“Parable of the Wine Skin”
Luke 5:33-39
A sermon for 4/18/21
Pastor John Bright - Harmony & Swansonville UMC
Luke 5 “33 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?”
34 And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”
36 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. 37 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. 38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. 39 And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”
We spent time last week with an attack from the religious leaders. Jesus ended with a strong rebuke of them and let them know that their righteousness was not what he was seeking. Jesus was looking, then and now, for sinners to repent. These religious leaders tried to pivot on Jesus and use a modern-day tool of political debate – “whataboutism”.
Here is some information I found at Merriam Webster’s online dictionary:
Whataboutism gives a clue to its meaning in its name. It is not merely the changing of a subject ("What about the economy?") to deflect away from an earlier subject as a political strategy; it’s essentially a reversal of accusation, arguing that an opponent is guilty of an offense just as egregious or worse than what the original party was accused of doing, however unconnected the offenses may be.
The tactic behind whataboutism has been around for a long time. Rhetoricians generally consider it to be a form of tu quoque, ('tü-'kwo-kwe) which means "you too" in Latin and involves charging your accuser with whatever it is you've just been accused of rather than refuting the truth of the accusation made against you. Tu quoque is considered to be a logical fallacy, because whether or not the original accuser is likewise guilty of an offense has no bearing on the truth value of the original accusation.”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/whataboutism-origin-meaning
These religious leaders try to deflect and do a whataboutsim – “What about fasting? We see John’s disciples fasting (like we do – implied).” Jesus has been telling them that something new has come. He proclaimed, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” What follows is Jesus trying to tell them (and us) what to do when the new has come.
Right up front – let me ask you a question: “How do you handle change?” (Stop and think about it)
Jesus was telling us to fast
The Pharisees were really good at keeping the Law of Moses. They had added layer after layer to the law. There were very few times of fasting for the average Jewish person in that day and they were all connected to religious festivals. The Pharisees, though, fasted ever week – typically on Monday and Thursdays. Apparently, they made a big deal about it. These Pharisees see the same practice in the followers of John the Baptist and they like it. What about Jesus’ disciples?
34 And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”
In that day, the bridegroom’s family would throw a wedding party that lasted all day and night at a minimum. It could go on for days. It would be ridiculous to plan to fast on the day or days of the party for the bride and groom. Right? It would make sense to wait until the party is over… then fast. Jesus let them know that His followers would fast after He was gone.
In the Early Church, they fasted two days a week. In the 2nd century AD, there was a document used throughout the Christian Communities call the Didache, folks today call it the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. Listen to the instructions on fasting: "Be careful not to schedule your fasts at the times when the hypocrites fast. They fast on the second (Monday) and fifth (Thursday) day of the week, therefore make your fast on the fourth (Wednesday) day and the Preparation day (Friday, the day of preparation for the Sabbath-Saturday)" (Didache 8:1).
As soon as I talk about fasting, I lose some of you. We have all kinds of reasons and excuses for not fasting. My favorite excuse for me is – I don’t like it. That’s it. Other folks tell me they can’t for medical reasons. Some even defend not fasting because Jesus never said we HAVE TO. Fasting is just one of the spiritual practices used by Christians. It is something that every Believer should try and experience in the same way they try and experience all the spiritual practices passed down through the centuries.
Here is my usual advice – start with a fast from solid food for 24 hours. It’s hard enough going without solid food and you can drink juice or other liquids during the time you would normally eat meals or snacks. A 24 hour fast is missing 2 meals. If you eat breakfast one day and fast 24 hours, you would eat breakfast the next morning. Use the time you would normally spend fixing, eating and cleaning up in prayer. Fasting and repentance go hand-in-hand so ask God to reveal those things that you need to let go of during the 24 hours. By the way – I have never found anyone who is unable to fast from solid foods for 24 hours due to medical issues. If that is you, go to the doctor and tell her or him that you want to fast from solid food for spiritual reasons and ask for a liquid diet that would supply what you need during those two meals. Look at this way, we should only be fasting until Jesus comes back😊
Two short parables – cloth and wine
Jesus uses two short parables as an opportunity to teach the religious leaders, his disciples, and all who will read these words (like us). In both, He is comparing something old with something new.
He starts with the patch - “36…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.”
When we teach on this verse, the normal route is to focus on the way the patch will pull away from the garment. In the old days, folks would keep an old pair of jeans to save for patching tears or holes in well worn jeans. It might even match. Let’s imagine another scenario – what if I have a pair of jeans with a hole or a tear. In my jeans, the most likely place for that is where the back pockets meet the jeans at the top. Never figured out why. Back to my example – there is a hole or tear in my jeans. Would it make any sense to go out and buy a new pair of jeans, cut a piece of the jean material, and use that to patch my old pair? OF COURSE NOT! THE NEW IS THE NEW AND THE OLD IS THE OLD...PERIOD!
Yup – that would be silly. The old one would not look right with a new piece and the new one is ruined. I think Jesus is saying – you really can’t take the NEW that I am bringing into this World (the Kingdom of God) and lay it over your OLD religion. Not even a little of it.
Now we have kept practices from Judaism – like fasting and prayer – but most Old Testament practices never made it into the Early Church. What was continued by the Jewish converts to Christianity became a part of the new. In the first couple of decades in the Early Church, the religious practices of the Gentile converts to Christianity became an issue. In Acts 15 we have an account of the meeting in Jerusalem to settle the matter – “24 Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”—to whom we gave no such commandment— 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.”
Most of us would agree that idolatry and sexual immorality should have no place in the Christian life or in the Church. These are part of the Moral Law that remains in effect for us as God’s Own People in this day. These are part of the new garment that is our way of living holy lives in a strange new world, but having guidelines for holiness of heart and life are not enough. In the Kingdom of God – we NEED the Holy Spirit. He is the NEW WINE!
Here’s the rest of the parable: “37 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. 38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
When I first read that, I thought of the wine bota that I used – way back when – to take my favorite beverage into a concert. It was easy to hide and easy to drink from and this is NOT what Jesus is talking about in this parable. The wineskin of His day was whole goat skin – minus the legs and tail – that was prepared like leather. Grapes where crushed and while still in the vat, the fermentation process began. After that comes the goat skin with all the holes stitched up tight except for then neck and that’s where they pour in the juice that will become wine (11%) over the course of two to four months. The fermentation builds up pressure inside the wine skin and it stretches to the point of being ready to burst. At the end, the wine was put into containers to keep it until it was consumed. Once that leather wine skin is stretched out – it can never be used again because it won’t stretch anymore. (Copyright © 2010, 2020, Ralph F. Wilson)
Churches and people are the same way! How many local churches are fine with a new pastor while he or she is getting to know everyone and learning how you do your thing? But watch out when you hear these words on Sunday morning, “I feel like God has given me a vision for how we can move the church forward” or this, “I want to propose a whole new way of doing ministry in our community… and I need your help.” That’s usually when the criticism and complaining starts. Nowadays, they teach pastors to be – the casters of vision because: Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” They teach clergy today how to manage change.
Guess they forgot the last verse from this morning’s reading: “39 And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”
We prefer to stick with what we know, what we have always done - “Because it worked 30 years ago.” That’s the way it is in business and education and politics and the local church. Why? Probably because that’s how folks like it. Which also makes it hard for me to teach and preach change to individual Christians sitting in pews or watching on screens. The Bible describes a complete change in the Believer: 2 Cor. 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” and the ongoing change in the Believer: 2 Cor. 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
That sound like BIG change – “all things have become new” and “from glory to glory.” So why are we trying to talk you folks into small, incremental change – moving ever so slowly – never enough to “upset the apple cart.” Gone are the days when we, the preachers, told folks like Paul wrote to the church in Galatia 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Have you been crucified with Christ? Have you been raised with Christ? Your sins gone and forgotten? Where is the new wine of the Holy Spirit in the new wineskin that is the resurrected you? We are not taking about patching a little hole here and there – it’s all new – you and the life you have in Christ Jesus! Amen.
