“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins” (Mark 2:22 ESV).
The Pharisees questioned Jesus as to why he and his disciples did not fast as they did. He answered with a double parable that illustrated the futility of trying to bind something new to something old. However, his answer had greater relevance than fasting. For the old garment and the old wineskin represented Judaism. And the new cloth patch and the new wine represented the newness of Christ’s presence and gospel, which would of necessity call for a new entity, namely, the Church.
No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment and no one puts new wine in an old wineskin. So why would anyone want to live under the old covenant law, when Christ has set us free to live under the new covenant of grace?
As John wrote in his gospel, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
PRAYER: Dear Father, we give thanks for Jesus who has given us new life through faith in Him. We also give thanks for the Church, which is the Bride of Christ. For we are the Church and we wait expectantly for Christ’s soon return to take us with Him to our heavenly home that He has prepared for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.