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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.

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