What We Believe & Why - Chapter Twenty Five

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What We Believe and Why - Vol. II
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1982
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

Chapter Twenty Five
Unleaved Bread and Unleaved Drink

INTRODUCTION: TEXT: Matthew 26:26-29

This message is not intended to be a total look at why we use wine in the Lord's Supper, nor is it intended as an answer to all of those who oppose the case for wine and contend in favor of grape juice. It would take several messages to deal comprehensively with every facet of this matter.

This message is intended to give some of the Biblical reasoning that leads us to use wine in the Lord's Supper and to raise some valid questions in the minds of those who don't.

I. LET US BEGIN THIS STUDY WITH WHAT A DEFINITION OF WINE IS.

A. Webster's New World Dictionary defines the noun, wine, as having four possible definitions, depending on the context of its usage.

1. "The fermented juice of grapes, used as an alcoholic beverage, and in cooking, etc."

2. "The fermented juice of other fruits or plants: as dandelion wine"

3. "Intoxication"

4. "The dark, purplish red, the color of some wines"

5. It is noteworthy that in no case is the beverage "wine," by definition, hinted to be anything less than a fermented, or fermenting beverage.

B. Now, a lengthy discussion could be given concerning the abstract use of the word, "wine," as in Isaiah 65:8, where the prophet says, "the new wine is found in the cluster." This is true in the same sense that many apples are found in a single apple seed, or that many residential homes are found in a large forest. They are, only in a prospective or abstract sense. As the apple seed must produce a tree with fruit before the apples in it are seen, likewise the grapes in the cluster must ferment before there can be wine.

C. There are two Greek words for wine as used in the New Testament.

1. The general word for wine is "Oinos." The fact that this beverage burst wine skins, as in Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22 and Luke 5:37, shows its characteristic of fermentation. Of this beverage (Oinos) Paul said, "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess." (Ephesians 5:18) It would not take very much research in the New Testament to establish the fact that "Oinos" speaks of the intoxicating state of the juice of grapes.

2. "Gleukos" is translated "wine" one time in the New Testament. The reference is Acts 2:13, where the multitude accused the apostles of being "full of new wine." The context of this passage will quickly show that in view of the unusual conduct of the apostles, as a result of the demonstration of the Holy Spirit in them, the multitude thought that they were drunken. And the accusation was that they were drunken on "Gleukos" (new wine), not "Oinos" (completely fermented wine). The implication was that a man could get drunken quicker on new, or partially fermented wine, than on old, or completely fermented wine. Gleukos denotes "sweet" or "new" wine. James Strong says "gleukos" has more saccharine and is therefore "highly inebriating."

3. The point is that in every use of the word "wine" in the New Testament, except in metaphorical uses, it is seen to be the fermented beverage of the grape, capable of intoxication.

D. Those who oppose the use of wine in the Lord's Supper make a big issue of sweet or new wine.

1. They go to great lengths in trying to prove that "sweet" or "new" wine is a purified state of grape juice which is not fermented and not capable of intoxication.

2. Now, what a lot of men say on the subject matters little, but what God says on the subject establishes the truth. Men can, and have, established their own definitions of what sweet or new wine is. But in ascertaining the truths of God's word, we must take the definitions established in the word of God, not those which grape growers, or others may propagate. If Webster's definition does not harmonize with God's, take God's not Webster's.

3. But, it so happens that Webster's definition of wine, be it new or old, does harmonize well with what is revealed in God's word. Contrary to what some men contend, new wine is fully capable of intoxication.

a. Remember Acts 2:13. It was clearly known by the people of this context, that new or sweet wine (gleukos) would intoxicate or make drunk. Verse 15 of the same chapter says Peter answered their supposition that the apostles were intoxicated on "new wine" by saying, "These are not drunken as ye suppose." The implication clearly is that new wine will intoxicate.

b. Hosea the prophet was not under the false illusion that new wine will not intoxicate. He said "Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart." (Hosea 4:11) Wine differs from new wine in that old wine has completed fermentation, while new wine is still in the process of fermentation to some degree.

c. Isaiah the prophet said, "They shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine." (Isaiah 49:26) The definition of a good many men is that sweet or new wine will not intoxicate, that it is something less than the fermented by-product of grape juice. But that is not God's definition. He says it will make one drunk, and from Isaiah's statement, very much so.

II. NOW, IN ORDER TO BE CONSISTENT, WE MUST USE WINE IN OUR OBSERVANCE OF THE LORD'S SUPPER.

A. Brother the bread and the wine of the Lord's Supper are designed to picture the body and blood of the crucified Christ.

1. Jesus Christ's body and blood were pure, without sin.

a. Hebrews 7:26 says of Him that He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners."

b. He was "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15)

c. II Corinthians 5:21 declares, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him," and I Peter 2:22 says He "did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth."

2. In order for His sacrifice to be effective and take away our sins, Jesus had to be sinlessly perfect.

a. But, that He was. He was "as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (I Peter 1:19)

b. Because of His being the perfect Lamb of God, Revelation 5:5-6, 9-10 extols Him, and Him alone, as being capable and worthy to redeem men to God.

3. Now, when we take the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper, we are testifying of that pure body and blood, which were broken and shed for us.

a. Jesus made that very clear in Matthew 26 when He said the broken bread typified His body, (verse 26), and the wine typified His "blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (verse 28)

b. Thus, we read in I Corinthians 11:24 of the bread, "Take eat: this is my body, which is broken for you," and in verse 25, "this cup is the New Testament in my blood."

B. In order to show the purity of our sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ, we use unleavened ingredients in the Lord's Supper.

1. Leavening in the scriptures is symbolic of sin and false doctrine. Thus Jesus warned, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees." (Matthew 16:6) Verse 12 says that, "he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Paul said, showing the evil connotation of leavening, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." (I Corinthians 5:6) He then exhorted, "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump." (verse 7)

2. So that there be no confusion, please understand that leaven is yeast, or another substance used to cause dough to rise, or bring about the process of fermentation. In short, it is an agent that initiates and brings about a fermentation process.

3. Now, it is a certain fact that we do not want any leaven to be in the ingredients by which we show the pure body and blood of our Saviour. To include leaven in these ingredients would be to totally misrepresent the body and blood, and thereby indicate that our precious Saviour was sinful.

4. Thus, we are careful to use unleavened bread and unleavened drink in our celebration of the Supper.

a. We use bread that has no leaven in it to represent the perfect body. The bread is unleavened because we simply do not put any leaven in it. The leaven is withheld, for in bread, once leaven is introduced, it cannot be gotten out since it so mixes with the bread that it becomes inseparable.

b. As we use unleavened bread, likewise we use unleavened drink, which is wine. The unleavened state of the "fruit of the vine," (Matthew 26:29), is wine, not grape juice. Grapes have the unique quality of having a natural parasite, or bacteria, on their skin, which is a leaven which causes the grape juice to ferment. Natural grape juice, be it fresh or cooked, has this leaven in it. The only way to totally free grape juice of its leaven is to allow it to completely ferment. In the process of fermentation, the leaven and other impurities of grape juice are separated and wine is produced. The impurities settle to the bottom and the wine, pure and free of leaven, can be drawn off. So the fruit of the vine is made unleavened by removing the leaven, which is already by nature there.

c. So, the bread is made unleavened by withholding leaven, and the juice is made unleavened by taking away the leaven. In both cases the end result is an unleavened product.

5. The inconsistency of those who insist on unleavened bread, yet who reject wine and use grape juice is amazing.

a. What they are actually doing is insisting on and using an unleavened bread and a leavened drink.

b. The inconsistency of that practice is readily apparent. It is a contradictory practice. The bread says Jesus was pure, but the grape juice says He was impure. Obviously, it is important to use a pure element to picture His blood, and wine is the only state of the fruit of the vine that is sufficiently pure to picture Christ's blood. Surely grape juice with its leaven and numerous impurities cannot paint a true picture of the blood, for the same reasons that sour dough bread cannot paint a true picture of the body.

6. Thus, both the elements which we use in the celebration of our Lord's Supper are unleavened, the drink as well as the bread. If the use of an unleavened product is important in one area of the Supper, it is also important in the other area. If we are going to insist on unleavened bread, and we do in order to show the pure body of Christ, then we must insist on an unleavened drink, which is wine, to show the pure blood.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"