Last week I did a Communion from Luke 5:33-39 in which Jesus compared his disciples to new wineskins and the Jewish religious leaders to old wineskins. He was being kind. Jesus offers new wine, and the Pharisees rejected it not just for themselves, but they tried to block it for their generation by murdering Jesus.
The new wine Jesus offers represents the new covenant of grace that comes with the Holy Spirit. If new wine can only be poured into new wineskins, no wonder we must be born again!
We noted that aged wine is not meant to be stored forever, it is meant to be drunk at special occasions. Before the next special occasion, someone better have poured some new wine into a new wineskin to begin the process again otherwise there won’t be any for that next occasion!
Let’s dig a bit deeper into what Jesus was teaching on new wine and wineskins.
Luke 5:33-39
Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?” And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”
The point that Jesus made to the Pharisees was that it was not the right time for his disciples to be in mourning. When we first become Christians, it is a time of joy. We have a new life, and it is a time of growth and wonder. Even the sky looks bluer. It is quite common as we get older to expect a younger generation to appreciate and do things the way we did, because that’s what brought us success. When the next generation looks at us, they see what we did and look for a better way, didn’t we do the same? The Pharisees pored over the law, to try to get close to God. The disciples were spending time with Jesus, they didn’t need to read the Torah at that time, the Torah was living with and speaking to them directly. Emmanuel - God with us.
Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.
Jesus then breaks into a parable which was easy to understand. Many parables that Jesus spoke had meanings that were hidden to the ordinary person but in this case what he said about patching an old garment was straightforward. No one patches an old garment with a new piece of cloth. It’s a mismatch which would make the clothes designers face turn white not to mention, the fabric would soon fall apart.
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”
Jesus wants to preserve both old and new, nothing is wasted in God’s economy. But there will be differences in how the old and new are treated. Old wine is fermented and has an alcoholic content. The new wine mentioned in the Bible is usually grape juice and has no alcoholic content. Indeed, new wine is not yet ready for the special occasion.
The word “wine” is mentioned 231 times in the King James Bible. In the Old Testament there are three Hebrew words that are all translated as “wine.” They are:
- YAYIN: intoxicating, fermented wine
- Genesis 9:20-21 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent.
- TIROSH: fresh grape juice, rarely fermented, “new” wine
- Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.
- SHAKAR: Intoxicating, intensely alcoholic, strong drink (often referred to other intoxicants than wine)
- Numbers 28:7 And its drink offering shall be one-fourth of a hin for each lamb; in a holy place you shall pour out the drink to the Lord as an offering.
The New Testament, translated from Greek, uses the word OINOS (wine) for both fermented and unfermented drink.
In our passage from Luke today, OINOS means new or unfermented wine.
Luke 5:38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
But in the passage from Ephesians we looked at last week for Communion, OINOS refers to old or fermented wine.
Ephesians 5:18-21 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.
At the wedding at Cana Jesus provided between 120 and 180 gallons of wine based on John 2:6 which says;
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
That’s between 450 and 680 litres of wine! Was this wine fermented or was it grape juice? What do you think?
Someone did some research regarding the fermentation of grape juice in biblical times and found that naturally fermented wine (containing no additives such as sugar or yeast) had a much lower alcoholic content than our modern-day wines.
What about the wine served at the wedding at Cana? The wine Jesus made was of high quality but was also ‘new wine, freshly created! It was not old, fermented wine, that had had time for the fermentation process to break down the structure of its energy-giving sugars into disintegrative alcohols.
Ask a Frenchman, and I’m sure he would say the new wine Jesus made was the very best quality, and indeed contained alcohol, so I’ll leave that question to your judgement.
Some things get better with age. For instance, all things being equal, the older someone becomes, the wiser and more experienced the person should be in life and his or her field of work. It is often said that you cannot buy experience; you can only gain it.
By referring to the proverb “The old is better”, Jesus was saying that people believed that the old wine tasted better than the new and, thus, didn’t want to taste the new. In other words, people always like what they are familiar with. Those who are accustomed to the old way don’t eagerly accept the new. Jesus likened the attitude of the scribes and the Pharisees to this. But me also, I can be like that, unspontaneous, closed to change, looking on the past through rose-tinted glasses.
Ecclesiastes 7:10
Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.
Sometimes older Christian’s can be real stick in the muds when it comes to change. They are used to the old order and will not embrace the new. Christians in bygone eras made up rules about not going to movies, not dancing, clothes to not wear, the length of your hair and so on. Their brand of Christianity became a set of rules about what you couldn’t do. They do this because they are afraid of doctrinal error creeping into the Church.
But older Christian’s can also be slow to recognise a genuine move of God. This happened to the Jesus people that came out of the hippy movement of the 60’s who were looked down on for their long hair and it is happening today to new Christians like Russell Brand, who love the Lord but are still new Christians, far from perfect in their ways, language and doctrine. Weren’t we like that once also? The enemies of a new move of God can be the heroes of His last move.
That is not to say we older Christians should not defend against error creeping into the Church. We have to test the spirits, forgive the pun.
1 John 4:1-3
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
It just needs to be done with graciousness and love. That was not the case with the Pharisees who actually only wanted to hold on to their power.
In the context of this week's message from Luke 5:33-39, Jesus was alluding to new wine in a spiritual sense. The new wine here is a new move of God. In the spiritual context, those who preferred the old wine to the new wine were wrong. The scribes and the Pharisees preferred the old wine, which they were used to. The old wine represented the old religious order, while the new wine represented Jesus’ new teachings – the Gospel -and the New Covenant He brought, which the religious leaders rejected. They held on to the “established religious practices and traditions of Judaism”. Jesus came to inaugurate the New Covenant, but the religious leaders held on to the Old Covenant.
The book of Hebrews shows us the bridge from the old way to the new way. Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant.
Hebrews 9:15
And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
Those holding on to the religious practices and traditions of Judaism said the old wine was better. But the Gospel of Jesus is better than the law. The Old Covenant is inferior to the New Covenant. The former prepared the way for the latter. Judaism prepared the way for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The old religious order prepared the way for Jesus’ new way.
Hebrews 8:6
But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
The New Covenant is a better covenant established on better promises. Thus, in this case, the new wine is better than the old. The blood of Jesus is superior to that of animals. Jesus’ teachings are superior to the teachings of Judaism. Under Judaism, the high priest offered the blood of animals to atone for his sins and the people’s sins. But Jesus offered Himself; He gave His life; He shed His blood. New wine, new life! Receiving the new wine ushers you into a new life, which the law cannot give.
Romans 7:6
But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
The new wine is better than the old wine! What the Gospel of Jesus offers is better than what the law offered, just as the literal wine He miraculously provided at the wedding of Cana in Galilee was described as the good wine. It was better than the wine they had drunk before then. The new wine is better. Stop religion; receive Christ and practise His teachings. Quit the old wine; receive the new wine. Jesus has paid the price. The new wine is free.
Isaiah 55:1-2
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
Don’t mix the old wine and the new wine either. Faith in Jesus Christ must replace the old religious rituals. Avoid hybridised Christianity with strict rules for example on the Sabbath, which is not Christianity. Salvation is not by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. New wine must be put in a new wineskin, not in an old wineskin. The new wine is better.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are an old wineskin, don’t resist the new wine. Old wineskins become brittle but can be revived by soaking in oil. Spend time with the Lord, in His Word, in prayer asking for the Holy Spirit.
« What can be done for an old heart like mine, to soften it up with oil and wine. The oil is you, your Spirit of Love, please wash me anew in the wine of your blood »
If you are not born again, I have good news for you! You are a new wineskin that Jesus want to pour his new wine into right now! Open your heart to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps:
- Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins and old wineskin ways.
- Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.
- Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works.
- Invite Jesus into your heart.
O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me, and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. Pour your new wine into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
Make sure you are in a Bible-believing church like PCC and make time with Jesus a priority for each day. He will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
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