What Did Christ Really Make at the Wedding in Cana?

This first recorded miracle of Jesus, the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11), has been readily received as evidence, by some, that drinking on certain occasions is perfectly acceptable. Those who disagree will say that Christ did not actually make a fermented, alcoholic drink that day, but rather just a form of grape juice. It makes sense that there is an assumption that whenever the word "wine" appears in any English translation of the Bible, it always means the fermented, alcoholic kind.

On the flip side, there are those who contend that "wine" in the Bible is always non-fermented grape juice. But this cannot be a fact since there are multiple references to "wine or other fermented drink" as well as "wine and strong drink," and no less than seventeen warnings against drunkenness in the Bible. Scripture also describes wine used for medicinal purposes like stomach ailments (1 Timothy, 5) and cleansing wounds (Luke 10). Grape juice alone cannot do these things.

Before drawing any conclusions, it is best to get some background. The Greek word used for "wine" in almost all the New Testament was "oinos," a generic word which, depending on the context, can mean either a fermented or non-fermented drink. And here is where many people will justify their own personal convictions. Advocates of alcohol prohibition say it was just grape juice, and the drinking-in-moderation-is-okay crowd (whether one drinks or not) will say it was, or probably was, fermented. Regardless of what side of the fence one is on, conclusions can be drawn just from the description of the situation.

Some contend that just the amount of "wine" that Jesus made that infamous day proves what it was, and many who say that conclude that it was not alcoholic. While this is not actual proof of anything one way or the other, it is interesting to take a brief look at this. The original King James Version describes the six stone jars filled with "two or three firkins" of water (an old English unit of measurement)-that comes to roughly 22 to 33 gallons each. This reconciles with most modern translations which all say that each stone jar had "twenty to thirty gallons" each. So if we add it all up, it comes to anywhere between 120 to 180 gallons. While there may be discrepancy in amounts, between 100 and 200 gallons of wine is quite a bit. Again, this offers no proof of anything other than the fact that it was probably a large wedding.

In the full context of this scenario we are told that the wedding guests were impressed and complimented the wine. An interesting thing is said by the master of the banquet. He tells the bridegroom that normally the "best" wine is served first, then after everyone has had their fill, one brings out the cheap wine. This is a significant statement because it is on this assertion that many conclusions have been drawn as to the nature of the wine Christ created.

But what, in this particular context, does the "best" really mean? It has been argued that if the master of the banquet had been drinking fermented wine prior to this point, his senses would be clouded and he would not know that he was now drinking better wine. But, as the person in charge, we don't know if he had been drinking.

We do know from the language that alcohol was customary to be served at events like weddings. The KJV says "when men have well drunk," the NIV says "after the guests have had too much to drink," the Amplified and NAS say "after the people have drunk feely," and the NLT simply says "when everyone has had a lot to drink." Statements as such are not normally ascribed to mere juice.

But going back to what Christ made, it must be emphasized that even after careful study of what little information we are given about this well-discussed incident, the reality is that we do not know for sure what kind of "wine" / "oinos" Christ made that day. This fact should not upset anyone. If God wanted to make it clear one way or the other, He could have easily done so. There are many things hidden from us in Scripture, and God has His reasons for that.

Kelly Libatique is a professional speaker, technical trainer, and author. He has a Master's in Education and a Bachelor's in Psychology. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and Anne and two sons.