Jesus' Winery- Bringing Joy and a New Life

 New Wine and a Wedding

What exactly are we celebrating?

I am discussing the life of Christ in the gospels with Christian scholars associated with religion, history, science, and the humanities. I come to the discussion from the primary perspective of a psychological scientist interested in the psychology of religion–especially Christianity–and a secondary perspective of a psychotherapist. Regardless of discipline, we all have a common interest in the pursuit of truth.

I wish to discuss what Jesus meant by bringing new wine to the table. So let us review what Luke learned when writing his gospel. I’m reading from Chapter 9 in The Voice version.

Pharisees: 33 Explain to us why You and Your disciples are so commonly found partying like this, when our disciples—and even the disciples of John—are known for fasting rather than feasting, and for saying prayers rather than drinking wine.

Jesus: 34 Imagine there’s a wedding going on. Is that the time to tell the guests to ignore the bridegroom and fast? 35 Sure, there’s a time for fasting—when the bridegroom has been taken away. 36 Look, nobody tears up a new garment to make a patch for an old garment. If he did, the new patch would shrink and rip the old, and the old garment would be worse off than before. 37 And nobody takes freshly squeezed juice and puts it into old, stiff wineskins. If he did, the fresh wine would make the old skins burst open, and both the wine and the wineskins would be ruined. 38 New demands new—new wine for new wineskins. 39 Anyway, those who’ve never tasted the new wine won’t know what they’re missing; they’ll always say, “The old wine is good enough for me!”

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Some years later, the writer of John’s gospel introduces Jesus’ ministry with a festive and poignant story (Chapter 2: 1-12). Jesus and his mum are at a wedding, and she asks him a favour. Like many young men, he protests then does what his mother wants him to do. So, we have the story of Jesus’ Winery. There are some large stone jars for water. What the water is for is significant. It’s for a Jewish practice of purification. In the story, Jesus tells the servants to fill the jars then take some to the master of the feast. He appears considerable impressed with the quality of the wine, which also impressed Jesus’ followers. Take a look.

2 Three days later, they all went to celebrate a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was invited 2 together with Him and His disciples. 3 While they were celebrating, the wine ran out; and Jesus’ mother hurried over to her son.

 Mary: The host stands on the brink of embarrassment; there are many guests, and there is no more wine.

Jesus: 4 Dear woman, is it our problem they miscalculated when buying wine and inviting guests? My time has not arrived.

5 But she turned to the servants.

Mary: Do whatever my son tells you.

6 In that area were six massive stone water pots that could each hold 20 to 30 gallons.[a] They were typically used for Jewish purification rites. 7 Jesus’ instructions were clear:

Jesus: Fill each water pot with water until it’s ready to spill over the top; 8 then fill a cup, and deliver it to the headwaiter.

 They did exactly as they were instructed. 9 After tasting the water that had become wine, the headwaiter couldn’t figure out where such wine came from (even though the servants knew), and he called over the bridegroom in amazement.

Headwaiter: ¹⁰ This wine is delectable. Why would you save the most exquisite fruit of the vine? A host would generally serve the good wine first and, when his inebriated guests don’t notice or care, he would serve the inferior wine. You have held back the best for last.

¹¹ Jesus performed this miracle, the first of His signs, in Cana of Galilee. They did not know how this happened; but when the disciples and the servants witnessed this miracle, their faith blossomed.

¹² Jesus then gathered His clan—His family members and disciples—for a journey to Capernaum where they lingered several days.

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The Problem of Old Time Religion

Previously, I led a discussion on Jesus’ teaching about the Sabbath and the way his Jewish leaders created a religious burden for the Jews in the first century. In that story, Jesus revealed a new way of looking at the old law. The law was made for man. Indeed, good laws ought to help people live in peaceful relationships with each other. And good laws ought not to make matters worse for the people living under the law.

In the current story about wine and wineskins, I think we must be careful not to focus on the wine without considering the containers. I believe Jesus is making a point that he is bringing a new way of life. He does not condemn the old way, but he does introduce the new way as a happy occasion like a wedding party. In later New Testament documents (e.g., Acts), we see how the Jews who followed Jesus tried to understand what it meant to be free from the burden of old laws—especially for the new converts who weren’t Jews. However, before exploring these possibilities further, I want to return to the water and wine story.

Recall that when talking about wine and wineskins, the context is feasting at a wedding. In the Cana story, Jesus is celebrating with others at a wedding feast. He replaces the water of purification with wine. In other talks, Jesus addresses the emphasis Jewish leaders placed on being clean on the outside instead of the inside.

Recall that when talking about wine and wineskins, the context is feasting at a wedding. In the Cana story, Jesus is celebrating with others at a wedding feast. He replaces the water of purification with wine. In other talks, Jesus addresses the emphasis Jewish leaders placed on being clean on the outside instead of the inside. In the Cana wedding story, the water for outside cleansing is changed into something good for the inside. This fits with the beliefs of the time as we recall the advice to Timothy to take some wine for stomach distress (1 Timothy 5:23). Jesus uses a variety of metaphors for his new way of living a life of loving God and others.

He offers living water.

He offers wine.

He offers bread.

He offers something for the soul or whatever you consider that inner part of us that craves a kind of joy and happiness that won’t end.

To press the point others have made, Jesus takes on the purity system. That system declared some people unclean and kept them at a distance from God and the Jewish rulers (see for example, Borg, 1995).

A text that is known as Jesus’ mission statement fits nicely here. I draw your attention to the people who are the focus of his compassion in Luke 4:18. He’s in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. He is given the scroll by the prophet Isaiah and reads the following:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

    because he has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

    and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

The Jewish men look at him as he says: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus is on a spiritual mission. He lives for people who are social outcasts. He is here to liberate the oppressed. And he did it by challenging the way religious leaders burdened people with laws that were supposed to make life better for everyone. He challenged people to think that laws like the Sabbath were made for man.

He will focus on people who deserve to enjoy a richer life. He will show how people can connect with God as a loving father and how the love of God can help them reach out to others in their community. 

We see this mission in gospel stories over and over again. Jesus enjoys the company of women who have limited access to holy places and no standing when it comes to serving as a priest. They have limited access to places when they are declared unclean due to menstruation (Leviticus 15) or childbirth (Leviticus 12).

People with diseases are unclean (Leviticus 13) but Jesus connects with them (e.g., lepers in Luke 17). Some people are imperfect and could not enter the temple (e.g., Leviticus 21). Jesus works to restore people considered unclean according to the socio-political purity system. These people are saved from a hell of a life when they can participate in the social life of the community. Jesus is saying, in God’s view, these people are not imperfect or unclean. When you look at the heart you see another human being who needs hope and wants the same things in life as anyone else. They deserve to be in our community. We can participate with God in the salvation of those marginalized by unjust and discriminatory laws and policies that keep people outside the church, outside the community, and outside the blessings and benefits enjoyed by only a few people in a given community or society.

This message of Jesus is the new wine. And it can only become good in restored lives.

This message of Jesus is the mission mentioned in Luke 4:18. See the list of people he and all followers are called to serve. He is here to set people free.

This is the gospel of love.  This is the good news. The good news is a way of life. 

This is the reason Jesus and his followers could celebrate. Those filled with this new wine know no boundaries. They’ve got "gallons" of new wine. They have plenty to share with others.

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Cite this post (APA style)

Sutton, G. (2021, June 27). Jesus' winery-bringing joy and a new life. A House Divided. Retrieved from https://dividedchristians.blogspot.com/2021/06/jesus-winery-bringing-joy-and-new-life.html 

In case you wish to share these ideas with others, I leave you with some notes I found interesting as well as some discussion questions.

Text and Context Notes

1. The Texts. The new wine and wineskins wisdom can be found in Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, and Luke 5: 33-39. The Cana wedding story is unique to John (2: 1-11).

2. Greek words for new. In his blog, Natan Lawrence (2016) draws attention to the two different Greek words for new. Neos wine refers to something brand new. Kainos is used for new wineskins and may mean something renewed or reconditioned. Luke uses the two different words in 5:38 as does Matthew in 9: 17. Mounce offers the gloss “fresh” for the kainos wineskins in verse 17. See Mounce interlinear.

3. Craig Keener’s 2014 commentary on Matthew 9:17 (page 69) follows a note that the wedding feasts could last as long as seven days.

9:17. Wine could be kept in either jars or wineskins. The animal skins were often goatskins, often with two or three sewn together. Old wineskins had already been stretched to capacity by fermenting wine within them; if they were then filled with unfermented wine, it would likewise expand, and the old wineskins, already stretched to the limit, would burst.

4. Lots of Biblical wine. According to a Quora entry, wine is mentioned 231 times in the KJV Bible. I haven’t done a count.

5. Alcohol Percentage. Amanda Watts et al. (2014) reviewed evidence of old use of wineskins dating to some 6,000 years ago. Their analysis of wine fermentation suggested an alcohol content of 14.5 to 15%. Contemporary wines have an alcohol content near 14% according to winemag.com.

6. Abstinence from alcohol has a long history. As a psychologist, I have evaluated and been part of treatment teams helping people who struggle to end alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, which are often mixed with the abuse of other substances. I am also aware of friends and relatives with substance use problems. Therefore, I support people who believe they ought to abstain from alcohol. Jesus’ message is not about wine and alcohol but rather about being filled to the brim with compassion for those who are left out of life’s party.

7. Cana is close to Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth. Some think it was a family wedding because of Mary’s involvement—possibly one of Jesus’ brothers or sisters—or perhaps Nathan or Nathan’s family(Nathanael was from Cana). (See for example Tabor, 2021).

Discussion Questions

1. Thinking first of wine in the Bible, which wine metaphors are most meaningful to you? Feel free to add other metaphors, which were not included is this post.

2. What connection do you see between Jesus’ wisdom saying about wine and wineskins to the story about wine at the Cana wedding feast?

3. What possible meanings for new wine and wineskins are most meaningful to you?

4. How is the meaning of the patched garment wisdom connected to the meaning of the new wine and wineskins saying? In what ways is the wisdom of the garment saying the same as and different from the wine and wineskins wisdom?

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