink alcohol. I have always heard and been taught that He didn't drink wine, but it seems He did. He would've had to drink alcohol at least once and the people saw Him and exaggerated it...

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” - Matt 11:18-19

Any thoughts?
I do not believe it to be all that important, just interesting. We must always do what the Lord tells us to do individually of course. If He says to not drink then don't drink.

 

[gym_class_hero]

the Bible admonishes us not to be drunk in excess, it doesn't say we must abstain completely from alcohol.

 

[Winken]

Jesus came sipping wine and eating fish and bread, the staples, all in Jewish tradition.

 

[Stabat Mater dolorosa]

We must always do what the Lord tells us to do individually of course. If He says to not drink then don't drink.

Is this to say that you think that the Lord speaks to you like explicitly or did you mean something else?

 

[KarlX]

It seems to me that there was a time during which Jesus did drink alcohol. I have always heard and been taught that He didn't drink wine, but it seems He did. He would've had to drink alcohol at least once and the people saw Him and exaggerated it...

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” - Matt 11:18-19

Any thoughts?

I do not think anywhere in entire the bible it says it is wrong to drink . It does condemn drunkenness though.

And of course they exaggerated it concerning Jesus going by that he was also a glutton , that of course was in reference of food .
So maybe he liked to eat so what

NIV
1 Timothy 5:23
Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

Ecclesiastes 9:7
Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.


Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

Of course you have to use common sense like if your an alcoholic any drinking after you have stopped I would think would be an erroneous move or if your are allergic to alcohol .

 

[Zurückschlagen]

Come on now, that's too far. You are going way too far with this.
Should we go and google everything that Jesus did, and wonder why he did it, and search for every little mistake there is, if even there is, when we have to focus on our lives first, and see what mess they are. Verdammt nochmal!

 

[SeventyOne]

It seems to me that there was a time during which Jesus did drink alcohol. I have always heard and been taught that He didn't drink wine, but it seems He did. He would've had to drink alcohol at least once and the people saw Him and exaggerated it...

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” - Matt 11:18-19

Any thoughts?
I do not believe it to be all that important, just interesting. We must always do what the Lord tells us to do individually of course. If He says to not drink then don't drink.

Yes, He drank alcohol.

 

[miamited]

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” - Matt 11:18-19

Any thoughts?
I do not believe it to be all that important, just interesting. We must always do what the Lord tells us to do individually of course. If He says to not drink then don't drink.

Hi einsteinsgirl,

Perhaps a good look at the whole of the statement might throw some light on what's happening here. First, Jesus accuses the people of accusing John of having a demon. Do you think that he did? Then Jesus continues and says that those same people accuse him of being a glutton. Do you think that he was? I think that Jesus' point here was to let those that he was speaking to know that what they were hearing from 'those people' were lies and have always been lies. John wasn't possessed of a demon. Jesus wasn't a glutton. I imagine that what they said about his drinking was just as much a lie as what they were saying about John being possessed and Jesus being a glutton.

I also don't think that he was necessarily a friend of tax collectors and sinners. However, that is who Jesus says that he was sent to. The lost sheep of Israel. He had compassion for them, of course. He loved them just as much as he loves everyone. Because of this compassion and love for them, because those self-righteous folk wouldn't have anything to do with him, they 'called' him a friend of tax collectors and sinners. In reality, I believe that Scriptures teach that Jesus was just as much a friend to tax collectors and sinners as he was to those who were accusing him. But, as the nature of man is, they wanted to present him in as bad a light as they could to achieve their agenda. To kill Jesus.

God bless you,
In Christ, ted

 

[Hank77]

Did Jesus visit the homes of people that were despised by the self-righteous, yes. Was Jesus despised by the self-righteous, yes.
Did Jesus eat, yes. Was He a glutton, no. Did He drink wine, yes. Was He a drunkard, no.

There is a verse or two in the OT, maybe in Proverbs, that even says that the old should be allowed be bury their sadness or physical pain in drink, rather medicinal.
That makes me chuckle. Us old folks usually fall asleep before we can drink very much or get too rowdy.

 

[miamited]

Did Jesus visit the homes of people that were despised by the self-righteous, yes. Was Jesus despised by the self-righteous, yes.
Did Jesus eat, yes. Was He a glutton, no. Did He drink wine, yes. Was He a drunkard, no.

There is a verse or two in the OT, maybe in Proverbs, that even says that the old should be allowed be bury their sadness or physical pain in drink, rather medicinal.
That makes me chuckle. Us old folks usually fall asleep before we can drink very much or get too rowdy.

Hi hank,

Yes, but Jesus didn't get old, so he may not have practiced that old covenant teaching himself. I think what it actually says is that strong drink is for those who are perishing and wine for those who are bitter of heart. Don't think that either of those would apply to Jesus.

God bless you,
In Christ, ted

 

[Hank77]

Hi hank,

Yes, but Jesus didn't get old, so he may not have practiced that old covenant teaching himself. I think what it actually says is that strong drink is for those who are perishing and wine for those who are bitter of heart. Don't think that either of those would apply to Jesus.

God bless you,
In Christ, ted

This is the last statements in the OP which is what I was answering to referring to the OT scriptures...It appears to me that the OP is really trying to decide if it is OK for us to drink.

Any thoughts?
I do not believe it to be all that important, just interesting. We must always do what the Lord tells us to do individually of course. If He says to not drink then don't drink.

We often look at what Jesus did to make decisions about our behavior that is not clearly set in stone in the Bible. This is one of those things that many people inquire about, especially young Christians, or at least I did.
Some churches say no, some say yes, most say don't over indulge because it makes you stupid.

 

[Open Heart]

Of course Jesus drank wine. Everyone did in those days -- it was safer than drinking water. Judaism has a special blessing over wine, and for no other drink. It was mandatory during ritual meals such as Passover. The wines they made were less alcoholic then today, more like Manischewitz if you've ever had it.

But the idea that they had some kind of "New Wine" that was not alcoholic is absolute nonsense. Grapes are harvested in late summer, early fall. There was no refrigeration or sugar to preserve it. It began fermenting in the heat almost immediately. There is no way it was still grape juice at Passover.

When Christ turned the water to wine at the wedding in Cana, they said "Why have you saved the best wine until last?" "Best wine" would not be grapejuice! They were partying at this wedding and Jesus helped them.

 

[Episaw]

It seems to me that there was a time during which Jesus did drink alcohol. I have always heard and been taught that He didn't drink wine, but it seems He did. He would've had to drink alcohol at least once and the people saw Him and exaggerated it...

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” - Matt 11:18-19

Any thoughts?
I do not believe it to be all that important, just interesting. We must always do what the Lord tells us to do individually of course. If He says to not drink then don't drink.

If Jesus did not drink wine he would have died of thirst. The main beverages of the day were wine and water. There was no hot chocolate, tea, coffee, ovaltine etc. and there was certainly no unfermented wine.

The standard drink at the main meal was always fermented wine.

And when Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding do you think he said "Not for me. I am a teetotaler."

 

[daughtertotheLord]

Key thing to remember is The Lord led a sin free life. However as a Messianic Jew myself I know there are Shabbat/Sabbath traditions that the Lord would have followed called Kiddish which involves drinking small sips of wine as a ceremonial tradition in a thankful way to the Father. The weekly Shabbat is a time of Holy rest from work and celebration. All to be done in praise, worship and Thanks. Not a booze up but rather a joyful celebration and yes at times with wine drinking in moderation. He would have celebrated such wonderful occassions as weddings definately. As believers we need be careful though as the devil likes to take scripture and twist it and lead us astray. Kiddish can be done with bread and grape juice also. Certainly nowdays it can anyhow, so no need for any recovering acoholics out there to be tempted. That definately would not be Kosher.

 

[AskGoddotBiz]

He made it, drank it, and passed it around to his friends.

 

[Ken Rank]

It seems to me that there was a time during which Jesus did drink alcohol. I have always heard and been taught that He didn't drink wine, but it seems He did. He would've had to drink alcohol at least once and the people saw Him and exaggerated it...

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” - Matt 11:18-19

Any thoughts?
I do not believe it to be all that important, just interesting. We must always do what the Lord tells us to do individually of course. If He says to not drink then don't drink.

The first two answers in this thread are good ones, no offense to others, I did not read beyond that. The idea that "wine" wasn't wine is just dogmatic denominational rhetoric that we repeat because we don't know any better. Not only in the language of the the bible, but with cultural evidence and other writings from that time, we have enough witnesses to prove beyond any doubt that Yeshua drank wine. That is not a sin, drinking to excess is.

 

[Ken Rank]

He made it, drank it, and passed it around to his friends.

Drank and passed but made? Now what translation are you reading from to have gotten that one? Not that making it is wrong, it isn't... but I have never heard that before.

Ah... never mind... you mean the "water into wine." I was think when he wasn't swinging a hammer you had him out in the vineyard.

 

[TurtleAnne]

Maybe some people have never experienced moderation, either because they have never had any alcohol, or because they have only ever been drunk.

If you have a small glass of wine with a full dinner, you are not going to get drunk, unless you have some rare condition, in which case it is important to make the call to abstain, so that you don't get drunk.

If you drink a big glass of wine on an empty stomach, then you are just drinking to get drunk, and you probably will.

People know deep down what they are really doing, in any case. My father was a roaring alcoholic, and he liked to use to the excuses that red wine is good for you and that chosen people in the Bible drank wine, and then he would get completely smashed every night guzzling wine coolers on an empty stomach. He wasn't fooling anybody, and certainly not God, since you can't fool Him, regardless.

Wine alone doesn't quench thirst very well, either, and also when ancient peoples simply crushed up grapes, that was wine, not "grape juice" so it may not have even been very fermented in most cases. So we are talking a little wine with meals, and wine that isn't like some chronic knock-you-on-ur-butt wine, either.

The pharisees accused Jesus of all sorts of things that were either outright false or very twisted distortions, and accusing Jesus of being a drunkard just because Jesus sipped some weak wine is just one of the several examples of how full of it the pharisees were and how desperate they were to find some fault with Jesus.

 

[geiroffenberg]

It seems to me that there was a time during which Jesus did drink alcohol.

Jesus did indeed drink wine as it was and is to this day part of the religious life of the jewish society. The wine was fermented according to the definitions of the greek words, so it was not fruit juice as some claim!
As with most everything, it is use and abuse.....
Also, the wine the original jewish believers, and then later the gentiles, used in the communion he established (a continuation of the jewish religious sabbath feast etc) was also not non alcoholic fruit juice. This is easily proven by the fact that Paul had to tell them not to get drunk in theri comunnion feast, as some had a tendency to do!
That being said, there are no commandments for christians to use alocoholic drink. We are in total freedom from these things.

 

[geiroffenberg]

Drank and passed but made? Now what translation are you reading from to have gotten that one? Not that making it is wrong, it isn't... but I have never heard that before.

Ah... never mind... you mean the "water into wine." I was think when he wasn't swinging a hammer you had him out in the vineyard.

Made me laugh...