Brother Hamilton,<\/p>\n
I have a brother in Christ who keeps trying to get me to believe that Jesus turned the water into alcoholic wine. He keeps trying to suggest that it’s not a sin to drink, but it’s a sin to get drunk, which is why Jesus turned that water into alcoholic wine. The brother also believes that Jesus drank alcohol and gave me the scripture: Matthew 11:18-19. I’m not trying to justify drinking because I believe that drinking is sinful and it has no benefit. Neither do I believe that the sinless Jesus gave others “more” alcohol to drink. I also have a question about that scripture Matthew 11:18-19. Did Jesus actually drink since it says he came “eating and drinking?” Can you please explain this to me?<\/p>\n\t
“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds<\/em>” (Matthew 11:18-19).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
“Eating and drinking” refers to attending parties or social gatherings. We don’t assume that John somehow survived without food or liquid. Instead, we know that John lived on locust and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). He lived a plain and austere life and did not socialize with people. Because of that, people assumed he was crazy.<\/p>\n
Jesus was different. He ate the same foods and drinks most other people consumed. He attended parties and other social gatherings (Matthew 9:10; Luke 15:2). He didn’t turn down invitations when sinners were also invited.\u00a0 He didn’t observe the fasts that “proper” Jews kept. Because of that, people charged him with being a glutton and drunkard. We know the charge is false. We don’t assume Jesus overate or ate things not allowed by the Law of Moses just because rumor had it that he was a glutton. Nor do we assume Jesus overdrank or consumed intoxicating beverages just because rumor had it that he was a drunkard. The charges do not prove what Jesus actually consumed.<\/p>\n
That is the mistake your friend is making. He assumes that anyone charged with excessive drinking must have been drinking something intoxicating. But the problem is that a charge is not evidence. It is only a charge — and in this case one without foundation.<\/p>\n
Jesus’ point is that, because of what both John and Jesus taught, those who rejected their teachings sought out anything they disliked about them and made it into a claim that Jesus and John should not be listened to. We all know that some people can never be pleased. However, the proof is in the action. We know that what John and Jesus actually did proves that the charges were false.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Brother Hamilton, I have a brother in Christ who keeps trying to get me to believe that Jesus turned the water into alcoholic wine. He keeps trying to suggest that it’s not a sin to drink, but it’s a sin to get drunk, which is why Jesus turned that water into alcoholic wine. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[371],"class_list":["post-4413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-alcohol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20646,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-answer-people-who-try-to-use-jesus-turning-water-to-wine-as-proof-for-drinking-alcohol\/","url_meta":{"origin":4413,"position":0},"title":"How do you answer people who try to use Jesus turning water to wine as proof for drinking alcohol?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding John 2 and Jesus turning water to wine: So many people refer to this story when trying to verify it's OK to drink. They ignore all the other passages that it's not OK. What should my response be to this when they do that? Answer: A good summary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1670,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-wrong-with-drinking-so-long-as-it-is-done-in-moderation\/","url_meta":{"origin":4413,"position":1},"title":"What is wrong with drinking, so long as it is done in moderation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 4, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What's wrong with drinking, so long as it is done in moderation? After all Jesus turned water into wine in John 2. The disciples were accused of being drunk in Acts 2, so alcohol must have been in use. Older women were only told not to be given to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20648,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-jesus-make-alcoholic-wine\/","url_meta":{"origin":4413,"position":2},"title":"Did Jesus Make Alcoholic Wine?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Greg Gwin It is discouraging, even disgusting, to hear some brethren continue to use the same old, worn-out arguments to defend \u201csocial drinking.\u201d Is it not clear that their stubborn adherence to these discredited \u201cproofs\u201d is evidence of a rebellious heart? For what it\u2019s worth, let\u2019s cover one of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/IMG014-300x197.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":68364,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-the-guests-are-drunk\/","url_meta":{"origin":4413,"position":3},"title":"When the Guests are Drunk?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Does John 2:10 say and mean \"when the guests are drunk\" as the NET so renders, or does the verse have a different connotation? My Interlinear renders this \"have well drunk,\" which is a far different meaning than \"are drunk.\" The interlinear rendering means only that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40186,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-alcohol\/","url_meta":{"origin":4413,"position":4},"title":"Notes on Alcohol","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Based on a list by Dave Hart There is more Scripture condemning the use of alcoholic beverages than will be found on the subjects of lying, adultery, swearing, cheating, hypocrisy, pride, or even blasphemy. Genesis 9:20-27 - Noah became drunk; the result was immorality and family trouble. Genesis 19:30-38 -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24555,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-romans-1421-be-used-to-justify-the-use-of-alcoholic-beverages\/","url_meta":{"origin":4413,"position":5},"title":"Can Romans 14:21 be used to justify the use of alcoholic beverages?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: May His grace continually flourish in the good work He has started in our life. About Romans 14:21, many brothers in our congregation are having a field day with this verse. The worse are the defenses they use to justify drinking. I will not say am the weak type,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4413\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}