Was the wine at the Cana wedding alcoholic?

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.

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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.

Learn more about the ties in Methodist history to the temperance movement and Welch's Grape Juice.


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