Lord’s Supper elements
A question was recently brought up about what type of grape juice to use for Communion for those who cannot drink wine. Does it need to 100% grape juice or is a grape juice that includes apple juice acceptable? Thank you.
The evangelists (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18) use the term “fruit of the vine” in their accounts of the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Historically, we know that wine—often diluted with water—was used at the Passover meal. The lack of refrigeration in biblical times also meant that the juice harvested from grapes months earlier would either have spoiled or become fermented. “Fruit of the vine” would rule out apple juice as an earthly element for the sacrament.