Fresh Threads and New Wine

May 25

Read: Mark 2:18-28

Fresh Threads and New Wine

“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.” (v.21,22)

We cannot simply “sew Jesus” onto our old lives. Jesus is not some sort of “patch” that conveniently covers up the tears. It is wild to think it, but Jesus says that doing that “makes the tear WORSE” than before. Treating Jesus like a patch on the old garment of your life will simply make things worse. The “old ways” of doing things are no more… they must be!

Jesus is pouring into his people and this world “new wine”. (v.22) New wine is wine that is early on in its fermentation process. As it ferments and becomes sweet and powerful, it creates outward forces through the process that will burst the container if it is not strong. The “new wine skin” can stretch and grow with the “new wine” and is a fit vessel for the power reaction taking place within. The end product is something sweet used at celebrations - weddings, birthdays, festivals for the Lord, the Passover.

Our old ways of thinking… even our old “religious patterns” cannot carry / contain the powerful transformation and expanding work of the Kingdom that God is pouring out into this world and into his people through the Son and the Spirit. We have been and are being made “new wine skins” and “new garments” so that we can be filled with the “new wine” of the Lord and “sewn together with” a totally new fabric of life and way of being. This sort of walk with Christ is rarely what we expect it to be. It looks different - even to the religious institution at times.

God has filled us with something powerful, something that is expanding and growing … becoming sweeter and more fit for celebration. God is pouring out this same thing into the world - the “new wine” of the Kingdom of God. That is why this world is being made new and the old heavens and earth will pass away… they are not a fit vessels either! One of the ways that the “new wine skin” survives is it can stretch to accommodate the process. In our new creation we have been given the ability to “stretch”… to be “flexible”. God is consistently stretching us and growing us from his presence within. Sometimes to the outside observers, this will look odd. For the disciples, it looked like an absence of fasting. (cf. v.18) Jesus makes it clear: it was not the right time for fasting. (v.19,20) This is an important side note, just because something is “good to do” (ie. fasting) doesn’t mean it is always the right time to do it. Jesus will guide us into seasons of feasting and fasting. He will tell us when. He will stretch us out… we must be flexible or else we will burst!

Jesus is ushering in the “new”. May we not seek to sew him onto our lives like a patch, or simply pour him into our old ways of living… may we be MADE NEW. God has put something within us as his children that is creating outside pressure… pushing outwards… like new wine when it ferments! May we as the people of God be lights in this world… may we feel a pressing outwards into the lives of each other and to the lives of those who do not yet know Christ. The new wine in us will stretch us… may God give us the courage and patience to be “stretched”. Our lives are a new fabric being woven together with the tapestry of the Lord… no tears or rips… but made part of a perfect fabric. May our thoughts, emotions, and will be woven together with the Lords… intertwined with his scriptures and his voice within us. This “new wine” in us is becoming sweeter and more powerful everyday… being made ready for a great celebration! May those actions and words that pour out of us be sweet and tasty to those around us. May we be made ready for that great and glorious wedding feast when Christ returns. No more patches. No more “busted skins”. Fresh threads. New wine. Love you guys. - JDP