Luke 5.33-39
_33 They said to him,
“John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the
Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.” 34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”
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. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
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. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
In their cowardice, these religious leaders didn’t address
Jesus’ behavior directly, but rather attacked His disciples for their lack of
religious activity. Let’s correctly
judge their apparent incorrect judgments as they were recorded in Scripture for
us to do. They were making judgments based
upon assumptions – that religious rituals make one spiritual. The disciples were not performing to these
leaders’ standard; therefore they weren’t spiritual. These leaders also had insufficient
information & jumped to wrong conclusions.
Jesus filled in their missing information (He was there & worthy of celebrating – Eccl 3.1,4) & He further explained with parables the incompatibility of true religious life with legalism. When we have genuine love & concern for God & others, it will often times lead to behavior that must be practical & flexible to accommodate them. These are the “new patches” & “new wine” which will not fit with rigid legalism & its over-focus on external religious activity. Legalists are primarily concerned with conformance & performance while judging & condemning others accordingly (Lk 11.42). God wants us to focus on having the correct internal motives & attitudes which more automatically result in correct actions (Mt 23.25-26). Therefore, we must be careful when judging why others do or don’t do certain things or do them in different ways than our own. We can’t be hasty or speculative, but should consider their situation in light of God’s truth – even if that truth is that you don’t have enough information & need to let it be. Of course if the behavior is obvious & in obvious contradiction to God’s Word, then it’s a different story. Nonetheless, any judgments we make should be governed by an attitude of love, not angry condemnation.
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. – Jas 1.19-20
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. – Lk 6.43-45
Jesus filled in their missing information (He was there & worthy of celebrating – Eccl 3.1,4) & He further explained with parables the incompatibility of true religious life with legalism. When we have genuine love & concern for God & others, it will often times lead to behavior that must be practical & flexible to accommodate them. These are the “new patches” & “new wine” which will not fit with rigid legalism & its over-focus on external religious activity. Legalists are primarily concerned with conformance & performance while judging & condemning others accordingly (Lk 11.42). God wants us to focus on having the correct internal motives & attitudes which more automatically result in correct actions (Mt 23.25-26). Therefore, we must be careful when judging why others do or don’t do certain things or do them in different ways than our own. We can’t be hasty or speculative, but should consider their situation in light of God’s truth – even if that truth is that you don’t have enough information & need to let it be. Of course if the behavior is obvious & in obvious contradiction to God’s Word, then it’s a different story. Nonetheless, any judgments we make should be governed by an attitude of love, not angry condemnation.
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. – Jas 1.19-20
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. – Lk 6.43-45
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