The Old and New

Introduction

The parables of Jesus are quite fascinating. There are 40 different parables found in 65 passages spread throughout three of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  Some of these passages are repeated in the Gospels and some are unique to one Gospel.  All of them give us insight into the life which Jesus has called us as Christians. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at some of these parables found in the Book of Mark. Historians believe that Mark is the oldest of the four Gospels so the parables it has would have been the first recorded. The first parable is found in Mark 2:18-22. Many say that this section includes three different parables, but we will show it to be one.

Mark 2:18–22 NIV84

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” 19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. 21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

The Context of the Parable (vs. 18-20)

I had originally chosen verses 21-22 as the text but I feel that we have to have verses 18-20 to help us understand the context of the parable. First there is a question of fasting. Fasting is a practice that helps you get closer to the Lord to focus on Him and not yourself.

A Question of Fasting

We see in verse 18 that a group of unnamed people are questioning Jesus about fasting. The disciples of John and the Pharisees practiced fasting twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, to practice discipline and express their religious zeal. We see in Matthew’s Gospel that Jesus calls this practice out.

Matthew 6:16 NIV84

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

By the way, when you fast, you just fast. You pray and reflect on God’s holiness. You do not wear a sign that says, “Hey World! I am fasting!” Fasting is not fasting if you call attention to yourself and to what you are doing!

A Quandary of Comparison

These unnamed people are in a quandary of comparison. By the way, comparison is always a path of difficulty. These people are comparing what they know of religious practice to the teaching of what Jesus is showing. Comparison is bad trap to fall in and anytime it happens, it does not go well.

2 Corinthians 10:12 NIV84

12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.

Nevertheless, these unnamed people decide to give Jesus a question.

A Question of Jesus

“How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

Jesus answers by giving an illustration from marriage customs of the day. The Bridegroom would not think of fasting while the festivities were taking place. It was a time of festivity and great joy. The mourning and reflection would not be appropriate in that time of rejoicing. Jesus, the Bridegroom, was with His disciples and it was a time for joy. Fasting would represent a time which was opposite to what needed to happen. Since Jesus was with them, they had no need to draw closer to Him through fasting. After Christ died, the disciples and apostles fasted when appropriate. Jesus goes on to illustrate this idea by bringing the concern of the cloth.

The Concern of the Cloth (vs. 21)

The word parable means to compare things one side to another. Another meaning is that is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

New Versus Old

In that day, whenever one mended clothes, it was a common understanding that if a new piece of cloth was attached to an old garment, the new would shrink with it became wet. As it did so, it would put a strain on the patched area and cause a greater tear that what it was before.

Unshrunk Versus Shrunk

There is an interesting concept in this process. The new cloth which is the unshrunk, will pull away from the old cloth which is shrunk and worn. Matthew, Mark and Luke all say that the unshrunk cloth attached to the shrunk cloth will make the tear worse. Luke goes on to say that the new patch will not match the old.

Luke 5:36 NIV84

36 He told them this parable: “No one tears a patch 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.

Jesus was not just talking about sewing and mending clothes. Remember, a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

Old Life Versus the New Godly Life

Jesus is using this parable to make sure that we understand this: His new doctrines did not match the old rites of the Pharisees, which required a lot of fasting. If the new doctrines of Christ were attached to their old ones, it would distort the truth. Christ is speaking here about the mixing of beliefs. The rigid, dry religion of the Pharisees is the old garment. Jesus did not come to patch Judaism with a new piece of unshrunk cloth, but to complete Judaism and renew it the way God intended. That is why today we need to be very careful of those that say there are many ways to heaven. There are not many ways, there is only one way! John 14:6

John 14:6 NIV84

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

By the way, notice in our text the use of the word “tear.” The Greek word, schisma, comes from the same root word schizo which is used in Mark 15:38

Mark 15:38 NIV84

38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Guess which word? TORN. The curtain which separated the altar from the Holy of Holies was torn when Christ was crucified to show that the barrier between God and mankind was to be no more! It is also the same verb used to describe what happened when Jesus was baptized.

Mark 1:10 NIV84

10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

The relationship of Jesus to Judaism isn’t a patch that will tear away at the first washing, ruining everything. When God splits something, it is to remove the barriers that keep His people from Him.

Jesus gives yet another illustration.

The Consideration of the Wineskin (vs. 22)

Look at the consideration of the wineskin.

Mark 2:22 NIV84

22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

The “Bottles” Made of Skin

Wineskins were bottles made from the skin of sheep, goat or ox. They came in various sizes. For example, an ox-skin could hold as much as 60 gallons. Horses and camels could carry glass or ceramic bottles or wooden kegs only with difficulty. However, two skins tied together and laid across a beast’s back could be carried a long distance. These skins would experience the toil of time.

The Toil of Time

After time, the animal skin would become brittle and ruptured easily. New wine put into an old skin would ferment, expand and burst them open. New skins would be strong enough to hold the new wine without bursting. So it was imperative to not mix the new wine in old wineskins. Jesus was emphasizing that the corrupt and incorruptible did not need to mix.

Corrupt and the Incorruptible

It is not fitting to mix the ways of Jesus with the old corrupt ways of the Pharisees. To take God’s truth and try to fit it into some other form would make it a lie, therefore making the truth of God useless and fallible. The cloth and the wineskin are parables to emphasize the call of Christ.

The Call of Christ

The call of Christ is that God will change our hearts to do what He wants us to do.

Philippians 2:13 NIV84

13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

John 14:15 NIV84

15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.

1 John 5:3 NIV84

3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

The command of God is for us to look at the inward aspects of the Christian life.

Inward Aspects of a Christian Life

The new wine represents the inner aspects of a Christian’s life. It is not a new request or a new movement. It is what God has desired all along. Because of the work of Jesus, we need nothing else but salvation in Him to be in fellowship with God. It begins by allowing Him to come in to our lives.

Revelation 3:20 NIV84

20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

We must open the door. We must invite Him into our lives. As we do, we are changed from the inside out.

Outward Conduct and Conversation

Our outward conduct and conversation will reflect our inward nature. Just like attaching the new cloth to the old cloth, our sinful, selfish life cannot be mended but must be replaced. The new cloth is a righteous life. The Pharisee’s ritual fasting was an old garment for which the new piece of cloth was useless. We must move from the sinful to the righteous.

The Sinful and the Righteous

Our Savior teaches us that life cannot be a mixture of two opposite principles. We cannot serve two masters.

Matthew 6:24 NIV84

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

We cannot trust in our own works for salvation in Christ. We cannot follow the world or the religions of the world and follow God at the same time. His new way must completely replace our old worldly ways so that we can walk in newness of life. Simply stated, the old cloth and the old wineskins are all about religious tradition. In both of these illustrations something is destroyed. God just doesn’t mend our hearts, He gives us brand new ones!

Ezekiel 36:26 NIV84

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Rigid and dry. Brittle and bursting. The old versus the new.

Jesus is saying His teaching is salvation is found in Him. Nothing else.