Matthew 9:17 (KJV):
“And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.”
In this text, Jesus illustrates a spiritual truth with the comparison of wine and bottles. It is not advisable to pour newly made wine—which is still fermenting—into old, fragile wineskins. If it were, the ancient wineskins would rupture from the pressure of the fermentation. To protect the wine and the wineglass, fresh wine should be placed in fresh wineskins.
The difference between old and new wine is primarily based on fermentation. Old wine is fermented and has an alcoholic content, while new wine is usually grape juice and lacks alcohol.
In the Old Testament, there are three Hebrew words related to wine:
YAYIN: Intoxicating, fermented wine (Genesis 9:21).
TIROSH: Fresh grape juice, rarely fermented (Proverbs 3:10).
SHAKAR: Intensely alcoholic, strong drink (Numbers 28:7).
Both fermented and unfermented drinks are referred to by the Greek word OINOS in the New Testament. OINOS denotes either young or unfermented wine in Matthew 9:17 and aged or fermented wine in Ephesians 5:18.
Jesus gave wine at the Cana wedding. Given the time of the wedding and the lack of recently harvested grapes, several academics estimate that this wine was probably made from reconstituted grape juice. Most likely, there was little to no alcohol present.
In summary, the Bible uses fermentation to discern between new and old wine. Old wine is fermented and contains alcohol, but new wine is typically connected with grape juice. Biblical periods' unique cultural environment and customs have an impact on how we interpret these phrases.
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