Sermon Tone Analysis

New Wine

The bridegroom is here: the preparations of John and the Law have served their purpose; it is time for something new

The bridegroom is here: the old has served its purpose; a new chapter begins.

Preparation’s done and the party’s started

Big application

Jesus has come - don’t let the world steal your joy

You can’t fit the new into the old; Christianity is transformation not tweak

The old might seem good enough - but taste and see the new is better

Outline

Do you have an old, favourite piece of clothing?

Winter is coming to Scotland and I think you can already feel the chill in the air.

Time to get out our winter coats again - so I pulled out this, my favourite.

The only problem is it’s getting a bit ratty and old.

And it’s not really waterproof any more, more kind of water absorbent - so in serious rain I just get like a sponge, really heavy and damp!

It’s got a bit of a serious pocket problem over here and even though I’ve been working away on sewing it back together, there’s still a big hole here which I think is going to need a patch.

Truth be told, I do have a new one, a replacement for it.

But it’s just not the same.

It’s all… new.

I’m not sure I’ll really like it.

In fact, I wonder if I couldn’t just get a patch for this old one after all.

Maybe out of this?...

We humans, we’re just not so good at change, sometimes, are we?

We get so comfortable with the way things are, so used to it.

It can be really hard for us to move on - even when it’s way past time, when the old really is done.

But something new is happening.

And today Jesus is going to challenge us to let go of the old.

We’re continuing our journey through Luke’s biography of Jesus, his gospel, and today we come to a bit of a strange section at first glance.

If you can find one of these blue bibles nearby, find page _____, that’s Luke chapter 5, and look for verse 33.

Big number 5, that’s the chapter, then little 33.

that’s the verse.

We’ll put the words up on the screen too.

Let’s see what Jesus has to say to us today.

Leona’s going to come and read.

of the old?

worn out leather chair?

worn out bed + sore back?

Me + my old laptop?

1:45 READING

Question time

2:45 Context

If you’ve been with us before you might remember where we’re up to in Jesus’ story?

He’s just started his main active ministry and most recently we’ve seen him at a huge party thrown by Levi, a new follower.

Partying with a bunch of questionable characters causes his religious critics plenty of angst but Jesus says it’s people who know they have a problem that he’s come to call, not those who think they’re sorted.

Today’s episode starts with this question about fasting - that is, not eating or drinking - and you might imagine it’s precipitated by that party we were reading about last week, so full of eating and drinking!

In Mark’s telling of this same story, over in , we learn that both groups mentioned here were fasting at the time of the question - perhaps it’s a Jewish festival.

If so, Levi’s opulent party must be like rubbing salt in the wound for people who are fasting.

Who does this question come from?

tells us John’s disciples are at least some of those questioning - so it’s not necessarily as hostile a crowd as we had last week; these really might be genuine questions from people who are properly confused.

Jesus does seem to specialise in confusing people!

Their question is how come Jesus’ disciples, his followers, can behave so differently from these two other religious groups, John’s disciples and the Pharisees.

So differently from John’s disciples - that is people following John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner.

Now John the baptist is known for his weird lifestyle out in the desert eating locusts and honey.

You can read about him in earlier in Luke’s gospel if you want a refresher but he was sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus.

And it seems his disciples must have been big into fasting.

The Pharisees are this ultra-religious group trying to dot every i and cross every t of keeping the Jewish law.

And though the Jewish law doesn’t have that much to say about fasting if you were to read it through, it seems by this stage fasting has become a pretty core part of being seriously Jewish.

Who does this comes from?

indicates John’s disciples are at least some of those questioning - so not necessarily a hostile crowd.

Fasting 101

4:00 So, a question about fasting from people who fast.

Before we can really think too much about this we’re going to have to get our head around fasting a bit aren’t we - it’s not exactly normal nowadays.

We’ll have to do a little bit of background digging: What’s fasting all about in the first place?

Why would anyone give up eating?! What did they understand it to mean, when they fasted?

The main thing fasting is meant to do is to humble us before God; it says “I’m little, you’re big”.

It says “I’m powerless, you’re powerful”.

We see that reflected in where fasting shows up in the Old Testament, the pre-Jesus part of the Bible.

In the beginning, the most common thing it’s used for is to say “sorry” to God.

So, for example, the one day every good Jew was meant to fast was on the day of atonement, a day all about recognising they didn’t meet God’s standards.

Or if you know your Bible, you might remember King David, Israel’s greatest king fasts when he is caught in a sin and facing its consequences.

But it takes on a more specific meaning as time goes on: it becomes associated with seeking God’s restoration of his people.

After the Jewish people were defeated and forced into exile by Babylon, a new tradition began of fasting on four more days: the day when their Babylon-appointed governor was killed, the day the siege of Jerusalem began, the day when Jerusalem fell, and the day when the temple was burned.

Fasting as a people in exile, calling to God for restoration - and after the limited restoration that came with Ezra and Nehemiah, it seems these fasts continued, looking ahead for a more complete restoration.

Also seeking God’s grace and attention or

When the Jewish people were forced into exile by Babylon As time goes on it becomes more and more associated with seeking God’s restoration of his people - so you’d see Jews fasting on four more days: the day the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians began, the day when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians, the day when the temple was burned; the day when their governor was killed fasting on the day the which marked the beginning of their exile from their land.

That kind of makes sense: not

You can see this hope for something more, for God to keep his promises of restoration, in a number of faithful Jewish people around Jesus: Simeon in is “waiting for the consolation of Israel”; Anna in speaks to “all looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem”; Joseph of Arimathea in is “waiting for the kingdom of God”

Now it seems it had often become an empty ritual by the time of Jesus - and even long before: a way to show other people you were seriously religious.

The prophet Isaiah speaks about this hundreds of years before Jesus in , for example.

I think these two big senses of fasting, penitence and seeking restoration, are what’s behind John’s disciples fasting and the Pharisees fasting - even though for many it had just become an empty outward tradition, a mark of being serious about your religion.

Some, I expect, would have been sincerely fasting with both senses in mind.

And you can see how it wouldn’t compute for them that Jesus and his disciples didn’t join in.

The groom is here

6:00 But with that background we’re also much better positioned to understand Jesus’ response: “can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?”, he says.

Bridegroom is just a fancy word for husband-to-be and what he’s picturing is a wedding day, the groom coming for his bride, surrounded by a happy crowd of close friends.

He’s saying he’s that guy; he’s here; it’s time.

mark of external piety for some (though not, one presumes, for John’s disciples)

Of course, if you asked these two groups why they were fasting, they wouldn’t have said that.

remember (though not, one presumes, for John’s disciples)

The Bible often uses the picture of a husband and a wife to speak to us about how God relates to His people.

To show us how unbreakable his commitment to us is.

To show us how exclusive our commitment to him should be ... To show us how He is faithful even when we are unfaithful - there’s a whole book in the bible dominated by this metaphor, this word picture: Hosea.

Bridegroom a common picture of God + his people as husband and wife; the long-anticipated moment has come where the husband comes for his bride.

Big thrust is that something new is happening; time of waiting + preparing is completed.

When Jesus uses this word, when he labels himself as the groom, he’s pulling in this whole picture of how God, as the ever-faithful husband, will come for his bride and restore her - despite everything.

And that’s a time for rejoicing not mourning - just like a wedding day!

But more than that, get this: the specific things they are fasting for, penitence and restoration, they’ve both arrived.

It’s no longer time to fast and seek them.

They’re here.

Jesus has come with forgiveness - if you’ve been with us the past few weeks you’ll have seen that with the cleansed leper, the forgiven paralytic, the repentant tax collector; Jesus has come with restoration - you’ll have seen that with his declaration at Nazareth, with his statement of purpose in Capernaum.

So it’s not a time for fasting - but this section of Luke is not really about fasting; it’s really about something much bigger: something new is happening; the time of waiting and preparing and seeking is completed.