Jesus is Greater Than Dionysus

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This is Part 1 of a series that will explore the Greek god Dionysus and how John's audience in Ephesus would have understood the Water to Wine miracle.

Dionysus was well known in both Asia Minor, where John was writing, and in the land of Israel.

The Greeks had brought Dionysus to Israel hundreds of years before Jesus was born, and he was a very popular agricultural god. The water-to-wine miracle in John 2 points directly to Dionysus, as he is the god of wine.

In this short introduction, we explore the surprising cultural backdrop of Jesus' first sign—how the Greek god Dionysus, known for turning water into wine, had deeply influenced the land of Israel during the first century.

We highlight:

1. ​The mythological connection between Dionysus and the Decapolis city of Scythopolis, said to be founded by the god himself
   
2. A quick recap of the Cana wedding story: grace precedes ritual, weddings belong to the “third day,” and resurrection imagery is built into the third day of Creation, when plants—symbols of yearly resurrection—were made

​ Join us as we begin to uncover the rich layers behind Jesus’ first miracle and what it meant to those living in a world shaped by both Jewish tradition and Greco-Roman mythology.

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Lesson Handout - 

fig_tree_ministries_john_week_24_dionysus_and_water_to_wine.pdf
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Roman Writer Plutarch Comments on Jews Worshiping Dionysus

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