What about drink?

While we’re on the topic of food, what about drink?

Traditional SDAs assert that most Biblical references to men of God drinking wine (with the noted exception of Noah and maybe a couple others instances of people getting drunk) refer to unfermented grape juice. I no longer think this view has any Biblical validity whatsoever. Check out the following couple of verses:

Psalm 104:15-16 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the service of man,
That he may bring forth food from the earth,
15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man,
Oil to make his face shine,
And bread which strengthens man’s heart.

The Psalmist praises the Lord for wine—wine which makes the hearts of men glad. In context, it seems highly unlikely that the psalmist is referring to unfermented grape juice.

Now take a look at Luke 7:33-34

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (NKVJ)

Clearly the Pharisees accused Jesus of being a winebibber. Now, let’s apply a little logic. The Pharisees were not idiots. If they knew or even suspected that other people thought that Jesus was only drinking grape juice, they would have undermined their own credibility in accusing him of being a winebibber.

This text in Luke makes it painfully obvious that Jesus drank alcoholic wine.

Even further evidence is supplied by the story in John 2 of the wedding where Jesus turned water into wine and someone made the comment about the host taking a unique approach and saving the best wine for last—at statement that clearly implies the cultural practice of serving the best wine while people’s senses were sharp, then getting out the inferior wine when people’s senses were dulled by the alcohol in the wine they had already drank.

More “uncomfortable” texts on different topics to come…