NEW WINE

Passage: Matthew 9:14-17

Key verse: 17b

NIV

Jesus Questioned About Fasting(A)

14 Then John’s(B) disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often,(C) but your disciples do not fast?”

15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?(D) The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.(E)

16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

A Question About Fasting

14 Then (A)the disciples of John came to him, saying, (B)“Why do we and (C)the Pharisees fast,[a] but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, (D)“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? (E)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and (F)then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old (G)wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

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Footnotes
  1. Matthew 9:14 Some manuscripts add much, or often
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. A joyful feast (14-15)

Jesus and his disciples looked like a very odd bunch compared to normal religious standards and practices. Jesus rarely played it safe for general acceptance. We cannot know Jesus from afar. Jesus was often questioned but could always answer with wisdom. For those who knew and were with Jesus, it was a time of joy and celebration feasts. But there would come times of fasting as well.

2. New wine (16-17)

Jesus' ministry and teaching are like new wine. They are dynamic and transformative. Even today, Jesus' radical grace and ministry challenges our fixed ideas and closed minds. The gospel requires us to be born again and made new, always becoming and embracing change by God's grace. God's kingdom is always advancing in new wineskin hearts.

Prayer: Lord, change is not easy, but by your grace, you can renew my mind day by day in your wisdom and kingdom vision.

One Word: Know Jesus, be ready to change