Conflict in Capernaum

Donald Grey Barnhouse, former pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, once asked his nationwide CBS radio audience this question

What would Philadelphia look like if Satan took full control of the city?

He answered his question in the following manner. If Satan took over Philadelphia, all the bars would be closed, pornography would be banished, and pristine streets would be filled with tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing; the children would say, “Yes, sir!” and “No, mam!” and churches would be filled every Sunday … where Christ would not be preached.

Barnhouse is saying that the greatest danger to the Gospel is not atheism. Atheism poses no real threat. A recent Pew Study discovered that 84% of the world claims to be religious.

What is Barnhouse saying? He is simply saying that the greatest danger to the Gospel is not atheism. Atheism poses no real threat.

You know, when we see those things, we rear up; we’re aware and we defend the Gospel. The greatest danger of the Gospel has always been and continues to be a counterfeit gospel. It’s a gospel that doesn't actually need Christ. And what's dangerous about this is its subtlety, that it exists with the same language; it exists in the same location; it exists amongst committed religious people.

The greatest threat to Christianity is a counterfeit gospel. It is a gospel that doesn’t need Christ. This pseudo gospel is not self-evident but subtle. It is as sneaky as the snake itself. Its couched in has the same language; it exists in the same location; and it exists amongst committed religious people.

The greatest threat to Christianity is a counterfeit gospel. It is a gospel that doesn’t need Christ. This pseudo gospel is not self-evident but subtle. It is as sneaky as the snake itself. Its couched in the same language; it exists in the same location; and it exists amongst committed religious people.

Today’s text fits our context perfectly. We live in the most “Christian” area in the entire world. Recent research has declared the I-20 corridor between Tuscaloosa and Anniston to be the most “Christian” area in the world.

Yet Anniston, AL remains the most dangerous city in Alabama and Birmingham is ranked 3rd nationally in murders per ca-pita.

We are like those in our text. We are religious yet we remain void of redemption. Our religion has been successful at achieving decisions but it has not produced disciples.

Bible’s permeate residence in every apartment complex, subdivision, cull-desc, and condo but those who reside in those dwellings remain untouched because this pervasive book remains untouched.

Churches saturate our landscape with styles of worship as various as the restaurants available for Sunday lunch. Yet saturation has not led to transformation. Why?

There is a popular saying that I believe best explains; “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” Churches alone will not transform communities but churches with the true gospel can and do.

Sermons calling it listeners to morality but not the Messiah will produce a form of godliness with no power. It will shape a white washed tomb filled with dead man’s bones.

This conflict was caused by

HIS FORGIVENESS OF SIN

WHO HE CALLED TO FOLLOW HIM

HIS VIEW ON FASTING

In this section of Scripture Jesus does a comparison and contrast of religion and relationship.

Religion is man turning over a new leaf.

We are like those in our text. A recent Pew Study discovered that 84% of the world claims to be religious. We are religious, yet we remain void of redemption. Our religion has been successful at achieving decisions, but it has not produced disciples.

Christianity is about man receiving a new life.

Religion is man staring new habits.

Christianity is man receiving a new heart.

Religion is man attempting to be reformed.

Christianity is man being reborn.

Religion is man’s attempt at achieving salvation.

Christianity is the Messiah’s achievement of salvation.

YOU ARE A PHARISEE IF . . .

Bible’s permeate residence in every apartment complex, subdivision, cull-desc, and condo but those who reside in those dwellings remain untouched because this pervasive book remains untouched.

you are more busied in censuring the conduct of others, than in rectifying your own!

Churches saturate our landscape with styles of worship as various as the restaurants available for Sunday lunch. Yet saturation has not led to transformation. Why?

you desire that everyone should regulate their piety by yours; & embrace your particular customs & forms of devotion!

you desire that everyone should regulate their godliness by yours; and embrace your particular customs and forms of devotion!

There is a popular saying that I believe best explains; “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” Churches alone will not transform communities but churches with the true gospel can and do.

Sermons calling it listeners to morality but not the Messiah will produce a form of godliness with no power. It will polish a white washed tomb filled with dead man’s bones.

3. You are a Pharisee If…you speak of and compare yourself w/other people so that you may have an opportunity of distinguishing and exalting yourself!

you speak of and compare yourself with other people so that you may have an opportunity of distinguishing and exalting yourself!

This conflict was caused by

· HIS FORGIVENESS OF SIN ()

4. You are a Pharisee If…you bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but you yourself will not move them with one of your fingers. ) Christianity is not a Sob, but a Song!

you bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but you yourself will not move them with one of your fingers. ) Christianity is not a Sob, but a Song!

· WHO HE CALLED TO FOLLOW HIM ()

· HIS VIEW ON FASTING ()

5. You are a Pharisee If…you think Christianity is about rules rather than relationship.

you think Christianity is about rules rather than relationship.

In this section of Scripture Jesus does a comparison and contrast of religion and relationship.

· Religion is man turning over a new leaf.

6. You are a Pharisee If…you think any church that has experienced growth must be watering down the Gospel.

you think any church that has experienced growth must be watering down the Gospel.

o Christianity is about man receiving a new life.

· Religion is man staring new habits.

7. You are a Pharisee If…you accept only the KJV as authorized because it’s the version that Paul & Silas carried.

you accept only the KJV as authorized because it’s the version that Paul and Silas carried.

o Christianity is man receiving a new heart.

· Religion is man attempting to be reformed.

8. You are a Pharisee If…your sins seem so small when placed beside the really BIG sins of others.

your sins seem so small when placed beside the really BIG sins of others.

o Christianity is man being reborn.

· Religion is man’s attempt at achieving salvation.

9. You are a Pharisee If…you rationalize that Christians who don’t agree with you are all “compromisers.”

you rationalize that Christians who don’t agree with you are all “compromisers.”

o Christianity is the Messiah’s achievement of salvation.

YOU ARE A PHARISEE IF . . .

10.You are a Pharisee If…you rehearse your virtues when you should be confessing your sin.

you rehearse your virtues when you should be confessing your sin.

1. you are more busied in censuring the conduct of others, than in rectifying your own!

2. you desire that everyone should regulate their godliness by yours; and embrace your particular customs and forms of devotion!

11.You are a Pharisee If…you are obsessed with externals, but blind to the internal reality of your own soul.

you are obsessed with externals, but blind to the internal reality of your own soul.

3. you speak of and compare yourself with other people so that you may have an opportunity of distinguishing and exalting yourself!

5. you think Christianity is about rules rather than relationship.

12.You are a Pharisee If…your outward righteousness is more important than your heart holiness.

your outward righteousness is more important than your heart holiness.

7. your sins seem so small when placed beside the really BIG sins of others.

8. you rationalize that Christians who don’t agree with you are all “compromisers.”

13.You are a Pharisee If…you are insulted by the notion you may be a Pharisee!!! a) How do I know these are true?...because I am a recovering Pharisee!

you are insulted by the notion you may be a Pharisee!!! a) How do I know these are true?...because I am a recovering Pharisee!

9. you rehearse your virtues when you should be confessing your sin.

10. you are obsessed with externals, but blind to the internal reality of your own soul.

11. your outward righteousness is more important than your heart holiness.

12. you are insulted by the notion you may be a Pharisee!!! a) How do I know these are true?...because I am a recovering Pharisee!

Mark 2:18–19 ESV

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

Mark 2:18 ESV

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

Now we believe that the Lord Jesus is most likely still in Levi's house - who was a publican and a tax collector, and we saw last week all that that meant, how despised they were - and now He is in Levi's house, having been invited to socialize with some of his companions and colleagues in the trade.

Luke 18:12 ESV

I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

The Pharisees are witnessing Him and his motley crew feasting on a day when they, possibly, were fasting. It is very likely that this event was taking place on one of the weekly fast days. Now let me give you some background regarding this practice of fasting. The only time we find a required fast in the Old Testament is for the Day of Atonement. This day commemorated the day when their sins are forgiven, and hopefully, by faith, looking to God for forgiveness of sins on that day. But fasting had progressed to the stage where the stricter Jews fasted twice in a week: Monday and Thursday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. So, after 6 p.m. they could eat all they wanted. In

Luke 18:12 ESV

I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

, in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, a tax collector, you remember that the Pharisee declared, self-righteously, 'I fast twice in the week'. So, this was a common practice of the Pharisees and of their followers.

, in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, a tax collector, you remember that the Pharisee declared, self-righteously, 'I fast twice in the week'. So this was a common practice of the Pharisees and of their followers.

in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, a tax collector, you remember that the Pharisee declared, self-righteously, 'I fast twice in the week'. So, this was a common practice of the Pharisees and of their followers.

Let me make clear that which Jesus is not saying. Jesus is not anti-fasting. He believed in fasting, He fasted Himself, He taught fasting - indeed, in this section of Scripture, He implies that His own disciples one day, when He is taken away from them, will fast.

in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, a tax collector, you remember that the Pharisee declared, self-righteously, 'I fast twice in the week'. So this was a common practice of the Pharisees and of their followers.

Jesus is clarifying the intent of fasting. It was not a ritual to make one right with God but a practice for those who were right with God. It was not to be mandated on specific days but as people were moved by the Spirit. Its initial installation was to call people to mourn their sin now it was a means by which people flaunted their self-righteousness.

Now let me say before I go on any further, in qualification to anything that will be said, the Lord Jesus was not anti-fasting. He believed in fasting, for He fasted Himself, He taught fasting - indeed, in this very portion, He implies that His own disciples one day, when He is taken away from them, will fast. But Jesus' protest here, that throws Him into the midst of this controversy with the Pharisees and the disciples of John, is at the abuse of the practice of fasting among Jews in His day. You see it was exercised in an ostentatious way. What I mean by that, I'll just quote for you the words of our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount in , and He takes up more than just fasting, giving alms and praying, how they were done hypocritically. 'Take heed', He says, 'that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven'. : 'But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly'. Then, related to fasting in verses 16 to 18 of chapter 6 of Matthew, 'Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly'.

Religion will add duty and annihilate delight. Religion will attach more requirement for righteousness than righteousness requires. Religion can provide our twisted hearts enough acumen about Jesus to sculpt a Jesus of our own design.

The Lord Jesus is not objecting to fasting, just as He is not objecting to praying in the Sermon on the Mount, or giving to charity in the sense of the Lord's work and good works; but He is objecting to how these Pharisees had extracted all semblance of joy from the religious experience of praying, almsgiving and fasting. You see, when these Pharisees fasted they pretentiously would have whitened their faces with powder to look pale. They would have dishevelled their hair and worn tattered clothing - and I think, as I look out, maybe some of you have followed that tradition this morning! - but they wanted to declare to others that they were mournful, religious individuals, they were morally and religiously sober. Monday and Thursday, the fast days, were also market days - now do you know what that means? That they doctored themselves up to show that they were fasting, and they went to the marketplace to show everybody they were fasting, the day when most people would be gathered together at the one spot - the greatest exposure!

The real Jesus feasted, played with children, and interacted with outcasts. He told them in last week’s text; 'Do you not expect doctors to be around patients? That's why I, as a Savior, am around sinners'. Now He is saying; 'Do you not expect wedding guests to be feasting and not fasting when the Bridegroom is present?'

Now, thanks to the legalism that was imposed by the Pharisees, the Jewish religion in many respects had become a burdensome and joyless thing. These poor Jewish people were crushed by rules and regulations that Jesus even said Himself were impossible to obey, : 'they bind', that is, the Pharisees, 'heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers'. So I think you can see now why the Pharisees were so appalled that Jesus was feasting on what, for them, was a fast day. Now you can see also why Jesus and His disciples were not fasting, but feasting, they were making a point! To enforce this point and hammer it home, the Lord Jesus uses three illustrations to contrast dead legalistic mournful religious form with the living liberty of the joy of grace that is found in Him.

There could be many explanations why John's disciples were fasting. It may be because John was in prison. It may even be because he had already been beheaded, but I feel that they were fasting because they were still waiting for the Messiah, they were still waiting for justice in Israel, for deliverance from God. Jesus is coming and saying: 'Why are you still waiting and fasting for this?'. You remember, of course, in they asked the question of Jesus, supposedly sent by John: 'Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?' - and they had failed to see, move from their master's ministry of preparing the way of the Lord, to recognizing that the Lord was in their midst and celebrating His arrival and His presence.

You remember John saw himself as the friend of the Bridegroom, and perhaps these disciples of John failed to see themselves as the guests of the Bridegroom, because He was there. Also John was an austere man, he was somewhat of a recluse, he was in the old order of the prophet Elijah. You remember in , Jesus says 'John came not eating and drinking', he was a man who was in a kind of asceticism - and I'm not in any way demeaning that or condemning it, far from it - but Jesus ate and drank with men, He mixed with sinners, so much so that He says in , 'You say of me that I am a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners'. You see, Jesus was something different, something different completely from the old order, He was something absolutely and dramatically new.

Mark 2:19 ESV

And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

Mark 2:19–20 ESV

And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

Now, after a Jewish wedding, the couple didn't go away on a honeymoon, they stayed at home. For a week or so there was open house, and there was continual feasting and rejoicing, and the bride and groom were treated like king and queen, and even at times were crowned. This was a very special time, even more so than in our day. People during this period of history lived very difficult lives. The struggle was real. A wedding was often the happiest week in a man or a woman's life. Even Rabbis recognized it and gave an exclusion from some of the rigid laws. There was a rabbinic ruling that said that all in attendance were relieved of all religious observances which would lessen their joy. So, wedding guests were excluded, exempted from fasting, even on fasting days! This is Jesus' point.

Now, after a Jewish wedding, the couple didn't go away on a honeymoon, they stayed at home. For a week or so there was open house, and there was continual feasting and rejoicing, and the bride and groom were treated like king and queen, and even at times were crowned. That was a very special time, because in a hard-wrought life like they had in that particular era, this wedding was the happiest week in a man or a woman's life. Because of that, even Rabbis recognized it and gave an exclusion from some of the rigid laws. There was a rabbinic ruling that said that all in attendance on the bridegroom, listen, were relieved of all religious observances which would lessen their joy. So wedding guests were excluded, exempted from fasting, even on fasting days! This is Jesus' point - now He does qualify it and say that the days will come when I am taken from the guests, and then My disciples will fast. The word 'taken' there, 'taken away', implies violence, I believe He's talking about His death.

Mark 2:21–22 ESV

No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

The first analogy Jesus uses is one they would have all been familiar with. In that day, clothes were not thrown out when they became warn or torn. Every mother was a seamstress and she would patch those clothes so that their lifespan would be extended.

Most of us think nothing about throwing out old clothes when they have become worn or torn. But, I am sure there are some here who can remember having to wear clothes with patches on them because your family couldn’t afford to buy new clothes.

If a person took a torn and worn garment and sewed in a new piece of cloth as a patch, the first time it got wet and dried, the new piece of cloth would shrink. When it did, it would pull apart the older, weaker garment and the hole would be worse than before. Both the new patch and the old garment would be lost.

The spiritual principle here is very clear. The old cannot be blended with the new! Judaism, with its external rituals and rules could not contain Christianity with its emphasis on an internal relationship with God. Jesus did not come to blend His teaching with the teachings of the Law. Jesus came to fulfill the Law and deliver His people from the bondage of manmade rules and rituals.

Most of us think nothing about throwing out old clothes when they have become worn or torn. But, I am sure there are some here who can remember having to wear clothes with patches on them because your family couldn’t afford to buy new clothes. That was the situation in nearly every home in Jesus’ time.

There were some in the early church who tried to sew Christianity into the cloth of Judaism. These men were called the “Judaizers”. They taught that salvation was possible only when a person believed on Jesus and kept the Law too. They taught that you had to believe the Gospel, but you also had to be circumcised; obey the dietary laws; observe the Sabbath; and live like a Jew. They taught that Christianity was an extension of Judaism,

Acts 15:1 ESV

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

ESV

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”The leaders in the early church hit this problem head on and gave us clear cut instructions about this matter,

If a person took a torn and worn garment and sewed in a new piece of cloth as a patch, the first time it got wet and dried, the new piece of cloth would shrink. When it did, it would pull apart the older, weaker garment and the hole would be worse than before. Both the new patch and the old garment would be lost.

Paul also dealt with these people and addressed the situation clearly and completely, .

Here is the lesson we need to learn today: The rules and rituals of the ancient Jews are no longer in force! We are not obliged to keep the Law to please the Lord or to be saved. Jesus has fulfilled every demand of the Law and we must never try to blend old Law with new grace. In Jesus, we are free from the demands of the Law!

Colossians 2:13–17 ESV

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

ESV

The spiritual principle here is very clear. The old cannot be blended with the new! Judaism, with its external rituals and rules could not contain Christianity with its emphasis on an internal relationship with God. Jesus did not come to blend His teaching with the teachings of the Law. Jesus came to fulfill the Law and deliver His people from the bondage of manmade rules and rituals.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

There were some in the early church who tried to sew Christianity into the cloth of Judaism. These men were called the “Judaizers”. They taught that salvation was possible only when a person believed on Jesus and kept the Law too. They taught that you had to believe the Gospel, but you also had to be circumcised; obey the dietary laws; observe the Sabbath; and live like a Jew. They taught that Christianity was an extension of Judaism,

Acts 15:1 ESV

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

.

The leaders in the early church hit this problem head on and gave us clear cut instructions about this matter,

The leaders in the early church hit this problem head on and gave us clear cut instructions about this matter, . The new believers were forbidden from doing things that would offend the redeemed Jews among them, but they were not required to keep the Law. Paul also dealt with these people and addressed the situation clearly and completely, .

Acts 15:19–21 ESV

Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

. The new believers were forbidden from doing things that would offend the redeemed Jews among them, but they were not required to keep the Law. Paul also dealt with these people and addressed the situation clearly and completely, .

Even the best religious works of the best Jew were nothing more than moth eaten garments, rotten in the sight of God. Jesus came to give lost men a robe of righteousness that will allow them to stand complete and whole in the sight of God!

The new believers were forbidden from doing things that would offend the redeemed Jews among them, but they were not required to keep the Law. Paul also dealt with these people and addressed the situation clearly and completely, .

Here is the lesson we need to learn today: The rules and rituals of the ancient Jews are no longer in force! We are not obliged to keep the Law to please the Lord or to be saved. Jesus has fulfilled every demand of the Law and we must never try to blend old Law with new grace. In Jesus, we are free from the demands of the Law!

Colossians 2:13–17 ESV

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

.

Even the best religious works of the best Jew were nothing more than moth eaten garments, rotten in the sight of God. Jesus came to give lost men a robe of righteousness that will allow them to stand complete and whole in the sight of God!

The next analogy Jesus uses is the image of wine bottles. Glass and plastic bottles did not exist in those days. Ancient people often used the skin of a goat as a container for their wine.

When a goat was killed, the skin was cut around the neck and the legs and pulled off the body in one piece. The leg openings would be sewed shut and sealed. And what had been the goat’s neck would be used as a spout. The hide would be partially tanned. Then, this hide could be used as a wine bottle, or a wineskin. The hide was very elastic and would expand as the wine fermented inside.

These wineskins dried out over time and became brittle. If new wine was poured into an old wineskin and began to ferment, the old wineskin couldn’t stretch to accommodate the gases put off by the fermenting wine and would burst. The wine and the wineskin would both be lost. Thus, the tragedy would be twice as great. The only fit container for new wine was a new wineskin.

Again, the spiritual principle is clear. Judaism, with its rituals and rules, could not contain the ministry and message of the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not come to pour the new wine of His Spirit into hearts that were trying to please God by keeping the rules and traditions of men. Jesus came to give new life to lost sinners. He came to take the old wineskins of our flesh and make us new by His power. When He has transformed us through the new birth, we are ready to receive the new wine of His Spirit. Only one who has been saved by grace and is born again is a fit container for the Spirit of God!

Again, the spiritual principle is clear. Judaism, with its rituals and rules, could not contain the ministry and message of the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not come to pour the new wine of His Spirit into hearts that were trying to please God by keeping the rules and traditions of men. Jesus came to give new life to lost sinners. He came to take the old wineskins of our flesh and make us new by His power. The new birth makes us fit to receive the new wine of His Spirit. Only one who has been saved by grace and is born again is a fit container for the Spirit of God!

We have a couple of old oaks in the front yard at home. They provide great shade in the summer months, but they are aggravating. Those trees do not lose their leaves in the fall. The dead, brown leaves hang on those limbs until spring time comes.

When spring comes, the sap rises in the tree. The new buds being to push out from the end of the branches, and the old leaves are forced to fall away. The new life in the tree expands and causes that which is dead to fall away!

We have a couple of old oaks in the front yard at home. They provide great shade in the summer months, but they are aggravating. Those trees do not lose their leaves in the fall. The dead, brown leaves hang on those limbs until spring time comes.

That is exactly what Jesus wants to do in our lives! The old ways of sin and self will hang on for as long as they can. Religion, religious rituals and the traditions of men will not repair your old man; those things merely hold him down for a little while.

When spring comes, the sap rises in the tree. The new buds being to push out from the end of the branches, and the old leaves are forced to fall away. The new life in the tree expands and causes that which is dead to fall away!

When Jesus moves in, He creates a new life within you. The new life He places in you begins to work its way out of you. Before long, what the Lord has done on the inside becomes clear on the outside as He changes the old man into a new creature for the glory of the Lord. The new wine of Jesus on the inside will burst the wineskin of the old man on the outside. This old flesh cannot contain the work of God in the heart!

That is exactly what Jesus wants to do in our lives! The old ways of sin and self will hang on for as long as they can. Religion, religious rituals and the traditions of men will not repair your old man; those things merely hold him down for a little while.

As Jesus fills the wineskin of our lives, He stretches us to new limits. The inner pressure of His presence displaces unneeded things and fills every area of our lives. This new life is so powerful, so dynamic and so different that the old wineskins of religion and old ways of living must give way to the new life He places within us.

When Jesus moves in, He creates a new life within you. The new life He places in you begins to work its way out of you. Before long, what the Lord has done on the inside becomes clear on the outside as He changes the old man into a new creature for the glory of the Lord. The new wine of Jesus on the inside will burst the wineskin of the old man on the outside. This old flesh cannot contain the work of God in the heart!

Let me make it clear that Jesus did not come to destroy the Law, He came to fulfill it, . Jesus filled full the moral law in that He kept it to the letter. Jesus filled full the ceremonial law in that He was the absolute perfect fulfillment of every type, symbol and sacrifice. Jesus filled full the judicial law in that He was the perfect embodiment of justice. When He comes in, He comes with such fullness that there is no desire for the old garment or the old wineskin.

As Jesus fills the wineskin of our lives, He stretches us to new limits. The inner pressure of His presence displaces unneeded things and fills every area of our lives. This new life is so powerful, so dynamic and so different that the old wineskins of religion and old ways of living must give way to the new life He places within us.

It’s like an acorn. You can take a rock or a hammer and smash an acorn, or you can plant that same acorn and let it germinate into an oak. Either way, the acorn is destroyed. If you smash it, it is gone forever. If it grows into an oak, it has achieved its fullest potential.

Let me make it clear that Jesus did not come to destroy the Law, He came to fulfill it, . Jesus filled full the moral law in that He kept it to the letter. Jesus filled full the ceremonial law in that He was the absolute perfect fulfillment of every type, symbol and sacrifice. Jesus filled full the judicial law in that He was the perfect embodiment of justice. When He comes in, He comes with such fullness that there is no desire for the old garment or the old wineskin.

Jesus comes into our hearts not to place us under the yoke of the Law, but to enable us to live out God’s perfect will through the power of the Holy Ghost. Jesus doesn’t smash us under the Law; He places His Law within our hearts and helps us achieve God’s best in our lives. He comes in to enable us to live our lives to the glory of God. The Law could never do that!

Jesus saves us not to place us under the yoke of the Law, but to enable us to live out God’s perfect will through the power of the Holy Ghost. Jesus doesn’t smash us under the Law; He places His Law within our hearts and helps us achieve God’s best in our lives. He comes in to enable us to live our lives to the glory of God. The Law could never do that!

APPLICATION

Jesus did not come to blend His new way with old ways of living and believing. Jesus came to redeem sinners and give them new life in Him. That is why salvation is referred to as a “new birth”, , .

Far too many are trying to sew the patch of Christianity into the old garment of their lives. It will not work! Jesus does not want to remodel your old life; He wants to make you into a new creature! Too many want Jesus to fill the wineskin of their old belief system. They want Jesus, but they do not want all the changes He brings. That will not work either! When Jesus comes in, the changes He makes are so expansive, so powerful and so explosive, that they totally destroy the old and leave only the new.

Far too many are trying to sew the patch of Christianity into the old garment of their lives. It will not work! Jesus does not want to remodel your old life; He wants to make you into a new creature! Too many want Jesus to fill the wineskin of their old belief system. They want Jesus, but they do not want all the changes He brings. That will not work either! When Jesus comes in, the changes He makes are so expansive, so powerful and so explosive, that they destroy the old and leave only the new.

You cannot mix Jesus and your religion. You cannot mix Jesus and your old way of living. To be saved, you have to come to Jesus and completely forsake the rest. When you do, you will discover that He has the power to transform you from what you are into what you could never have imagined.

Have you experienced the power of the new birth? Are you saved?

Have you been guilty of trying to mix the old with the new? Have you been trying to apply the patch of Christianity to the garment of your life? It will never work! You need to come to Jesus and you need to be saved.

Maybe you have done all the rituals. You have been baptized. You have taken the Lord’s Supper. You have joined the church. You’ve done it all, but you have never bowed as a lost sinner, repented of your sins and asked Jesus to come into your heart. You have religion, but you don’t have Jesus. You are a Baptist, but you are not a Christian. Change that today! Come to Jesus right now.

Conflict in Capernaum

THE ATTACK

THE ANSWER

THE ANALOGY

CLOTHES

CONTAINERS