To Fast Or Feast Series

There will be a time for fasting when the Bridegroom has gone because the very King of Heaven comes to die for those who hunger only for Him. Oh, the agony, of what appears to be defeat when Jesus, the King, would be crucified. But that time would be short-lived, because He would rise again. Then He would rise once more and return to His Heavenly Throne at His Ascension, and the disciples would again WAIT for His Spirit at Pentecost, and again His promise was fulfilled.

We should “fast” now, in anticipation of His return: We “fast” from the world and fervently pray for His Will to be done in us and work to bring the news of His Kingdom. Our “fast” is different than the Old Testament fast because we feast on Him now, and wait for His return, when we will be FULL-FILLED in Him.

A Patch of New on Top of the Old?

Matthew 9:16 gives the second example: "No one sews a patch of unshrunk (or new) cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.” Luke 5:36 reads: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.” You can’t cover the old with a patch of new: that won’t repair the old properly and it will detract and devalue the new. Jesus is saying that Judaism, the teachings of the Pharisees, any mere religion cannot cover the old. You can’t add a little bit of Jesus to whatever you had before.

The spiritual fact is that Your need is greater than simply a patch to cover a hole. Your covering is old and in need of the new. It needs more than repair; it needs replacement, and that is why I am here. Jesus says: “I have come to replace the old, not repair it. Repairing it won’t do. It didn’t work in the past, and it certainly won’t work in the future. Your old garment will not hold up nor cover your sin, and besides, the new is provided entirely in me (Christ). Take the robe or garment of My righteousness as your covering, because it will never wear out! My work of mercy and grace will cover you completely and entirely. Replace your old worn-out religion with the garments of MY RIGHTEOUSNESS.

New Wine and Old Wineskins

The final example is from Matthew 9:17: “Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." You can’t pour new wine into old wineskins.

Typically a goat's skin was used; it was all sown up so you would have this big sack. As the wine fermented, the sack would expand. Then they would have to pour it into another skin. They actually poured it into several others until all the fermentation was completed and the wine was pure. But you couldn’t pour new wine into an old brittle wineskin or when the wine initially expanded, it would burst the sack and you would have lost the wine and ruined the older sack.