Matthew, Mark and Luke give
us the account of Jesus’ analogies of the old and new
cloth and the old and new
wineskins. I love it when the Lord provides us different accounts, three in
this case, of the same incident. It’s like three different people taking a
photograph from different angles. All are accurate, but with different
perspectives. So we get a broader understanding of the account. Since we
weren’t there, and they were, it provides us a better understanding of what took
place and what was said. So let’s read of this as witnessed by Matthew, Mark
and Luke.
“Then John’s disciples came
and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your
disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom
mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be
taken from them; then they will fast. “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. No,
they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matthew
9:14-17 NIV)
“Now John’s disciples and the
Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that
John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are
not?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is
with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will
come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will
fast. “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. No, they pour new wine into new
wineskins.” (Mark 2:18-22 NIV)
“They said to him, “John’s
disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours
go on eating and drinking.” Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the
bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the
bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.” 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. 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. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after
drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’” (Luke 5:33-39)
Obviously, attaching a new
piece of cloth to an old piece of cloth won’t work. The aging and wear and tear
of the old cloth will eventually tear away and disintegrate from the new cloth.
As for the wineskins, the
people of that day would use animal skins to keep wine because of the
elasticity of the animal skins. That was important because as the wine
fermented, it would expand, but would not burst through the animal skins due to
the elasticity.
So what does all this have to
do “with the price of beans,” as my wife sometimes says? To answer that, let’s
go back to the original question asked by John’s disciples and the Pharisees.
(By the way, these particular disciples of John were not the same who left John
and followed Jesus. These particular disciples stayed with John.)
The original question was, “How
is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but
yours are not?” Also notice from Luke that John’s disciples and the Pharisees
were also praying. So they were all fasting and praying while Jesus’ disciples
were doing neither. Then Jesus’ seemingly out of nowhere provides them these two
analogies of the old and new cloth and the old and new wine. It seems on the
surface that Jesus pulled these analogies out of thin air and they are totally
unrelated, but are they? Not by a long shot.
Jesus was telling them by
these analogies that it is time to rejoice because the Bridegroom is here. His
disciples did not fast or prayer, because there was nothing to be somber or sad
about. However, the time would come, at the cross, when the Bridegroom would be
taken away. Then, at that time, they could fast and pray.
John’s disciples and the
Pharisees were not recognizing who stood before them. They were still clinging
to the old, the old hope that the Messiah would come. But alas! He was standing
in their midst! Don’t fast! Don’t pray! Worship! He is here!
And there’s more. The time
had come that the Old Covenant of works was being replaced by the New Covenant
of grace. The old rituals and ceremonial fastings were quickly coming to an
end. A new day was developing in which God would deal with people differently.
The dispensation of the Church age was preparing to arrive on the scene, and it
would be introduced at the cross, and then fulfilled at Pentecost with the
arrival of the Holy Spirit.
In the meantime, the
Bridegroom had certainly arrived, but His departure would be soon after the
sacrifice of Himself for the sins of all mankind. The Savior had come, and
would soon be leaving, but would be sending His Spirit too indwell all those
who believed on Him, the Son of God.
So Jesus message to them was,
“It is now time to rejoice, not to fast. Put aside the old rituals and
ceremonials and rejoice with my disciples.” That is His message today also. Are
we rejoicing or still tied up with old rituals and ceremonies?
The apostle Paul said about
thirty years later, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or
drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a
Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the
things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”
(Colossians 2:16-17)
John’s disciples and the
Pharisees were still walking in the “shadow of the things that were to come;
the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Many today are doing no differently
than these disciples in question.
To me, it is like sitting
outside on a cloudy day as opposed to sitting outside on a sunny day, feeling
the warmth on your face. I for one would much rather enjoy a beautiful sunny
day. Have you ever noticed how a cloudy day and a sunny day affect your
personality? Our very being is always happier on a sunny day as opposed to a
cloudy day.
This tells me that those who
understand and live in the freedom that only Christ can give are the truly
happy folks. The others are curmudgeons.
Let us not mix the new life
of grace in Christ Jesus and His Holy Spirit with the works of old rituals and
meaningless ceremonies. Jesus lives, and it is time to rejoice, not fast.
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
