This is something I've struggled with for years. While I don't have a drinking problem (fortunately), I've always been curious about this verse - which appears to contradict others in the Bible.
The Bible clearly prohibits drunkenness - Galatians 5:21, for instance. We all know the damage that alcohol can cause if it's used irresponsibly. However, in John 2:1-11:
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus mother said to him, They have no more wine.
Woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied. My hour has not yet come.
His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you.
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
On the surface, it looks fine...and it certainly would be amazing to see. However, after doing a little reasoning, I found what appears to be an issue.
Note that the master says to the bridgegroom, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
But at the beginning of the passage, when Christ's mother informs him that "there is no more wine", it clearly means that there WAS some wine there to begin with - and that the guests drank it all.
Basically, Jesus went to a wedding, the guests had too much to drink, and then he provided them with MORE wine! This doesn't make sense to me, so I asked my dad. He said that perhaps at a joyous occasion such as a wedding, which represents a holy union and one of God's greatest gifts, indulging (to an extent) is ok, as long as you're not led astray (Proverbs 20:1). My mother, who is a little more "by the Book" than my dad is, didn't really have an answer.
What do you think?
The Bible clearly prohibits drunkenness - Galatians 5:21, for instance. We all know the damage that alcohol can cause if it's used irresponsibly. However, in John 2:1-11:
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus mother said to him, They have no more wine.
Woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied. My hour has not yet come.
His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you.
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
On the surface, it looks fine...and it certainly would be amazing to see. However, after doing a little reasoning, I found what appears to be an issue.
Note that the master says to the bridgegroom, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
But at the beginning of the passage, when Christ's mother informs him that "there is no more wine", it clearly means that there WAS some wine there to begin with - and that the guests drank it all.
Basically, Jesus went to a wedding, the guests had too much to drink, and then he provided them with MORE wine! This doesn't make sense to me, so I asked my dad. He said that perhaps at a joyous occasion such as a wedding, which represents a holy union and one of God's greatest gifts, indulging (to an extent) is ok, as long as you're not led astray (Proverbs 20:1). My mother, who is a little more "by the Book" than my dad is, didn't really have an answer.
What do you think?
