Navigation Back Search

Ask the UMC: Was the wine at the wedding at Cana alcoholic?

May 26, 2017
A panel on the back wall inside of Joannes de Dooper Church in Pijnacker, Netherlands, depicts the wedding feast at Cana. Photo by Hpruxpbvm, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
A panel on the back wall inside of Joannes de Dooper Church in Pijnacker, Netherlands, depicts the wedding feast at Cana. Photo by Hpruxpbvm, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

During the temperance movement there was an argument that somehow the wine in the Gospels – the Last Supper specifically, but probably also included the wedding at Cana – was miraculously non-alcoholic. There is no evidence in the biblical text to support that argument. 

Some faith groups, especially those that reject alcohol, may teach that Jesus made wine without alcohol, but this is not a teaching of The United Methodist Church.

Methodist history: Controversy, Communion, & Welch’s Grape Juice

Have questions? Ask the UMC. And check out other recent Q&As.

This content was produced by InfoServ, a ministry of United Methodist Communications.

First published May 26, 2017.

Sign up for our newsletter!

SUBSCRIBE
General Conference
Spare voting machines rest on a table at the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Ask The UMC: How are decisions made at General Conference?
General Conference is the highest legislative body in The United Methodist Church. It usually convenes once every four years to determine the denomination’s future direction.
Theology and Education
Clockwise from top left: Detail from Butyka Mausoleum by Globetrotter19, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; stained glass window by Kathleen Barry, UM News; Bible and cross by Mike DuBose, UMNS; detail of aanchor and two fish courtesy of Catacombe Domitilla; the Rev. George Miller by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Ask The UMC: Why do missionaries wear an anchor cross?
When missionaries are commissioned for service, an anchor cross is placed around their necks, as a symbol of their call to mission service.
Evangelism
World map, courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Ask The UMC: Is The UMC in Canada, Australia, Latin America, Asia?
Get a history lesson about the Methodist presence in these parts of the world.