According to Catholicism, did Jesus really use wine at the Last Supper?
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We see a part of the institution Holy Eucharist at Mtt 26: 27-28 (NRSVCE):
> Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
Jesus goes on to say at Mt 26: 29:
> I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
Remember that Jesus was celebrating the the Passover which was the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Now, we see Yahweh , while preparing Israel for the first Passover,giving stern instructions on the use of leaven at Ex 12:14-15:
> This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day shall be cut off from Israel
Connecting the two, one wonders whether Jesus really used wine in the Last Supper, which was a commemoration of Passover. In fact, wine which is the product of fermentation does not go hand-in-hand with the unleavened bread ,and Jesus would be the last the break the instructions at Exodus!
But then, if Jesus did not drink wine, what did he drink ? Simple: fresh grape juice. We see at Song of Solomon 8:12 that drinking of fresh juice had been prevalent since ancient times:
> I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the juice of my pomegranates.
Now, the Catholic Church all across the world has traditionally been using bread and wine to commemorate the Last Supper . Of course, wine has much higher shelf-life than has fresh grape juice , and it may be impossible for the sacristan to prepare fresh grape juice day after day for the Eucharist especially during the lean season of grapes. But, one really wonders if what Jesus drank at the Last Supper was wine or fresh grape juice .
My question therefore is: **Did Jesus really use wine at the Last Supper? Has the Catholic Church made any research into the prospects of Jesus having used fresh grape juice?**
Asked by Kadalikatt Joseph Sibichan
(13704 rep)
Dec 21, 2020, 05:20 AM
Last activity: Dec 23, 2020, 07:53 PM
Last activity: Dec 23, 2020, 07:53 PM