NEW WINE INTO NEW WINESKINS

Passage: Luke 5:33-39

Key verse: 38

NIV

Jesus Questioned About Fasting(A)

33 They said to him, “John’s disciples(B) often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom(C) fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them;(D) in those days they will fast.”

36 He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”

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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

33 And they said to him, (A)“The disciples of John (B)fast often and (C)offer prayers, (D)and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, (E)“Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 (F)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and (G)then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old (H)wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”[a]

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Footnotes
  1. Luke 5:39 Some manuscripts better
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

The Pharisees thought that Jesus and his disciples were very secular because they did not fast but feasted with public sinners. They didn’t understand why Jesus was going against the religious status quo and tradition. Jesus answered them by comparing his disciples as the friends of the bridegroom in the wedding feast. Jesus, the bridegroom, came from heaven to call sinners to repentance and to invite them to a joyful feast both on earth and in heaven. Jesus’ friends celebrate the presence of the Groom by having a joyful feast with him. They will fast when Jesus is not in their midst.

Jesus’ parables show what the gospel is like. It is like a new garment. Nobody tears a new dress to patch an old one. They will just wear and enjoy the new and throw out the old. It is also like the new wine. No one pours the new wine into old wineskins. It should be poured into new wineskins. Like the new garment and new wine, the gospel is very energetic, young, and festive. Patching, pouring, or mixing the Pharisees’ old teachings and traditions with the gospel is not possible. The gospel demands fundamental life change. It shows a new life in Jesus. We, as new wineskins, must accept the gospel and be transformed into the image of Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, help me to be a new wineskin who can hold Jesus in me and grow in him.

One Word: Feast with Jesus