Bible Question: Did Jesus turn the water into wine.As we know the wine of today? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Laughlin! There are several misconceptions that modern readers tend to have concerning this issue. 1) The first is that the word "wine" in the Old and New Testaments always refers to an alcholic beverage. The fact is that in the Old Testament there are several words refering to a wide range of drinks, some of which contain no alcohol. In the New Testament, the primary word 'oinos' refers to a wide range of drinks as well. 2) The second is that the ancients had no way to keep fermentation from occuring. This is simply not true. The whole point of the parable of the wineskins is that putting new wine into a new wineskin will keep it from fermenting. Putting new wine into an old wineskin will cause it to ferment faster and ruin both the wine and the wineskin. 3) Thirdly, that wine was as strong as today's drinks. Naturally occuring wine, through fermentation only, is not very potent. Even the stong drinks of Scripture do not compare to our distilled drinks. Concerning the miracle of the wine, consider the following two quotes. In 1907, Dr. R.A. Torrey wrote: "The wine provided for the marriage festivities at Cana failed. A cloud was about to fall over the joy of what is properly a festive occasion. Jesus came to the rescue. He provided wine, but there is not a hint that the wine He made was intoxicating. It was a fewsh-made wine. New-made wine is never intoxicating. It is not intoxicating until sometime after the process of fermentation has set in. Fermentation is a process of decay. There is not a hint that our Lord produced alcohol, which is a product of decay and death. he produced a living wine uncontaminated by fermentation." |