New Wine, New Wineskins! Mark 2:18-22
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
18 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?”
19 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. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
21 “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. 22 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.”
Reflection:
In today's passage Jesus gives us a new way to look at spiritual disciplines like reading the bible, praying, silence and solitude, and fasting to name a few. But the Pharisees and John's disciples had missed the purpose of these disciplines which is to be with Jesus. Jesus said, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?"
The purpose of the discipline is to connect us with Jesus and His grace, that we might be able to do the things he does. They move us out of reliance on ourselves to reliance on and in Him.
Then, Jesus uses another analogy. He says, "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment." Meaning we don't put the old with the new, and no one puts new wine in an old wineskins. No they put new wine into new wineskins. The Pharisees were stuck in the old garment of trying to become right with God by observing the Law. The were burdened by the old wineskins, which couldn't hold Jesus.
So how are we like the Pharisees? How do our spiritual disciplines become old and life less, like old clothing and old wineskins. And how can we know? One clear sign is that they have become a burden. If you are like, "Oh I guess I have to pray again. I might as well, after all this is what Christians do!" If this becomes our attitude I think we are missing the point. What was meant to be a grace filled habit that brings us new life and a stronger relationship with Jesus, has become a new burdensome law. If this describes you, maybe you need a break? Maybe you need to try something new. I know I need to be reminded that in these disciplines we meet Jesus and He is the One who changes us.
Another helpful practice might as you pray think of it as you are actually talking to a person. How would you talk to your best friend? What would you share? Now obviously God is in a different category than best friend, but I am saying this to make a point. Many people pray as if no one is really listening, or worse yet no one really cares. They just pray out of duty, or it is the right thing to do. But yet God our Father loves us and wants to meet with us daily. My prayer for me and you is that going to God will be like your daily bread. Just like we would probably not think of missing a meal, my hope is that we would become hungry for God's Word, and hunger for it.
As we seek the living Lord, let us be careful not to pour the new wine into the old wineskins, for if we do we will miss out on the relationship with the One who came to make all things new, including me and you. Amen.
18 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?”
19 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. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
21 “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. 22 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.”
Reflection:
In today's passage Jesus gives us a new way to look at spiritual disciplines like reading the bible, praying, silence and solitude, and fasting to name a few. But the Pharisees and John's disciples had missed the purpose of these disciplines which is to be with Jesus. Jesus said, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?"
The purpose of the discipline is to connect us with Jesus and His grace, that we might be able to do the things he does. They move us out of reliance on ourselves to reliance on and in Him.
Then, Jesus uses another analogy. He says, "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment." Meaning we don't put the old with the new, and no one puts new wine in an old wineskins. No they put new wine into new wineskins. The Pharisees were stuck in the old garment of trying to become right with God by observing the Law. The were burdened by the old wineskins, which couldn't hold Jesus.
So how are we like the Pharisees? How do our spiritual disciplines become old and life less, like old clothing and old wineskins. And how can we know? One clear sign is that they have become a burden. If you are like, "Oh I guess I have to pray again. I might as well, after all this is what Christians do!" If this becomes our attitude I think we are missing the point. What was meant to be a grace filled habit that brings us new life and a stronger relationship with Jesus, has become a new burdensome law. If this describes you, maybe you need a break? Maybe you need to try something new. I know I need to be reminded that in these disciplines we meet Jesus and He is the One who changes us.
Another helpful practice might as you pray think of it as you are actually talking to a person. How would you talk to your best friend? What would you share? Now obviously God is in a different category than best friend, but I am saying this to make a point. Many people pray as if no one is really listening, or worse yet no one really cares. They just pray out of duty, or it is the right thing to do. But yet God our Father loves us and wants to meet with us daily. My prayer for me and you is that going to God will be like your daily bread. Just like we would probably not think of missing a meal, my hope is that we would become hungry for God's Word, and hunger for it.
As we seek the living Lord, let us be careful not to pour the new wine into the old wineskins, for if we do we will miss out on the relationship with the One who came to make all things new, including me and you. Amen.
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