Did Jesus drink grape juice or wine?

The Divine 'Vine' changed water into wine at Cana. John 2:1-10. Later the Divine 'Vine' changed wine into His Precious Blood at the last supper. Matt 26:27-28. In John 6:56: "HE WHO EATS MY FLESH AND DRINKS MY BLOOD, ABIDES IN ME AND I IN HIM." It is the "true presence" of our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, the food provided by the vine, so that eternal life is imparted into each and every branch and which allows the branches to bear fruit. If anyone does not abide in Me, he shall be cast outside as the branch and wither; and they shall gather them up and cast them into the fire, and they shall burn ." John 15:6.




Also notice Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:53-54.

Bible clearly mentions that over drinking is the sin.

(Rom. 14:14) St. Paul states - I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

From the book of Sirach (this is one of 7 books removed from the original Old Testament by Martin Luther) we see that wine is permitted if used in moderation.

(Sirach 31:25-31) - Do not aim to be valiant over wine, for wine has destroyed many, Fire and water prove the temper of steel, so wine tests hearts in the strife of the proud. Wine is like life to men, if you drink it in moderation. What is life to a man who is without wine? It has been created to make men glad. Wine drunk in season and temperately is rejoicing of heart and gladness of soul. Wine drunk to excess is bitterness of soul, with provocation and stumbling. Drunkenness increases the anger of a fool to his injury, reducing his strength and adding wounds (Ignatius Revised Standard)

(Psalms 104:15) - and wine that maketh glad the heart of man.

(1 Tim 6:23) - Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.

(Eph 5:18) Paul says: do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery. (Paul does not say not to drink wine but not to get drunk with wine.)

(1 Tim 3:8, 3:3; Titus 1:7) - Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre. (The deacons are not to drink "to" much wine. Meaning that wine is permitted if not in excess.)

Now let us look at verses that concerning Jesus:

(Mt. 11:18-19 & Lk. 7:34) - For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners? (This statement would not make sense if Jesus were merely drinking un-aged wine or grape juice).

(Jn. 2:1-11) - The wedding feast of Canna - to summarize this passage, let us look at verse 10, where Jesus changes water into wine, because the wine has run out. (vs. 10) And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou has kept the good wine until now. What is Jn. 2:10 saying? That the normal procedure for a wedding is to have the "good" wine first, so that by the time this "good" wine is gone they can bring out the "not so good" wine because they will be less likely to notice the difference.

First, Jacob prophesied on his deathbed of his son Judah (Gn 49:11, RSV): "Binding his foal to the vine and his ass’s colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes." Since Jesus Christ descended from Judah (Mt 1:1-3; Lk 3:33) and was born in "Bethlehem in the land of Judah" (Mt 2:1, 4-6; Mi 5:2), Jacob’s prophecy seems to mean that the true spiritual progeny of Israel (through his son Judah) are those who adhere to the divine Grapevine and "have washed their robes . . . in the blood of the Lamb" (Rv 7:14, RSV).

Second, Moses uttered an astonishing statement that can be construed as a sacramental prefiguring applicable to the New Israel (Dt 32:14, RSV): "and of the blood of the grape you drank wine." That this clause is eucharistic can be inferred from the immediately preceding phrase of the same verse: "with the finest of the wheat" (The connection of the identical words occurring in both Psalm 81:16 and Psalm 147:14 with the eucharistic body of Christ was explained in my previous article, "Why Wheat Bread?").

Third, in a summary of things "basic to all the needs of man’s life," Sirach 39:26 (RSV) lists the substances "water," "wheat flour," and "the blood of the grape"—but no other kind of grain or fruit. Hence, based on Scripture, these materials are the most suitable for our sacramental spiritual life.

Fourth, within a lengthy ode of praise of Simon the high priest, Sirach 50:14 (RSV) depicts his "service at the altars, and arranging the offering to the Most High, the Almighty." The narrative continues with what sounds like a foreshadowing of the Mass, when the priest offers to the Father the mystical re-enactment of the sacrifice of his Son’s blood on the cross: "he reached out his hand to the cup and poured a libation of the blood of the grape; he poured it out at the foot of the altar, a pleasing odor to the Most High, the King of all" (see Mal 1:11, Eph 5:2). This verse once again corroborates our conclusion about the contents of the Last Supper "cup" containing the "fruit of the vine": The "drink" that Christ declared to be his blood "poured out for you" (Lk 22:17, 20) was the result of a conversion of grape wine.

Fifth, in some biblical passages the trio of grapes, wine, and blood plays a part in the theme of divine vindication for evil. In this connection, Isaiah 49:26 speaks of God’s foes as being "drunk with their own blood as with wine," while Isaiah 63:1-6 contains an extended metaphor relating divine wrath and vengeance to a "wine press" out of which pours the "lifeblood" of unrighteous peoples. This theme continues into the New Testament in Revelation 14:17-20, where an angel is commanded to take a "sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe." The angel then "gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God," so that "blood flowed from the wine press" over a wide region. Divine justice demands as much for punishment of, and redemption from, transgressions: "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Heb 9:22, RSV; cf. 13:11-12). But the interesting thing here is the blood’s affiliation with grape wine. This association sheds light on our Lord’s words at the Last Supper regarding the cup of wine and the outpouring of his blood for the forgiveness of sins as the inauguration of the New Covenant (Mt 26:27-28; Mk 14:23-24; Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25-26).