April 18th
Speaker: RJ Dugone Text: Mark 2:18-21 18 John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they *came and *said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “While the groom is with them, the attendants of the groom cannot fast, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast, on that day. 21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”
The Big Idea: Change is difficult. Traditions are hard habits to break. Putting new wine in an old wineskin puts the new wine at risk of being spilled, and it risks destroying the old wineskin as well. This is why change in the church, whether a change in style or tradition, needs to be carefully and prayerfully considered. If a change is warranted, it must also be undertaken with a good deal of prayer and consideration.
Matthew 9:14-17 Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” Luke 5:33-39. And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.” And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’ 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Theology and Apologetics: When we sing songs such as "New Wine." New Wine is talked about in the context of the "new" things that God is doing in a Believer's life. This is appropriate in the sense that God, through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, is always doing a continuing work in our lives. In terms of what Jesus was talking about in His answer to the Pharisees and John the Baptist's disciples, Jesus is probably referring to the new covenant of grace that is going to be ushered in by His atoning work on the cross. Tragically, the Pharisees rejected the new wine (new covenant) and in a sense, the new wine burst the old wineskin. Is it possible to correctly use the new wine metaphor when considering the "new" things that the Holy Spirit is doing in and through the church today? I think that the analogy can be used in a generic sense, but we need to understand the context that helps define Jesus' original point.
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