“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom”
Matthew 26:28-29
Introduction
Virtually all Christians are familiar with the Lord’s Supper. It is an essential practice for all believers.
However, a subject of debate in some Christian circles is whether Yeshua and the later Christians of the 1st century, used red wine, or non-alcoholic grape juice.
This is an essential subject to tackle, because as Christians we want to make sure we obey our Lord and King to the letter. We want to practice the Supper in the way he and his Disciples did.
- “Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much”. – Luke 16:10
Why Some Christians Believe Yeshua Used Grape Juice
For a majority of Christians, wine is used during the Lord’s Supper. Many most likely haven’t even heard of the debate over whether it should be wine or grape juice. I remember when I first heard about it and was quite bewildered, but I decided to investigate the matter nonetheless.
What are the reasons some oppose the use of wine? There are two main reasons to why some Christians propose this idea.
- Some Christians believe drinking any amount of alcohol whatsoever, is a sin, and therefore on that basis will claim Yeshua of course would ‘never’ have used fermented wine as part of his Supper.
- Other Christians will point out that the Supper was had on the Jewish Passover, of which forbade leavened food, such as “yeasted bread”, and therefore will say wine wouldn’t have been used because it either contains or was made with yeast.
In this article I will be examining the second reason raised, that of the Passover leaven, and other surrounding scriptural evidences for what was used as drink specifically in regard to the Lord’s Supper, for I have already addressed the Bible’s general view on the use of alcohol. Therefore, if you wish to see my reasoning which answers the first listed objection to the use of wine, I recommend you read that article first:
However, for those of you who already feel firm that the Bible does not forbid the moderate consumption of alcohol, we can continue on.
Leaven & The Passover
First instituted by our God and Father, Yah, the Passover has been practised by Jews for thousands of years as a celebratory meal and remembrance of their escape from slavery out of the land of Egypt by the hand of God.
For Christians, the Jewish Passover was also an echo of greater things to come, a prophetic sign of the sacrifice of Yeshua, who acted as our “perfect sacrificial lamb”, allowing us to escape the death of sin (1 Corinthians 5:7), just as the ancient Passover signified the remembrance and obedience of the Israelites who had to slaughter a lamb, put its blood on their door posts and then eat the lamb along with unleavened bread, in order that God would “pass over” their homes and not smite them (Exodus 12:12-13).
Yeshua instituted the Evening Meal of his remembrance on the first night of Passover, Nisan 14. Therefore, according to scripture, it would have been on a week where no “leaven” would have been allowed in the home, nor consumed with the meal:
- “Observe the month of Nisan and celebrate the Passover to YHWH your God, because in the month of Nisan YHWH your God brought you out of Egypt by night. You are to offer to YHWH your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place YHWH will choose as a dwelling for His Name. You must not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. No leaven is to be found in all your land for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day shall remain until morning”. – Deuteronomy 16:1-4
One reason unleavened bread was eaten at Passover, was because the Israelites did not have time to make leavened bread, which is “risen” bread, but instead had to quickly make flat bread, which is done purely with a mix of plain flour and water.
A second reason, is that in scripture, leaven is also used to signify sin in a symbolic way (1 Corinthians 5:7-8), and the body of Yeshua, represented by the bread, of course was sinless. But the question lies; does this also apply to the wine Yeshua used? Is fermented wine considered to be “leavened”?
It is important to understand firstly the definition of “leavened”. The Hebrew word used was “chamets (חָמֵץ)”. According to various translation Lexicons, it has these various meanings:
“Definition: to be sour or leavened, to be pungent; i.e. In taste (sour, i.e. Literally fermented, or figuratively, harsh), in color (dazzling) — cruel (man), dyed, be grieved, leavened”. – Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
As we can see, it can mean various things. The two main definitions here which we should pay attention to in the context of leavened foods, are “sour” and “fermented”.
It is possible to argue that because it can mean “fermented”, it would include things such as wine.
The other word, “sour” is important to understand, for the manner in which bread was “leavened” in order to rise in ancient times was done via making sour dough. This was done by making bread dough and leaving it out for a few days in order that it would age and capture wild yeast from the air, resulting in its sourness.
Once this batch of dough was sour, it would be mixed with a fresh batch of dough in order that the bread rise when cooked. This is one of the reasons sin is compared to the leaven of bread, for the bread rises and “puffs up”, which can be compared to a person’s arrogance, being “puffed up with pride”.
Therefore, it is important to understand that “yeast” is not what is meant by leaven, but the practice of putting something sour in bread to make it rise. This is why the poetic symbolism is so strong, as sin is both sour (or bad tasting) in the eyes of God, and it results in mankind’s arrogant and prideful nature.
But does this apply to wine too? Does the fact that wine is fermented, which can be one of the meanings of the word “chamets”, also mean it would be considered “leavened” in the context of the Passover, or in regard to the symbolism of sin?
According to Jewish tradition, this is what they have to say:
“Chametz (also spelled “hametz” or “chometz”) is any food product made from wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt that has come into contact with water and been allowed to ferment and “rise”…. Yeast which is the product of grapes, or its sugars, is not considered chametz (leavened food). – chabad.org
As we see, according to Jewish tradition, they claim wine has never been considered a “leavened product” in context to the Passover, for it is not made of any ingredient which would be considered “sinful leaven”, nor does the wine “puff up” or “rise” in the manner that bread does.
This is why, to this day, Jews in fact drink wine during their celebration of the Passover. Therefore, this can provide us with a strong argument that Yeshua may have indeed used wine on the night of his Last Supper.
However, we also want to be wary of relying on “traditions”, for not all Jewish traditions to this day are scriptural of origin, and some in fact go against scripture, which Yeshua himself stated (Mark 7:8). Therefore, we should look to other evidences, firstly and foremost, in scripture.
Is There Scriptural Evidence For The Use of Wine?
During the Supper, Yeshua stated that his cup contained the “fruit of the vine”. This doesn’t tell us much in terms of what exactly was in there, other than it was made from grapes.
But we do have other scriptures which give us much insight to what was drank during the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament:
- “Now then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat. For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without sharing his meal. While one remains hungry, another gets drunk (methuó)“. – 1 Corinthians 11:20-21
Incredibly, this is the only scripture in the New Testament which gives us a vital piece of information to know what the “fruit of the vine” Christians were drinking during the Supper.
It is made clear here, that some Christians were abusing the Lord’s meal as an excuse to get drunk, something Apostle Paul chastised them for. This reveals to us that it was wine, not unfermented grape juice which was being drank.
Some Christians will attempt to argue, that the word “methuo” simply means “filled up” or “sated”, and therefore means to be “filled with grape juice”, and that Paul was referring to gluttony, as he was with the bread, as opposed to being intoxicated. And they make a second point that if Paul really did mean wine, then he was encouraging Christians in following verses (1 Corinthians 11:22) to “be drunk at home” and not at the Lord’s Supper, which would be promoting sin.
However, as mentioned in my article on alcohol, this is a false assertion.
The claim made that “methuo” can mean “filled” or “sated”, is not supported by any Greek language lexicon, but all definitions in all concordances say “intoxicated”, whereas the word for “filled” or “sated” is “chortazó”, and is seen many times throughout scripture:
- “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (chortazó)“. – Matthew 5:6
- “And they all ate and were satisfied/filled (chortazó). And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over”. – Matthew 14:20
“Chortazó
Definition: to feed, fatten, fill, satisfy”. – Strong’s Concordance & NAS Exhaustive Concordance“Methuó
Definition: to be drunken
Usage: I am intoxicated with wine, am drunk”. – Strong’s Concordance & NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Therefore, it can be said without any shadow of a doubt, that Paul was chastising these Christians, ‘both’ for drunkenness and not sharing their meal with the other brothers and sisters present who had nothing to eat or drink. Drinking in moderation at home of course would be a given, as explained in many of Paul’s other letters.
History of The Lord’s Supper & The Prohibtion of Wine
Throughout history for over 1800 years, wine has been used by all Christians at Lord’s Supper. There is no single incident in any historical source or ancient writing we have, which mentions any kind of scandal or later corruption of the Lord’s Supper in regard to the use of fermented wine.
Christianity has had a very colourful history, with many documented debates and early writings, on all manner of subjects, such as the nature of God, Yeshua, the Trinity, Hellfire, the nature of the soul, the resurrection, when and how often to practice the Lord’s Supper, and more, and all within the first three to four centuries of the development of Christianity.
However, not once in nineteen centuries, has any issue been raised, or any Christian complaint, that the practice of the Lord’s Supper changed in regard to what was traditionally drank.
However, the first instance in all of recorded history, of wine being looked down upon and grape juice being recommended for the Lord’s Supper, as mentioned in my other article on alcohol, was in relation to the Christian alcohol prohibitionist movement in the 1800s, also known as the “Temperance movement” predominant in the United States, which was the origin of the belief that drinking any alcohol at all to be a Biblical sin, and was motivated by political movements, ideologies and government laws of the time which banned alcohol.
“It is not disputed whether the regular use of wine in the celebration of the Eucharist … were the virtually universal practice in Christianity for over 1,800 years; all written evidence shows that the Eucharist consisted of bread and wine, not grape juice.
During the 19th and early 20th century, as a general sense of prohibitionism arose, many Christians, particularly some Protestants in the United States, came to believe that the Bible prohibited alcohol or that the wisest choice in modern circumstances was for the Christian to abstain from alcohol willingly….
The movement saw the passage of anti-drinking laws in several states and peaked in its political power in 1919 with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which established prohibition as the law of the entire country…. Consequently, alcohol itself became an evil in the eyes of many (but not all) abstainers and so had to be expunged from Christian practice……opponents of wine utilized alternate methods of creating their ritual drink such as reconstituting concentrated grape juice, boiling raisins, or adding preservatives to delay fermenting and souring. In 1869, Thomas Bramwell Welch, an ordained Wesleyan Methodist minister, discovered a way to pasteurize grape juice, and he used his particular preservation method to prepare juice for the Lord’s Supper at a Methodist Episcopal church…
…He persuaded local churches to adopt this non-alcoholic wine substitute for use in Holy Communion, calling it “Dr. Welch’s Unfermented Wine”. The company he founded is now called Welch’s”. – Wikipedia, Christian views on alcohol, Temperance Movement, Thomas Bramwell Welch
Therefore, we can also attest by means of historical documentation, that wine was used from the very beginning, and only far later in the future did some Christians claim wine should not be used, merely because they were biased by the political and ideological movements of the time, motivating their eisegetical reasoning upon the scriptures.
What about Those Who Cannot drink Alcohol?
Though we have enough evidence overall that wine should be drank at the Lord’s Supper, what about those with a history of alcoholism? Those who cannot drink any alcohol whatsoever for health reasons? Or children who are baptised Christians?
It should be noted that as Christians, we are guided by principles of love. Whilst we want to do things accurately as possible in accord to Yeshua’s commands, he also taught us that there are times where sometimes making adjustments against the norm was acceptable:
- “At that time Yeshua went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.’ Yeshua replied, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are innocent? But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”. – Matthew 12:1-8
Though we should if we can, do things in the way Yeshua as his disciples did, because the Bible does not tell us strictly that we ‘must’ use fermented wine, it may be permissible in some circumstances, that those with any kind of genuine issue drinking alcohol which may result in triggering an alcoholic problem, or a life-threatening condition, might opt to drink unfermented grape juice, or perhaps grape juice mixed with just the tiniest amount of wine that isn’t noticeable, resulting in what would essentially be an extremely “low percentage” wine. Another alternative perhaps to look into might be “alcohol-removed red wines”, which can be purchased from many wine retailers.
However, we can also bear in mind, we are not told ‘how much’ to drink, and therefore, if one can stomach or manage just the tiniest sip, that would be a sufficient partaking.
Conclusion
As we have seen, there is much evidence, from Jewish tradition, historical sources, language, and within the scriptures themselves, which supports that Christians did indeed drink red wine at the Lord’s Supper, and that it is something we should also aim to do.
However, in the circumstances where a person absolutely, in no way whatsoever, is able to drink alcohol due to some form of condition, then based on the principles of the mercy and love of our Anointed One, Lord Yeshua, that one may want to opt for an alternative, such as alcohol-removed red wines, or perhaps even plain grape juice (in that order of preference, in my personal opinion).
Proselyte of Yah 