OLD AND NEW

“No one patches an old garment with unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment and makes the tear worse. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved” (Matthew 9:16–17).

I’m not an expert on wineskins, but in ages-past wine wasn’t kept in fancy bottles with corks. Grape juice was stored in goat-skin pouches. As the juice fermented, the skins stretched, and if done correctly, the wine would age well. After the wine was removed, the old wine skin couldn’t be used again. It had been stretched to its limits and became brittle. It was useless.

What was Jesus’ point? What was the meaning of this parable? Simple. This parable pictures the incompatibility of traditional Jewish teaching and Jesus’ teaching.

Consider the context. Jesus had just called Matthew, a tax collector, to become a disciple. In response to this gracious invitation, Matthew left his old life behind (Luke 5:28) and held a feast to introduce his old friends to his new Master.“When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ ”(Matthew 9:11). The religious elite were incredulous that Jesus would fraternize with such scum.

The religious establishment required obedience to a set of traditions and rules. Their righteousness was based upon human effort. Matthew’s life was radically transformed … not by his own merit, but by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus alone.

Jesus wasn’t out to patch up an old system, like sewing a new unshrunk cloth onto an old garment. He had come to establish a kingdom based upon His righteousness – not ours. To try to mix law and grace would be like using a piece of unshrunk cloth to patch an old garment.

If daddy ripped his britches, momma didn’t cover it with new cloth.

“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).