What does John 2:10 mean?

The master of the banquet, or chief servant, is impressed and surprised by the quality of the wine. However, he has no idea that Jesus had created it out of water (John 2:6–9) . Instead, he gives credit to the groom for saving the best for last. He assumes this was a deliberate, extravagant choice by the married couple.

Questions about whether this was alcoholic wine are answered clearly and simply by a look at the Greek words being used. The reference to "poorer wine" uses the word elassō, which means "lesser, inferior, or younger." The reference to the "good wine" uses the word kalon, meaning "superior" in this case.

Greek includes words which imply consumption, or the drinking-and-swallowing of liquids, such as phago, pinō. Yet the chief servant refers to the time when "poorer" wine was usually brought out by using the Greek word methysthōsin. This is from the same root word Paul uses to warn against drunkenness (1 Corinthians 11:21; Ephesians 5:18). The servant's comment could be translated to say that "once the people are drunk," the poorer wine comes out.

According to the chief servant, and John's recorded words, what Jesus produced was the kind of high-quality wine which would usually be served first. After that wine—the same substance as which Jesus had just created—had made people "a little drunk," lower-quality wines would be served. The Greek terms for grape juice and "new wine" are not used here. While the Bible clearly warns against drunkenness, there is no doubt that what Jesus produced was actual "wine," a fermented beverage, as the word is commonly understood.