New Wine for New Wineskins
Matthew 9:14-17
October 30, 2005
Introduction
If there’s one thing that is inescapable when examining the life of Jesus, it’s that he was constantly challenging the status quo of the religious mindset of his day. He was pretty much fed up with it.
He regularly had to correct people’s misconceptions of God, the Messiah, the Scriptures, and even just plain living.
In our passage today, we see Jesus tackling another misconception - that religious tradition is the proper measure for one’s spirituality.
To many people in Jesus’ day, and our own, holding to the traditions of those who have gone before us was of the utmost importance - because in their eyes, tradition equaled spirituality.
To see how Jesus dealt with that, let’s turn in our Bibles to Matthew 9:14-17. If you’re using the Bibles in the seats, this is on page 687.
Then the followers of John the Baptist came to Jesus, asking, "Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast at all?"
15 Jesus answered, "Do you expect the guests at a wedding party to be sad as long as the bridegroom is with them? Of course not! But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
16 "No one patches up an old coat with a piece of new cloth, for the new patch will shrink and make an even bigger hole in the coat. 17 Nor does anyone pour new wine into used wineskins, for the skins will burst, the wine will pour out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins, and both will keep in good condition."
In the beginning of the passage, Jesus explains that the reason his disciples aren’t fasting is because he’s there! Jesus is the bridegroom, the Messiah, and while he’s there, there is no need for fasting.
Then Jesus uses a couple of metaphors to describe how tradition can become and had become a hindrance to the new thing God was doing through His Son, Jesus, and the kingdom he was bringing to his people.
Both are references to common pieces of everyday life in Israel at the time, and would not be lost on the people he was addressing.
But just what does this mean for us today? How can we take this piece of Scripture and make it live for us 2000 years after Jesus said it?
Well, let’s take a look at some ideas that I think we can take away from it, and we’ll ask God to do his thing as we examine these words of Jesus.
The first thing we need to look at is the fact that...
The "old wine" and "old cloth" represent the old system of acceptance by God.
The legalism of the Pharisees and others could not hold the grace that was a cornerstone of Jesus’ teaching.
John 1:17 -
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
The old wineskins and old cloth were made up of the legalistic religious system that required complete obedience to God for acceptance by him and a home in heaven.
The only problem is that no one was capable of complete obedience. That was why God instituted the sacrificial system.
And even that wasn’t so much "buying off" God with the blood of animals. Rather, it was a looking forward to the Messiah, who would one day shed his own blood so that sins would forgiven. The sacrifices were an act of faith in the coming Messiah.
I like what the Life Application Concise New Testament Commentary says about this passage:
"Like old wineskins, the Pharisees and indeed the entire religious system of Judaism had become too rigid to accept Jesus. They could not contain him or his message in their traditions or rules. Their understanding of faithfulness to the law had become unsuitable for the fresh, dynamic power of Christ’s message."
Unfortunately, this is an attitude that permeates a lot of churches nowadays, and I want to examine some examples of how that’s shown.
But first, a disclaimer: my comments here are not to be an indictment against this church. I thank God that he is helping us avoid some of this thinking, and that he is helping us be people who reflect the grace of Jesus rather than the legalism of the Pharisees.
Current examples of "Old Wine/Old Cloth" thinking:
* "We’ve never done it that way before."
Those have been called, "the seven last words of a dying church."
There is a very similar saying as well, "We’ve always done it that way before." Same basic message: we don’t want to change for the sake of being more effective for Christ.
This was similar to the Pharisees, who were more concerned with keeping the status quo of conforming to their standards than with helping people find God.
For these guys, the 10 Commandments weren’t good enough. They added literally hundreds of laws to keep people in line with how they thought things should be done.
And Jesus got after them for that. He says in Mark 9 -
"You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
Jesus also addressed the fact that adhering to tradition for the sake of tradition was actually a barrier for some coming to God. And the sad thing is, many churches are in that very situation today.
Before we go on, let me say that I think traditions are good, as long as they aid in reaching people for Christ and living for him.
Here’s a second example of "old wine/old cloth" thinking.
* "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it."
And you know what, if I were to pick either of these two ideas that attracts me, I’d be most tempted to go for this one.
After all, if something isn’t causing a problem, or if it’s being at least a little effective, then what’s the big deal?
Well, there are a couple things that can be dangerous if we live by this example of "old wine/old cloth" thinking:
* Blindness to the possibility of it not working.
The truth of the matter is that it might not be working at all. But we don’t recognize that because we don’t necessarily see any negative fallout from it.
Or we see ourselves attracting new people, but they’re just like us - they fit in our wineskin very nicely, not causing any ripples, and even helping us make sure non of the "new" wine invades the skin.
And when this happens, we think everything’s working just fine.
Another danger of living in this mindset is the...
* Refusal to recognize that something else might work better.
We think we’ve got the corner on just how things oughtta be done, especially in how we do church and such.
And then we look down the road and see another church just going gangbusters - growing in attendance, leading people to Christ, and gaining a positive reputation with the community, we think, "They must be compromising the message, or just preaching all that ’feel good’ stuff without any mention of sin and its consequences. That’s the only reason a church grows like that."
Well, that could very well be the reason some churches grow, and I’m sure that is happening in places.
But a church doesn’t have to "sell out," as some see it, in order to have dynamic growth, both spiritually and numerically.
For some churches, just getting to the point of recognizing that if you keep doing the same things over and over again you’ll get the same results will help immensely.
"Well, at least we’re being faithful." Faithful to what? Your notion that being small equals being loyal to Jesus? Well, I’ve got some news for you: being faithful to Jesus means being faithful to Christ’s instruction to bring people to him and make disciples.
And he meant disciples of HIM, not disciples of your denomination or pattern of "doing church."
I want this church to grow - I want us to have bigger numbers. Why? Because every number is a person - a person who needs Jesus, and needs what the family of God can bring to a person’s spiritual health.
Now, there are lots of small churches who are doing all they can, and they don’t see much fruit. I’m not talking about them. God bless such churches. I’m confident that God will honor and reward them for their efforts to be faithful to the commands of Jesus.
But if we were to adopt that mindset, especially in a city of 25,000 people, then I would be so bold as to say that we would be in sin. The church of Jesus Christ has the responsibility of bringing as many people to Christ as possible.
And if it means adopting new methods to help us communicate Biblical truths, then we need to do it. Why? Because the society of today is not the society of 50, 40, or even 10 years ago.
You know, at my other job, they play the radio, and the other day they had it on an "oldies" station.
Now you know you’re getting old when Van Halen is playing on the "oldies" station! Talk about feeling old...
I’ll know Jesus is coming soon when they start playing Britney Spears on that channel!
Folks, breaking out of these patterns of thinking is hard to do, and only the brave are willing to even consider it.
But not being willing to consider this is telling Jesus, "No thanks - we’re happy with our old wine and brittle wineskins, thank you very much." And that, ladies and gentlemen, is not the attitude of Jesus.
Principles for avoiding the trap of living in the old wineskin:
1. Separate the message from the method.
What I mean is that we need to avoid labeling other people and other churches based solely on how they "do" things, as long as they are not in violation of clear Scriptural principle.
You’ll find Wesleyan churches that are super-liturgical, singing only hymns, using lots of responsive-type readings, big organs, and all that sorts of stuff like that. And that’s okay.
You’ll find Wesleyan churches that are super-contemporary. They use contemporary worship choruses, and if they use hymns at all, they’re modernized versions, updating the language so the unchurched will understand the lyrics better. They wouldn’t think of having an organ in their church, and maybe have a smaller emphasis on the preaching, and a greater emphasis on the congregational singing as a way to enhance corporate worship. And that’s okay.
But one thing you will find in common between this church and every other Wesleyan church, and every other evangelical church, is that no matter how we format the service, the basic, essential message is still the same.
We believe the Bible is the Word of God, and that it is the final authority for everything it addresses. We believe that outside of a personal faith Jesus, there is no hope for anybody to get to heaven.
You could line up every Wesleyan pastor in the world, and every evangelical pastor in this area, and we would all give the same answers to how we view the essentials of the faith.
But the way we approach reaching the lost around us is going to differ from church to church, and the way we structure our worship service is going to differ, as well.
My guess is that church in Brazil has a different flavor than church in the United States, right Marcelli? (Marcelli is a foreign exchange student)
The issue is the message. I don’t care how you do church, but if you’re preaching a gospel different than the one in the Bible, it is wrong.
In the same way, I may not be comfortable in someone else’s church because of their worship style, but as long as they’re faithful to the Bible, then I say, "Go for it."
But to reliably measure another church and their way of doing things, you have to be able to separate the message from the method.
A second way to avoid living in the trap of old wineskins is to...
2. Examine the basis for your positions.
Is your position Scriptural, is it based on culture or tradition, or is it based on something else like personal preference?
We need to avoid the legalistic clinging to tradition for the sake of tradition. And we also need to avoid the legalistic clinging to "freedoms" simply for the sake of rejecting tradition.
Notice I used the word "legalistic" in both cases. Why? Because both camps find their identities so entwined with these, that they can see absolutely nothing beyond their positions. And that’s flat-out wrong, folks.
If you’re a slave to tradition, you’re no better than the Pharisees in Jesus’ day.
And if you are a slave to "freedoms," then you are no better than those addressed by Paul in 1 Corinthians who had no sense of order in their worship or ministry.
And both of these positions, that of the Pharisees and that of the "anything goes" crowd had something in common: they were both wrong.
Being a slave to any of these positions prevents us from being effective for the kingdom. I use the word "slave" intentionally here - it controls you and sets the course for how you live. And Jesus says that we can’t have two Masters. He was speaking specifically about money, but it applies to this as well.
Now, before we go any further, let me just state again that I like tradition - as long as it honors God and serves to advance the kingdom. I’m against tradition that stands in the way of that.
And I want to encourage Christians to live their lives in the freedoms that Scripture allows, as long as those freedoms don’t become stumbling blocks to those who are new in the faith or to those who are not yet followers of Jesus.
Let’s look at the third way to avoid the trap:
3. Examine the basis of other positions.
Obviously, this is in direct relation to the previous point.
But this time, you’re taking the lens off yourself and looking at someone else.
Just make sure that that lens has the right filter on it - the Scriptures, not just your personal preferences or denomination background.
I’m not always comfortable with the way other people do things, but I often have to step back and admit that it is not against Scripture, that God is moving in the midst of the people, that he is being glorified, and the kingdom is being expanded.
It’s not the way I’d do it, but that’s not the standard anyway.
If what another church is doing can be supported Scripturally, then I’m all for it. But we need to be careful that even if we can’t find direct support for something from Scripture, that we don’t automatically throw it out.
For instance, can anyone show me in Scripture that we’re supposed to have a pulpit? Or why it’s in the center of the platform instead of off to the side? Some people say it should be in the center because it emphasizes the importance of the preaching of the Word of God. I’m fairly confident that there have been plenty of sermons preached here and other places that would cause people to reconsider that idea!
What Scripture can you point to for a prayer railing? Or a church building with a cross on the wall? Even Sunday School?
So why do we do them, if there is no Scriptural support for them? Because they are useful for us for worship and teaching the Scriptures. And none of goes against Scripture.
This leads me to the fourth way of avoiding the trap of being caught in old wineskins, and that is to:
4. Ask the Holy Spirit for the right balance.
I’ve noticed lately that I have a habit of point out extremes in things that we need to avoid. I do that because it’s helpful to see where we can find balance, and seeing the extremes can give us an idea where that balance can be found.
Today is no exception to that practice. I think there are a couple extremes we need to be careful to avoid.
The first is this: "New is automatically good and old is automatically bad.
The second is the opposite: "Old is automatically good and new is automatically bad."
Both of these positions are flat-out wrong. They both neglect the fact that there is value in both the old and new.
And the older my kids get, the more I hope they see the value of the "old," especially as it relates to their mother and me!
Here’s the last way to avoid that trap:
5. Ask Jesus to keep your wine fresh.
It’s very easy to look at others and evaluate them, for good or bad. But it’s another thing to look at ourselves and ask Jesus to give us a "once over."
I want to read you something from a guy named Ron Buchanon. It’s kinda lengthy, but I think you’ll get the picture.
"We used to sing a song entitled, "Give Me That Old Time Religion." And in the song it says, "It was good for the Hebrew children, and it is good enough for me." But it wasn’t good enough for the Hebrew children. The faith of Abraham was not adequate for them; God had something more. God had to deliver them from the bondage of Egypt and show them something new. The Red Sea would part, Mount Sinai would explode with fire and the voice of God. Commandments would be given and there would be new lessons learned in the wilderness. The song says, "It was good for Paul and Silas." The truth is that the old time religion was not good enough for Paul and Silas. For years Paul wanted it to be good enough, until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. He wanted to keep the old wineskin of Jewish tradition, but Jesus was bursting the seams of that wineskin. New wine had come and new wineskins were called for.
"You can’t have the old time religion. Your mother’s faith will not do, it has to be your faith. Your father’s faith is not adequate, you have to have your own experience with God. In fact, your faith, the faith used to get you by several years ago, will not do for today. If your faith has not grown since you first met Christ as a kid, the wineskin has dried and become brittle. It will not do for the new thing that God wants to do in you today. You can’t remain static. You can’t stay where you are. Yesterday’s experience will not do for today. Your faith must be current. The Lord says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland" (Isaiah 43:18-19)." (SermonCentral.com -
Contributed by: Rodney Buchanan)
I like that. How about you?
Conclusion
You know, I tried real hard to make this message have a real positive tone, and I’m not so sure I succeeded.
My intention wasn’t to take sides or be negative, but rather my intention was say that Jesus is bigger than our little boxes, or wineskins, as the case may be.
I came across something as I was working on the message, and I thought you’d like it, so I printed it in your bulletin, and I’d like you to read this aloud with me.
"You and I cannot stuff Jesus or our experience with Him into our old ways of thinking and living. Life with Jesus is a new and exciting thing. He Himself wants to fill us, to expand our personalities, and to reshape us to fit who He is. When Jesus, the Man with all power, comes into our lives, we are privileged to open ourselves up to newness." -Teacher’s Commentary
Are you putting Jesus in a wineskin of your own making, or are you allowing him to fill you with the new wine of renewal and refreshment for your spirit?
Has your walk with God become stagnant and stale?
Maybe it’s time for you to break out a new "wineskin" and try something new, asking him to fill it to capacity.
I can’t answer that for you. That’s between you and God. But allow him to check that skin for cracks and stale wine, and if necessary, give you a new set.
Open yourself up to a fresh filling, won’t you? Let’s pray.
