The Journey: Wine

Was Jesus a Nazarite? Many people believe he was but the word of God doesn’t support that. In fact, it shows the opposite to be true. He was a Nazarene, which simply means he was from Nazareth of Galilee, a little town in Northern Israel. Maybe that’s where the confusion comes from; Nazarene, Nazarite. A Nazarite is someone who has taken the Nazarite vow. Being a Nazarite was not necessarily a lifetime commitment. It appears to be only for a limited time. Jesus was NOT a Nazarite, at least not after he was baptized and began his ministry. Let’s look at a few Bible verses starting with Numbers chapter 6.

Numbers 6:1-8

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:

3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, nor vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes nor dried.

4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.

5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in which he separates himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.

6 All the days that he separates himself unto the LORD, he shall come near no dead body.

7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.

8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.

According to the Bible, the Nazarite vow included three restrictions.

1) A Nazarite could not drink or eat anything that was made from any part of the grapevine, including fresh grape juice, wine of any kind, strong drink, and grapes, and raisins.

2) A Nazarite could not cut their hair.

3) A Nazarite could not touch a dead body.

This is how we know Jesus was not a Nazarite.

1a) Jesus drank the fruit of the vine. Whether it was grape juice or alcoholic wine is debatable, but the fact remains, he did not keep the first rule of the Nazarite vow.

Luke 7:34

34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, Behold, a glutton, and a drunkard.

1 Cor. 11:25

25 After the same manner also he took the cup when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

2a) Did Jesus have long hair? Many believe he did, probably from the many paintings of him with long hair, but we don’t really know what he looked like. We know from one of the many prophecies of his death that he had a beard when he was crucified (Is. 50:6), but the Apostle Paul says, “it is a shame for a man to have long hair” (1 Cor. 11:14). Hair length is subjective, though, like a big dog, or a tall tree. The tallest tree in Mississippi is a Spruce Pine which was 154 feet at the time it was measured. To me, that’s a tall tree, but it’s not tall at all compared to the tallest Giant Redwood ever measured, which was 379 feet tall. The fact is we just can’t be sure what length the Lord’s hair was.

3a) Did Jesus touch a dead body? Yes, he did. In Matthew 9:21-43. A ruler of the synagogue named Jairus came to Jesus begging him to come and heal his daughter who was dying. When they arrived she was already dead, but Jesus went in and took her by the hand, and brought her back to life (Mark 5:22-43, Luke 8:41-56). Numbers 6:11 says it is a SIN for a Nazarite to touch a dead body, and we know Jesus never sinned (Heb. 4:15, 1 John 3:5 1 Pet. 1:18-19 & 2:22).

In, conclusion, Jesus drank the fruit of the vine, and he touched at least one dead body. So, we can say with confidence that Jesus was NOT a Nazarite. He was from Nazareth, which made him a Nazarene.

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What’s wrong with drinking alcohol? That’s a good question. Many people, including some Christians, say it’s okay to drink alcohol because Jesus turned water to wine at a wedding when he was here on earth. But, some say the “wine” Jesus made was pure, fresh grape juice, and not alcoholic at all. They say the word WINE in the original language of the Bible is used for “Alcoholic Wine”, “Vinegar” and also for “Non-Alcoholic Grape Juice.” Well, I don’t know. I wasn’t there, and I can’t speak, or read Hebrew, or Greek. Having said that, I do believe the Bible is the word of God, and I do believe God has preserved it for us today, and whatever we need to understand can be found in its pages. So, let’s see what the Bible says about drinking alcohol.

The Bible actually has a lot to say about this subject. In Deuteronomy, God, speaking to the Children of Israel, said this;

Deuteronomy 29:5-6
5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes have not become old on you, and your shoes have not become old on your feet.
6 You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink: so you might know that I am the LORD your God.

Here, God makes a clear difference between WINE and STRONG DRINK. He also says that NOT drinking wine and strong drink, helped them to know that He was their God. Could alcohol be impairing people’s knowledge of God today? Look at the next verse.

Proverbs 20:1
1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whoever is deceived by them is not wise.

According to the word of God, Wine and Strong Drink are deceiving, and those who are deceived by them are not wise. Who wants to be deceived? I want to be wise. How about you?

Proverbs 31:4-6 says,
4 O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to drink strong drink,
5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

First, these verses say that kings are not to drink wine. Revelation 1:6says if we have been born again, we are KINGS and Priests of God.

Revelation 1:6
6 And has made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Therefore, the Bible says Christians are not to drink wine. Strong drink is a given since it’s even worse.

Verse 4 says alcohol can make you forget the law of God. Who wants that? Anyone who has ever been drunk, or has been around people who were drunk, knows this to be true. Morals go right out the window. People do things when they drink that they might not normally do.

Isaiah 28:7
7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink, they are off the path. The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink. They are swallowed up by wine, they are out of the way through strong drink. They err in vision, and they stumble in judgment.

This is what happens to God’s people who drink alcohol. They do wrong. They get off the right path, and out of the true way. They forget the law. They can not rightly discern God’s will, and they have poor judgment. Wow! Does that sound like a good condition to be in? It’s hard enough to keep a clear mind in today’s world without the influence of alcohol. We certainly don’t need to add to the problem.

Isaiah 5:11 says,
11 Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them!

Isaiah 5:22 says,
22 Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength, to mix strong drink:

With all these negative things the Bible says about it, I can’t understand how anyone who knows this can still believe it’s okay to drink alcohol. Especially a Christian. I used to drink, so I know, first hand, the power that alcohol possesses. Not just the power to make a person drunk, but the power to lower our defenses so that things we know are wrong don’t really seem all that bad. It not only destroys the body and the mind, but also the lives of many who drink it, and the lives of those around them. The Bible also gives us this final and most harsh warning. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 gives us a list of people who WILL NOT make it into heaven.

1Corinthians 6:9-10
9 Don’t be deceived: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Neither will fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor DRUNKARDS, nor revilers, nor extortioners. None of these will inherit the kingdom of God.

Drinking can make you drunk. Those who get drunk are drunkards, and God plainly says they WILL NOT get into heaven. They are lost. Do you understand that? It sounds harsh, but that’s what the word of God says. Why take the chance? Don’t risk it. It would be so sad to miss heaven because of alcohol.

Yes, they drank wine in the bible days, and yes, the disciples of Jesus drank wine. But, with all the negative things the scriptures say about alcohol, there’s no way the Son of God would condone drinking intoxicating wine, much less make it for people who had already been drinking that day. He would have been disobeying the next scripture which would be sinning, and we all know Jesus never sinned. Otherwise, he could not have been our spotless sacrifice.

Habakkuk 2:15 says,
15 Woe to him that gives his neighbor drink, that puts a bottle to him and makes him drunken…

The wine Jesus made was NOT alcoholic. Wine in the Bible is often called The Fruit Of The Vine. Grapes are the “Fruit Of The Vine.” This was Grape Juice.

Now, I understand that grape juice does not remain fresh forever. It will ferment after some time, but natural fermentation of grapes does not produce the percentage of alcohol that the adding of sugar and yeast that goes into “Wine Making” produces. The “Strong Drink” was mixed for the purpose of getting drunk, but the fresh “Wine” was pure grape juice. First sweet when fresh, then when it had sat for a period of time, it fermented.

Natural fermentation produces very little alcohol because the natural yeast dies when alcohol forms.* You have to add extra yeast AND sugar to make the process continue for the alcohol content to increase. The natural conditions at any given time determine if the grape juice will naturally turn to sweet wine or vinegar. If it’s covered or bottled, it turns to sweet wine, but if it is uncovered, it turns to vinegar.

Yes, they drank both fresh wine, and naturally fermented wine in Jesus’ day, but people would have had to drink a lot of naturally fermented wine to get drunk, which is what the bible condemns; Drunkenness.

Probably even stronger than the “Strong Drink” that the Bible condemns, today’s alcohol is very destructive. The organization called MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving) says there are 300,000 incidents in the United States every day caused by drinking and driving.** In 2005 the CDC (Center for Disease Control) reported that Alcohol causes the deaths of 75,000 people each year.*** By 2013 that number had risen to 88,000 deaths per year.**** In 2016, the number rose to 10,497.*****

That’s a devastating number of people who die each year from either drinking alcohol, or from coming in contact with a person who is, or has been drinking. Many people who drink, die from liver disease, they commit suicide, they beat people to death, shoot and kill people, including spouses and children. They kill themselves, and innocent people by driving while drinking. Do you really think God approves of something so devastating? If you want to drink alcohol, drink it, but remember what a powerful, deadly drug it really is. Remember that the Bible condemns it, and those who drink it, and stop twisting God’s word to try and justify sin. Be honest with yourself, and take responsibility for your choices. It’s time to stop the MADDness.

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

*
http://www.morethanorganic.com/fermentation

**
http://www.madd.org/

*** http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6089353/ns/health-addictions/t/alcohol-linked-us-deaths-year/#.Uv-F4SqF84M

****
http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm

*****
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html