Opening Prayer
Father God, we gather again so that we might study the words of Jesus as he defends his disciples. Teach us now and give us a proper understanding of our Saviors words, such that we might apply Jesus’ ways in our day to day living. In His Name we pray, AMEN
The Pharisees fasted often, regularly twice a week, besides the great national days of fasting. They also fasted while in mourning. This was the established custom of the land. As a result, John the Baptist's disciples—who fasted frequently like the Pharisees—wanted to know why Jesus, in contrast, did not require His disciples to fast.
Scripture: Matthew 9:14-17 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 15 And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 And no one puts a piece of new cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.
The story is told of a man who invented a clock and for the first time showed it to a friend of his, asking his opinion and what he thought of something that could always tell the time of day. He opened the back of it and asked the man what he thought of it. The man saw some wheels, and other smaller ones, some going one way and others another way, some wheels slow and other wheels fast. Seeing this seeming confusion, he answered, "I think this is too confusing and complicated to ever catch on."
Then the maker showed his friend the front side of the clock and asked what he now thought of it. The man looked at the two hands of the clock moving smoothly and regularly, each one in its appointed circle, and both of them telling perfectly the time of day, and replied, "I think You have conceived of and put together one of the most important marvels since the creation.."
This story helps us to understand a great truth concerning life. We are here on earth, and we see only the "earthly side" of God's doings, and thus we fail to see His perfect design and plan. The "wheels" are going every which way, and they sometimes seem to have no purpose or design. But one day we will see the "heavenly side" of God's doings. We will see His perfect design and plan for our life, and we will say, "Lord, I praise You and thank You. Your way is indeed perfect."
We know but little, and we experience Gods ways as they come to us while we are here on this earth. But a day is coming, when all questions will be answered, all mysteries made known, and all understanding given to us. But for now, we know only that which God reveals to us through our study of His word and our faith to which Jesus Christ leads us. Were we not called to it, there would be no need for the revealing of it.
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
We as disciples, are those chosen ones.
Pg.2
Jesus' first illustration comes from marriage customs of the time.
Why did Christ's disciples not fast like the Pharisees? The bridegroom's friends would not think of fasting while he was with them. For them, it was a time of festivity and rejoicing—mourning was not appropriate. At a traditional Jewish wedding, there are the Children of the Bride Chamber as they were called, the friends of the bride, and the friends of the bridegroom, who amid singing and playing of instruments conducted the bride, accompanied by her companions, to the house of her parents-in-law and to the bride-chamber, and remained to take part in the wedding feast, which usually lasted seven days. There they would celebrate the coming union, and at such times there was no time for fasting. The matter of traditional fasting would resume once the celebration was over and the marriage consummated.
Q.1 Do Christians differ in this comparison, from the Pharisees, and from John’s disciples?
Q.2 If our answer to question 1 is yes, is there a proper explanation?
Q.3 Jesus’ explanation was enough to satisfy the Pharisees, How was that done?
Q.4 What relationship comparison can be derived from this (vs15)?
Jesus is saying, though not openly, just as you don't fast while the bridegroom's hosts the wedding celebration, neither should my disciples fast while I am ushering in the Kingdom of God. It is a time for celebration, not for mourning. Then he adds, darkly, "But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast" (5:35). Jesus knew that his crucifixion and death lay ahead and refers to it here.
We are to be a joy filled congregation of Christians, a Happy group of Disciples.
Jesus’ teaching is that we are to celebrate our new found freedom from sin. We are no longer condemned under the old law. We are to be willing to accept Jesus, and his offer of our salvation. And Our fasting will take place in the remembrance of what he has done for us.
Suppose you are sitting in a house with a window which opens toward a beautiful mountain scene. There are two things you can do. You can look toward the window and let your gaze stop on the window glass itself with all its flaws and imperfections. Or you can let your gaze pass through the glass to behold the beauty of God's creation beyond.
In our situation, when we choose to "walk by sight," we see only our circumstances. But, when we choose to "walk by faith," we look beyond our circumstances and discover God at work. Faith is not some kind of feeling or emotion. Faith is the choice of my will to believe what God says in His Word. By faith you can believe that God is in every circumstance that comes to you. And there is no need to perceive any more than the Joy of the creation which God has made and the salvation of the new life that he has made for us through Jesus Christ. Who is the Bridegroom, The new wine, The new patch in our faith and belief.
Pg.3
Jesus' second illustration derives from the custom of that day of repairing clothing
What do the cloth and old garment represent?
No one with a reasonable amount of experience in mending clothes would waste a piece of new cloth to repair an old garment. If new cloth is used to patch an old garment, and the patch becomes wet, it shrinks as it dries and puts strain on the old garment. The tear becomes worse than it was.
Jesus is showing that His "new" doctrines do not match the old rites of the Pharisees, which required a lot of fasting. If His "new" doctrines were attached to their old ones, it would distort the truth. Christ is preaching against syncretism, the mixing of beliefs. We must completely replace the old human way of life with the new godly way of life. Because God's "new" way is righteous and spiritually strong, it cannot be combined with the "old" wicked and weak human way of life. They are incompatible.
We read in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty in which Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Represented by the old cloth, we give Satan a foothold, You see, Satan would certainly like to have you back under the Law of Commandments because he could then accuse you before God, and separate you from your salvation. But if you trust in the perfect law of liberty, and in righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ’s new covenant you will never come under Satan’s accusation again.
Q.1 What was the main objection the Pharisees had with Jesus’ “new religion”?
Q.2 How does one describe what Jesus was doing as the Pharisees understood it?
Q.3 How does one describe what Jesus was doing as his Disciples understood it?
Q.4 And the same question applies as to how it is understood today.
Q.5 There are those today who still do not agree with His teaching, who are they?
The bottom line is that following various religious rules and rituals rather than following the still small voice of the Holy Spirit will just ensure that Satan will be able to accuse you before God. And if Satan can successfully accuse you, then you will be condemned. But we should remember the exhortation of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 2:20-21, which says, “Wherefore if you are dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances, 21 Such as, Touch not; taste not; handle not;?” And, Galatians 4:9-11, says, “But now, after you have known God, or rather are known of God, how can you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? 10 You observe days, and months, and times, and years. 11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed labor upon you in vain.”
Jesus' third illustration derives from wine making and storing it in vessels. Pg.4
What do the new wine and old wineskins represent?
In those days, Wine began it fermenting in open vessels then in closed jars or "bottles" which were made of animal skins—sheep, goat, or ox—and, after being properly prepared, filled with wine or water. After a time, an animal skin became brittle and ruptured easily. New wine which would be fermenting when put into an old skin would expand, and burst them open. New skins, however, were strong enough to stretch without bursting.
Christ's illustration suggests that there is a wise and proper way to do things. It was not fitting to mix His doctrines with the old and corrupt doctrines of the Pharisees. To take God's truth and try to press it into some other form would change it into a lie, as Satan would have it.
The New Testament that Jesus taught is not contrary to the Old Testament, for both the Old and New Testaments are the word of God, just as New and Old wine are both wine. But the very term implies a new word of God, the New Testament, in regards to the old word of God, the Old Testament. The people who were represented by the new wine skins, those fit to receive the New Testament were only those people who were receptive enough to receive the New Testimony of the Word of God and expand with its knowledge. But the people who were represented by the old wine skins were the people who had become so hardened that they could not expand with the new knowledge. In Jesus' day there were many people who's hearts were hardened. As it says in Zechariah 7:12, they had set their hearts to be like an adamant stone. An adamant stone was an especially hard stone, and represented people who's hearts are hard and are unable to have their hearts penetrated by the word of God. In Romans 2:5 it reads: But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Q.1 What was the importance of wine in Jesus’ day?
Q.2 What skill is necessary to repair clothing?
Q.3 In relation to a matter of lifestyle, how did these things matter?
Q.5 How would you rate your faith and beliefs about your religion, as a lifestyle?
Q.6 What is most significant about what you believe?
So, what does this all mean for us Christians today? It means that Jesus was trying to tell us, and is still trying to tell us, that the New Testament of Grace is not just like the Old Testament of the Law of Commandments. And the people who are the body of Christ are not just like the old people of Israel. For God created a new people when he gave his New Testament. Israel was the chosen people of God in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament, God's people are no longer one nation, but all people from all nations who are able to comprehend the new testimony of Jesus Christ, and are able to receive it and grow with it. Most of the actual nation of Israel had become so hardened in heart, that they could not see how the Old Testament could include Jesus Christ, for they viewed Jesus as an interruption to their lifestyle rather than a savior of their souls, even though the Old Testament had clearly prophesied that there would be a deliverer for Israel who would save the nation.
Heb 8:10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Closing Prayer Pg.5
Lord, fill us full again with your New Wine. This time help us to contain it and grow with it, rather than lose it through our stubbornness and inflexibility. We pray for our sick and bereaved tonight ___________deliver your healing and comfort to sustain them through these difficult times, and help us, Lord, to recognize the powerful new ways you want to work in our lives that we may be a proper witness to Your saving grace. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Meditation: Which comes first, fasting or feasting? The disciples of John the Baptist were upset with Jesus' disciples because they did not fast. Fasting was one of the three most important religious duties, along with prayer and almsgiving. Jesus gave a simple explanation. There's a time for fasting and a time for feasting (or celebrating). To walk as a disciple with Jesus is to experience a whole new joy of relationship akin to the joy of the wedding party in celebrating with the groom and bride their wedding bliss. But there also comes a time when the Lord's disciples must bear the cross of affliction and purification. For the disciple there is both a time for rejoicing in the Lord's presence and celebrating his goodness and a time for seeking the Lord with humility and fasting and for mourning over sin. Do you take joy in the Lord's presence with you and do you express sorrow and contrition for your sins? Jesus goes on to warn his disciples about the problem of the "closed mind" that refuses to learn new things. Jesus used an image familiar to his audience — new and old wineskins. In Jesus' times, wine was stored in wineskins. New wine poured into skins was still fermenting. The fermenting gases exerted pressure. New wine skins were elastic enough to take the pressure, but old wine skins easily burst because they had already been stretched to capacity, and any further pressure on an old wineskin would burst it. What did Jesus mean by this comparison? Are we to reject the old in place of the new? Just as there is a right place and a right time for fasting and for feasting, so there is a right place for the old as well as the new. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old (Matthew 13:52). How impoverished we would be if we only had the Old Testament or the New Testament, rather than both. The Lord gives us wisdom so we can make the best use of both the old and the new. He doesn't want us to hold rigidly to the past and to be resistant to the new work of his Holy Spirit in our lives. He wants our minds and hearts to be like the new wine skins — open and ready to receive the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Are you eager to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God's word and plan for your life? We pray that God will open our hearts and minds and reveal to us those things in our life that will help us become better and more effective disciples.
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