THE PARABLES OF THE NEW CLOTH AND NEW WINESKINS

Passage: Matthew 9:16-17; Mark 2:21-22; Luke 5:36-38

Imagine being accustomed to doing things a certain way, viewed as the most religious, held with high regard only for a Savior everyone had been waiting for to come and distort everything? The ultimate expectation was that this savior would conform to what already was. The Pharisees expected that Jesus would pat them on their backs for what they were already doing and continue in the existing pattern, building upon their traditions yet Jesus didn’t fit into their mold. Even though there was a clear distinction in the culture of the Pharisees and Jesus, we learn that Jesus came to fulfill the law but not in the way they had envisioned(Matthew 5:17-20)

Jesus’ presence changed everything; then and now. He made sure we are not crushed by unnecessary loads of religion. I can only imagine how Jesus was puzzled by the inquiry of fasting while He was around. “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.” (Matthew 9:15) The bizarre nature of the traditions blinded them from receiving and seeing Jesus’ ultimate work on earth and the fresh revelation that awaited. Ecclesiastes 3:1 clearly states “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.” and in this time of joy, there was no need to fast just as there is no mourning at a time of feasting. Even though the conversation between disciples of John had been lengthy, Jesus explicitly pointed out the stark contrast between that which had been and which was to be. 

Pharisees fasted often (Luke 18:12) yet their motives were misplaced; doing it to be seen and to appear religious, contrary to what is required as stated in Isaiah 58:6-9 and Matthew 6:16-18. The Pharisee’s ritual of fasting was an old garment for which a new cloth was required. 

New/Unshrunk Cloth 

There is a certain skill that is distinct among tailors when it comes to fabrics and garments and the creation of clothes, yet even as one without trained experience, I know that a new/unshrunk cloth should not in any way be fitted on an old one. Even with the vintage trends and old-fashioned styles that are resuming in the fashion industry, there is an unspoken rule about the basics of fabric combination.

While the cloth may be representative of a lot many seem to allude to the fact that the cloth represents the outward conduct of a person; the moral performance of an individual. The old garment represents the state as it was, the common/sinful life while the new garment is what Jesus represents. In outlining in this manner, Jesus made it clear that He wasn’t in the business of patching up but rather, He was intent on replacing.

Wine and  Wineskins

2022 is an election year in Kenya and there are systems that were set up by the existing government that may not be in sync with the incoming government. This will necessitate restructuring the systems to accommodate the new policies. In the same manner, Jesus highlights that the present institutions couldn’t contain His new wine. New wine refers to the truth of God that Jesus brought while the old wineskins were the existing systems. The wineskins that held wine were originally from the skin of goats and horses. A wineskin ideally expands under the pressure of fermentation and as a result, the old would burst when the new wine is poured since the old ones wouldn’t stretch any further. 

We can get caught up in the temptation to modify that which is old and make it have the appearance of the Spiritual. We cannot force the newness of Christ’s truth upon an already existing system because attaching the new to the old distorts the truth. Syncretism; the mixing of beliefs is what we are cautioned against. More specifically religious syncretism which is the fusion of diverse religions and beliefs.

• As vessels, do we have the willingness to change?
• Can the newness of us as vessels be affirmed in Christ?
• Are we reformed and yielding such that we can contain God’s work?
• Are there previous traditions we have clung to?
• Is it advancing /resisting the work of God?
• Are we comfortable with the old such that we assume it is better?
• Are we still reaching for the old after tasting the new?

Today we are called to replace the old with the new. It is incompatible and cannot agree. As human beings, we are prone to remain stuck on what is familiar but because of the New Covenant, we are invited to refocus our attention on the newness Jesus Christ brought to us. 

 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (ESV)

Ephesians 4:21-22 "If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,  and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (NKJV)

There is a great resistance within us as human beings where change is involved. In the case of wine -at surface level- where the old is better than the new, this principle doesn’t apply in the newness Jesus is teaching about. Familiarity, comfort, and the fear of certainty should not hinder us from the possibilities that we find in the message of God’s truth just as is told of the people in Luke 5:39 “But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine, “The old is just fine” they say. The new wine represents the new wine of Christ’s sacrifice, the covenant, and the outpouring of the Spirit which is present, a promise we never have to question.

May God help us to awaken to the realization that the new wine offers. May we be clothed with a new garment as we are transformed internally. May we, as vessels yield to the transforming power of God so we can accommodate His truth and not resist it. May we recheck our commitment to true doctrine and discard the fallacies of religiosity. May God make us His vessels and bring new wine out of us.

Song of the day: New Wine by Hillsong.