POUR NEW WINE INTO NEW WINESKINS

Passage: Matthew 9:14-17

Key verse: 17

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

John’s disciples and the Pharisees were puzzled because they saw Jesus’ disciples not fasting. They thought that fasting was part of their spiritual ritual and something good. Jesus’ disciples did not seem to follow the practice but always had joyful eating fellowships. Jesus helped them to know when to fast. When the Bridegroom, Jesus, is present, it is time to feast. He came to bring righteousness, and joy, not mourning. When he is absent, it is time to fast. In other words, it is not a matter of ritual but of relationship—knowing and loving the Bridegroom. Fasting is not to earn God’s favor. It is to deepen our longing for Christ’s presence.

Jesus came to bring a new way of life and a new relationship with God, not to patch and repair the old system. The old garment and the old wineskins refer to the old covenant and the religious system of the Pharisees, a system based on rituals, traditions, and human effort to observe them. Holiness and righteousness do not come from external observances such as fasting, washing, Sabbath keeping, or other religious rituals. External religion cannot fix the brokenness of the human heart. No one can patch the consequences of sin with rituals and hard work. Jesus came to replace the old system with the new life of the gospel. Jesus makes us a new creation (2 Co 5:17).

Prayer: Lord, make my heart a new wineskin to receive your new wine and experience joy.

One Word: Jesus is new wine