Today we continue looking at Jesus response to a question regarding religious observances found in Matthew 9:16-17, where in verse 17 He brings us to the same conclusion as verse 16, but using a different metaphor; here He draws from the ancient process of winemaking. The bottles were made of leather or skin and Jesus points to the fact that new wine could not be put into old bottles but had to be put into new ones. In Luke 5:36-38 Jesus uses the same two parables, and here the Greek word He uses for new wine is Neos, which is freshly made or new in time; but for new bottles He uses the word Kainos which is new especially in freshness. “Old wineskins to hold wine must be soaked in water to soften them. Then they must be greased with oil or butter to prevent leaking or evaporation. Men only put newly made wine in renewed wineskins and both are preserved” F. J. Dake. So the fact is sealed for the second time in these few verses that the old Jewish religion and Christianity could not be mixed (even though the old Jewish laws give us a picture of Christianity); and neither can the old sinful life and the new spiritual life be intermingled. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 the same Greek word Kainos is used, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…” It comes up again in Galatians 6:15 where the old Jewish rituals avail nothing, “but a new creation”, and in 2 Corinthians 4:16 is a derivative of this word, “…the inward man is being renewed day by day.” So the fact is sealed again that we cannot put the “new wine” of the Spirit, the new life of Christianity, into that old sinful heart and life. Jesus said “You must be born again” John 3:7; yes, we must be renewed from the inside out, an experience that can only be achieved through Jesus!
Come and drink
By Rose Hill
To everyone who is thirsty God says, “Come”,
And drink freely of My wine, it’s awesome.
Why seek the things that don’t satisfy?
Delight yourself in God and to Him draw nigh.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright …1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.