Luke 5: 33 One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?” 34 Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. 35 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” 36 Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of 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. 37 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. 38 New wine must be stored in new wineskins. 39 But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”
It is amazing how people who are a distance from the Lord can say the craziest things and Jesus always used these "stupid" comments to drive home a point. In the above verses the scripture says "some people" meaning people with no special designation said this to Jesus. “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?” They didn't even realize they were asking questions of the Son of God, but when he answered them they had a pretty good idea of a much deeper answer to their question than they planned on. Jesus answered their "why" question with a question as he said 34 Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. Then He answered His own question with a deeper point where He said 34 Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not.
Jesus didn't stop there with His answer but continued to show them through an illustration that there was a new sheriff in town and His Name was King Jesus. Things couldn't be any more "new" than when the Son of God who made the universe comes to town with a whole new set of rules and truth. The old material and the old wine was being totally "replaced" with a new level of "new." Truth and hope are not mixed with old traditions or teachings. All things are NEW!! Paul wrote this to the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
The new life we experience in Jesus is an "ultimate new" and a radical life transformation not to be mixed with the old way of living. Jesus gives us a new life or purpose and our old way of thinking will not respond well to this new set of teachings and lifestyle because we are no longer in charge. The Holy Spirit is now in control and we are to follow a whole new way of living that doesn't mix with the old way. Jesus said that all of this "newness" was coming in Matthew 5:17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.
It was no surprise when Paul had to deal constantly with those Jewish Christians who wanted to mix the old with the new "just in case!" We don't live a "just in case" life when we follow Jesus. We shuck the old and bring on the new and a definite separation must happen for this process to be all God intended by sending Jesus. No longer will a little of this and a little of that work anymore because the old ways don't match the new ways of Jesus. We cannot be "Baptist Christians" or "Church of Christ Christians", but must be immersed in the teaching of God's Word and not filter it through anything that can compromise its truth. The new wine teachings of Jesus will work anymore in the old wineskins of old traditions. ALL THINGS ARE NEW!
It all comes down to this....CAN YOU HANDLE THE NEW WINE? If so, you will experience Jesus at a real level of relationship that eclipses any religious teaching you may hear. The Words of Jesus and this new wine is found throughout the Bible and especially in the teachings of the new winemaker. This new wine is the best wine as the physical wine was when He turned the water into wine in His first miracle. Jesus not only turned that water into wine, but he made it the "best" wine and He does the same with those who are born again. When Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit He gave us the "best" helper, the best comforter, the most powerful change agent, and now we live in this newness that has been given to us. Why would we put this fresh wine into old worn-out teachings? They won't mix.
You can always tell someone who is not living by the new life Jesus has given when they are satisfied with the old ways. Jesus said it this way in verse 39 of the above verses. Luke 5: 39 But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.” Are you living by the old way of living that is built around religion and not relationships? Time to get some new wine and live in the power of His Spirit and His Word and experience the new life that only Jesus can give us. When you live in the purity of His Word and allow His "new" way of looking life at life you will see life in a whole new way. A Jesus kind of way. Or.....you can continue to live your life in a worn-out religious kind of life that has no impact on you or your world. Just don't try to mix the two. Choose!! Because it is A Mixer That Never Works.
The Pilgrimage Continues,
David Warren