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Jul 02, 2019 This parable is recorded in Matthew 9:16-17 and Mark 2:21-22. Jesus says, “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.
Matthew 9:14-17; Mark 2:21-22; Luke 5:33-39
This parable appears in three gospels:
Neither do men 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. Matthew 9:17
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” Mark 2:22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. Luke 5:37-38 Jesus brought new religious traditions and expectations. Jesus came to do a new thing that would not mix with the Old Covenant ways that the people had been used to.
Jesus, was not out to patch up the old or to mix the old with the new. He had come to lead a group out of Judaism into Christianity.
In Bible times wine was kept in goatskins sewn around the edges to form watertight bags. New wine expanded as it fermented, stretching its wineskin. After the wine had aged, the stretched skin would burst if more new wine was poured into it. New wine, therefore, was always put into new wineskins. When new wine is put in old wineskins, the new wine will cause the old wineskins to expand and will rupture the old skins. New wine must be put in new skins. Only a new wineskin would have the capacity to stretch during the process of fermentation and not break until the process was finished. If new wine was put in an old wineskin, because the leather skin was dry and cracked, it would probably split and both the wine and the skin would be lost. Therefore, the making of the wine required new wine in new skins for successful change to take place.
The parable of the new wine in old wineskins has the same meaning as the Parable of the New Patch on an Old Coat. This parable was part of Jesus’ answer to the question, “Why do your disciples not fast when disciples of others do fast?” Some questioned Jesus’ violation of social and religious norms of his day: eating with tax collectors and sinners, not fasting and picking grain on the Sabbath. God is establishing a new covenant with the world, and Jesus’ teachings cannot be mixed with the traditional Judaism of the Pharisees and their scribes. Jesus is saying he was the start of a new religion separate from Judaism. Jesus has brought something new, and the old rituals and traditions of official Judaism did not fit in the new order. Jesus realized that the things he was teaching were so new that people could not conveniently “tack them on” to their existing beliefs. He compared them to new wine, which could not be placed in an old wineskin, or a new piece of cloth, which could not be sewn onto clothing that had already shrunk.
The old covenant had finished. Yes, it was good, but its time was over. Its effect was completed and the times had come for the new covenant. Luke 5:36-39, 'Then He spoke a parable to them: 'No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. {37} 'And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. {38} 'But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. {39} 'And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'
Jesus used this description to explain that he had not come to patch up the old religious system of Judaism with its rules and traditions. His purpose was to bring in something new, though it had been prophesied for centuries. This new message, the Good News, said that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came to earth to offer all people forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. The Good News did not fit into the old rigid legalistic system of religion. It needed a fresh start. The message will always remain “new” because it must be accepted and applied in every generation. Jesus realized that the things he was teaching were so new that people couldn’t conveniently “tack them on” to their existing beliefs. He compared them to new wine, which could not be placed in an old wineskin, or a new piece of cloth, which could not be sewn onto clothing that had already shrunk. Jesus could not patch or pour His new ministry into old Judaism. Sometimes it is necessary that a change be made. This was the case with the spiritual need of mankind. Jesus came to provide the world with something brand new. Jesus’ teaching replaces traditional Judaism Also, new wine (not yet fermented) had to be put into new or reconditioned wineskins to allow for the expansion of gases within the skin as the result of the fermentation process. Otherwise, an old wineskin that had already been stretched by use would simply burst, and all the wine would run out. The Old Testament laws could never stretch enough to accommodate the New Testament truths of mercy and grace (Heb 10:1-10). Jesus set us free from the judgment of the Old Testament laws (Ro 6:14, 7:1-4, 8:2, 10:3-4; Ga 3:12-14, 23-24, 5:4; and Php 3:9).
II. How This Verse Is Misused By Some: These verses are difficult in the sense that their meaning can be obscure and unclear, rather than that they are used to support some false concept. The usual question is, What does this parable of the garments and the wineskins mean, and what does it have to do with fasting?
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III. True Explanation
A. Jesus was answering a question. 'Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?' (verse 33). Jesus used this double parable to help answer the question.
Parable Of The Patch And Wine Skins In Scripture Bible
B. 'No man puts a piece of a new garment upon an old one, otherwise, then both the new makes a tear, and the piece that was taken out of the new does not match with the old' (verse 36). It doesn't make sense to put a new piece of cloth on an old garment to repair it. After washing, the new cloth will shrink and tear the
old.
C. 'And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the old wineskins, and the wine would be spilled, and the wineskins would be ruined' (verse 37). It would be ridiculous to put new wine into an old wineskin. An old wineskin has already stretched and the fermentation (gas) of new wine would burst it.
Parable Of The Patch And Wineskins In Scripture Life
D. The new cloth and the new wine symbolize the new way of life Christ was bringing. We must change our total approach to God -- our methods and purposes in fasting, prayer and obedience -- when we are converted. 'Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new' (II Corinthians 5:17).
E. Jesus gave these two examples as a lesson in incongruities. It would make as little sense for His disciples to fast while He was there as it would to put new cloth on an old garment or new wine in an old wineskin.
Parable Of The Patch And Wineskins
We can't fit God's truth into our old way of life. For instance, if we try to mix the truth of the Sabbath with our old way of life and concepts learned so we may be like one of the churches of this world, it will indeed seem 'hard' and 'burdensome' to obey God and will cause a 'tear.'
The main reason for fasting is to get closer to God. Jesus' disciples didn't fast. They didn't need to fast to get closer to Him because He was already with them (Luke 5:34-35).
F. 'And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.' (verse 39). Christ had already explained why His disciples didn't fast at that time. This last analogy was to show why the Pharisees and John's disciples did fast. These men were not ready to accept the example of Christ and His disciples as being right. They didn't want to drink the 'new wine' -- the new way of life that Christ was bringing -- because they felt the 'old wine' of their customs, doctrines and practices was better.
The scribes and Pharisees followed the traditions of their elders and commandments of men (Mark 7) which were the traditional teachings of Judaism and the Oral Law. Remember Judaism is the Jews response to the Old Testament.
G. The new wine also represented the new church that Jesus was building.
Wineskins In Bible Times
Jesus told the apostles and disciples that He would build His church on Himself-not on Peter, as traditionally thought and claimed by many. The key to this understanding is in the Greek words that Jesus used. Jesus said to Peter, 'You are Peter' (petros). The meaning of this word was given definition by Jesus Himself. In John 1:43, the interpretation of the name 'Peter' (cephas) is 'a stone.' This is what Jesus was emphasizing here. Peter was a stone. Next, Jesus said of Himself, 'But upon this Rock I will build My church. ' The Greek word translated 'Rock' is ‘petra’ which means 'massive cliff.' Christ Himself is that Rock, the Massive Cliff. Peter was a pebble or a stone in comparison. The Greek clearly conveys the meaning. Jesus built His church upon Himself. He did not build it upon a man. Other scriptures verify this truth. Jesus Christ is called the 'Rock, ' petra (1 Cor. 10:4 - Eph. 2:20). Even Peter later wrote about Jesus as the Cornerstone, the foundational undergirding of the church that He said He would build (1 Pet. 2:4-6). Jesus Christ is called the Head of the church; no man can be the Head (Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18). Peter himself, shortly after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, said that the Stone which the builders had set at naught had become the Head of the corner (Acts 4:11). This scripture shows that Peter knew he was not the cornerstone or the head of the Church of God. 1 Corinthians 3:11 clearly states that all who are Christians must be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, Who alone is the Head of His Church. Through the direct words of Jesus Christ Himself, and through the words of His chosen apostles, we know that He has built His Church on Himself, not on Peter or any other man.
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