To: All
To all that be in Rome and in Cyberspace, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today the Word of God speaks to us from The Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Chapter 9:14-17. Parallel passages are found in Mark 2:18-22, Luke 5:33-39.
Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. (Mark 2:18)
Jesus answered, "Can you make the guests of the bridegroom mourn and fast while he is with them? They can not, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast." (Matt 9:15, Mark 2:19-20, Luke 5:34-35)
He told them this parable, "No one tears a patch of unshrunk cloth 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. The new patch will pull away from the old garment and make the tear worse. (Matt 9:16, Mark 2:21, Luke 5:36)
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.(Matt 9:17, Mark 2:22, Luke 5:37-38)
And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says 'the old is better'" (Luke 5:39)
The implications of this lesson were lost to me at first. For two days I dwelt upon it and wrestled with it and came up with no inspiration. The bridegroom bit I could understand, but I could not figure out the link between the cloth patch and wineskins to the previous paragraphs on fasting. "Seek and ye shall find," the good book promises.
I sought, and, praise God, with Matthew Henry's help, I found! Good old Matthew Henry. When I say old, I mean OLD! Matthew Henry was born in Wales on October 18, 1662. The son of a clergyman, he was tutored by the bible students who lived with them as boarders. He studied law then became a pastor. As a daily schedule he expounded the Old Testament texts at morning family devotion time, and New Testament texts at evening prayers. These probably formed the basis of his colossal works, his commentary on the whole bible. For two hundred and fifty years, Matthew Henry's commentary has been the most widely used one of all bible commentaries. And Matthew Henry provided me the answer to my questions.
The setting of today's teaching is at the banquet hosted by Matthew, recently invited by Jesus to be a follower. A big crowd of guests assemble, comprising Pharisees, Scribes, teachers of the law, disciples of John the Baptist, disciples of Jesus, other tax collectors and many other commoners (sinners).
Jesus expands with a second analogy, "And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.(Matt 9:17, Mark 2:22, Luke 5:37-38)."
The same theme is developed. The new believer should not be dropped into the standards and requirements of the mature believer. The new believer should be expected to fast gently, pray and meditate for a shorter time, express generosity, charity, mercy to a lesser degree, for they have only just shed their worldly ways, they have only just set down their early spiritual roots, and are only just budding forth spouts of branches. They are young and require tender nursing. Demanding the new believer to function as an old believer is a recipe for disaster. All will be destroyed. The new believer will beset gentle standards of spiritual practice.
And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says 'the old is better'" (Luke 5:39)
Let us pray.
From: Su Min
Subject: Wineskins
Some people (including John's disciples) came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples often fast and pray and so do the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting but yours go on eating and drinking?" (Matt 9:14, Mark 2:18, Luke 5:33)
Jesus then told them this parable, "No one tears a patch of unshrunk cloth 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. The new patch will pull away from the old garment and make the tear worse. (Matt 9:16, Mark 2:21, Luke 5:36). I am now led to understand that Jesus is explaining that His disciples were relatively young and new to the group, and did not have years of background in training in fasting and meditating. Taking an unshrunk unsanforised new believer and fixing him to a group of old seasoned experienced fasting meditating believers, expecting him to uphold the same standards, would have dire repercussions. Jesus is saying, do not expect a new believer to have the same capacity of spiritual awareness as the mature believer. Forcing the new to conform with the old will damage both.
Luke ends with an extension:
Jesus expresses compassion for the misunderstanding of the mature followers of John and the Pharisees. As it were he says, "Certainly, if you have experienced the mature ways you may value them and savour them. I can see your point of view. But new wine has not yet had time to develop its flavour. You must give allowance for that. You must let new believers ease gently into the full practice of the faith."
Abba, Father, thank you for our teaching today.
Father, we know that you do require us to fast in preparation for spiritual enlightenment. Indeed Jesus himself fasted before he faced his great temptations. We also know that you require mercy not sacrifice!
We understand that standards for new believers should be gentle.
Help us more mature Christians not lord over the younger ones and spiritual infants, but nurse them with love.
Help fuel our hunger for your Word, O God.
May we continually seek your word that it would nourish us, that we may serve you better.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
For any comments or enquiries please write to Dr. Lim Su Min
| Back to Antioch's Well |  |
Back to Antioch's Home Page |
