Parable Of The Patch And Wine Skins Bursting
New wine into new wineskins 'No-one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 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.' (Mar 2:212) A parable is a short story or statement based on events in everyday life that teaches a spiritual lesson, and the two events Jesus based this parable on would have been familiar to his listeners:. Sewing a patch of unshrunk cloth onto an old garment. Putting new wine into old wineskins. Jesus spoke those words two thousand years ago and was referring specifically to the religious system of his day.
But God has incorporated them into his eternal Word, which means they are relevant to every Christian in every age (2Ti 3:167). So what message do they hold for us now? Tradition Judaism, by the time of Christ, had become a rigid and inflexible system that was incapable of holding the new wine (manifestation) of his Spirit that God was about to pour out at Pentecost. But what had made Judaism so rigid and inflexible? The main reason was that it had become a religion that was based largely on tradition. Jesus told the Pharisees and the teachers of the law that they had let go of the commands of God and were holding on to the traditions of men (Mar 7:58).
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. 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.
And, unfortunately, that was not going to change because the leaders didn't want it to change. Jesus spoke a profound truth when he said: 'And no-one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is better.' ' (Luk 5:39) Many people, even Christians, prefer things to remain as they are; they feel comfortable and secure with what they know and have got used to. Change often involves stepping out into the unknown, and not everyone is willing to take that step. But God doesn't stand still even if we do, and his church must be flexible and open to the leading of his Spirit if it's to fulfil its purpose on earth. Flexibility In Jesus' day, the treated hides of small animals (usually goats) were used extensively for storing and transporting liquids, especially wine.
Parable of the Cloth and Wineskins. Comment: Jesus' third illustration derives from wine bottling. In those times, 'bottles' were made of animal skins—sheep, goat, or ox—and, after being properly prepared, filled with wine or water. These skins came in various sizes—an ox-skin held as much as 60 gallons. Cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment. “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins.
However, wineskins eventually lose their elasticity and become brittle. Such skins are suitable for storing old wine, which is no longer fermenting, but not for storing new wine. New wine was wine from the most recent harvest, whereas old wine was wine from the previous year which, through age, had matured and was considered by many to taste better.
When new wine was placed into a wineskin it continued to ferment, so it was essential to put it into a new, flexible, skin that would expand as the carbon dioxide gas (a by-product of fermentation) was given off. If new wine was placed into an old wineskin, the gas would burst the skin and both the skin and the wine would be lost. Similarly, everyone knew what would happen if an unshrunk patch was sewn onto an old garment. When it was washed, the new patch would shrink and pull away from the garment leaving a bigger tear than before.
Jesus used these illustrations to show that the outpouring of his Spirit, which was about to take place at Pentecost, would have to be put into a structure that would be flexible enough to contain it, ie the New Testament church, rather than the old, inflexible, wineskin of Judaism. Change What lessons can we learn from this? There are two:. We need to ask ourselves whether we are in a church that is supple, flexible and willing to change, if God wants it to change. We need to ask ourselves whether we, personally, are flexible enough to allow the Holy Spirit to move in our lives and to change us. The parable of the wine and the wineskins is about putting new wine into a suitable vessel or container, and there are two vessels, or containers, the Holy Spirit dwells in today:. The church.
The believer. The church Don't you know that you yourselves the church at Corinth are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? (1Co 3:16) Every Christian church is a temple of the Holy Spirit and it's the responsibility of its leaders to provide a suitable framework for God's Spirit to move freely within that church. It's also the duty of Christians to find a church where that framework exists. The believer Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honour God with your body. (1Co 6:1920) Every Christian, also, is a temple, or vessel, of the Holy Spirit. How flexible or malleable are we in the hands of our Lord? Do we resist the moving of his Spirit within us? Is Jesus totally Lord of our lives or have we retained control of certain areas, such as our finances for example? As the old saying goes: If he is not Lord of all, then he is not Lord at all.
Patching up the old Luke records some other words of Jesus on this subject: 'No-one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.' (Luk 5:36) No one would dream of taking a new coat, cutting a piece out of it and sewing it onto an old coat, would they? Or would they? There is only one person who would do that: someone who cherished the old coat so much they would be prepared to ruin the new one in an attempt to save the oldand that, unfortunately, is what is happening in some churches today. Think about it. If you loved an old garment so muchif it was your pride and your joyyou would take the best part of the new garment to patch up the old one.
Similarly, some churches are taking what they like best from the current move of the Spirit and incorporating it into their fellowships. Some have accepted new worship songs and are using modern instruments to accompany their worship. Others are allowing clapping and exuberance in their meetings, but they won't allow prophecies, messages in tongues or other manifestations of the Spirit. However, we cannot be selective with Godwe can't take from him what we want and leave the things we don't want. Rules for meetings Paul gave instructions for church meetings in 1Co 14:2633: What then shall we say, brothers?
When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
If anyone speaks in a tongue, twoor at the most threeshould speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.
For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. Spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit to strengthen the church (1Co 12:1,411) and should be desired and welcomed by every believer and fellowship (1Co 14:1). Jesus said that he would build his church (Mat 16:18) and we can be sure he will build it according to his own will and purpose. He will not allow our likes, preferences or traditions to stop his work.
Remain flexible Judaism began as a religion based on God's commands and desires, but by the time of Christ it had degenerated into a religion based on man's desires and traditions. Similarly, any New Testament church can begin as a new wineskin, supple and flexible in the Lord's hand but, with time, can become rigid and set in its ways.
People often wonder why new churches are being formed while existing churches are falling into decline. Could this be because the churches our Lord moved so freely through in the past, have now become rigid and incapable of holding the new wine (current move) of his Spirit?
Church history has shown that every new move of God has resulted in new churches being created because the existing churches were unwilling to embrace what God wanted to do. Many churches are founded on a vision from God and subsequent leaders are often zealous in adhering to that vision. But God moves on and his will can change: what he wanted to achieve through a church yesterday may not be what he wants to achieve through it today. We must remain flexible and open to the moving of God's Spirit, both in our own lives, and in the life of the church.
Michael Graham August 2002 Revised July 2017 Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Question: 'What is the meaning of the parables of fasting at the wedding feast, the old cloth, and the wineskins?' Answer: These parables, found in Mark 2:18-22, begin with a statement that the Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist were fasting. The twice-weekly fast was a tradition adopted by the legalistic Pharisees at the time, even though the Mosaic Law prescribed only one fast on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29, 31). Some people came to Jesus and asked Him why His disciples did not fast like the Pharisees and those of John’s disciples who had remained loyal to the Pharisaic traditions. Jesus’ response is given in three short parables.
Parable Of The Patch And Wineskins Bursting Hands
The first one is a parable of a bridegroom with his groomsmen at a wedding feast. Jesus’ point is that fasting during the wedding feast is pointless. In this story Jesus is the Bridegroom, and while He is present in this world, it is a time of celebration because He is the fulfillment of their Messianic prophecies. Jesus Himself said that He came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17). To continue fasting with Jesus present is akin to fasting and being mournful during a wedding celebration in which the groom is present. The other two parables, which are similar, make the same point. The first one says you don’t put a new patch on an old garment, and the second says you don’t put new wine into an old wineskin.
In the first parable, if you put a new patch on an old garment, when the new patch shrinks due to washing, it will tear away from the older garment, making the tear worse. Similarly, new wine needs a new wineskin because as the new wine expands during the fermentation process, it stretches the wineskin.
An old wineskin will burst under the pressure of new wine. These two parables illustrate the fact that you can’t mix old religious rituals with new faith in Jesus. Jesus’ disciples were not fasting along with the Pharisees and John’s disciples because they were now under the new covenant of grace and faith in Christ. As mentioned earlier, Jesus fulfilled the law; therefore, there is no longer any need to continue with the old rituals.
Jesus cannot be added to a works-based religion. In the case of the Pharisees, they were consumed with their own self-righteousness, and faith in Jesus cannot be combined with self-righteous rituals. Recommended Resource: Related Topics: Return to: Return to: What is the meaning of the parables of fasting at the wedding feast, the old cloth, and the wineskins?