The Message of New Wineskins

INTRO

As a quick review, remember that you will see different perspectives of Jesus as we move through the Gospels. The perspective from Matthew is of Jesus as King. In Matthew, we’re going to begin to see that tension between the old way that was not working and waiting for the new to come into place.

TEACHING

Matthew 9:1-8: Jesus entered his own town and began to heal. Some friends brought a paralyzed man before Him. When Jesus saw the faith of the friends, He told the paralyzed man that his sins were forgiven (v. 2). This is like the centurion asking Jesus to heal his sick servant. I believe Jesus healed the servant because of the centurion’s faith, and I believe the same thing about the paralytic man. Jesus healed him in response to the faith of those who had brought the man to Jesus.

Matthew 9:9-13: These verses tell the account of Matthew’s calling to follow Jesus. Jesus approached Matthew, who was still sitting in his tax office. When Jesus called him, he immediately got up and left his job (v. 9). I believe that word of Jesus’ incredible acts had already spread around the country, and Matthew had heard the stories. He had been tracking with Jesus, watching, observing, and listening, and maybe even sitting under His teaching.

In verse 10, Matthew described how Jesus sat at his table with Matthew’s guests––other tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees questioned why Jesus was with these men (v. 11). Jesus replied, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do” (v. 12). Then, He told them to learn what it meant to have mercy and compassion, not sacrifice, because he came for the sinners (v. 13).

This is the backdrop of Matthew 9––this spirit of arrogance and tension. Jesus was being questioned why He did things one way, while the religious leaders did things another way. Jesus was told they didn’t like what He did, but He continued anyway. When we follow King Jesus, it is never going to look like the way of the religious. Ever. The reason we need revival in the church, is the spirit of religion needs to be broken off. Jesus desires mercy and compassion; He doesn’t want our sacrifices and offerings only. Jesus came to call, not the righteous, but the sinners (v.13). It was in this context that Matthew started following Jesus.

Matthew 9:14: Verse 14 begins a transition to another time when the followers of John the Baptist questioned Jesus. John the Baptist’s message was one of repentance, and the message needed to be clarified and changed over to the way Jesus’ did it. This time, John the Baptist’s disciples questioned the practices of Jesus and His disciples. According to Luke 5:29-39, the Pharisees were with John the Baptist’s disciples. Their question was about the religious practice of fasting and whether they were more religious since they fasted more than Jesus and His disciples did.

Israelites were required to fast for the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-30); the two fasting days each week were voluntary, although the Pharisees religiously practiced it (Luke 18:12). The question then can be understood as, “Jesus, why don’t You and Your disciples fast the two days like us?” There’s more evidence of fasting that God required in the Old Testament (Exodus 34:28; Leviticus 11:44-47). They were asked to fast from different types of animals, and for Nazarites like Samson, from certain things.

The Pharisees fasted twice a week as part of their religious mentality. This was their culture and a part of their religion. Kent Berghuis gives five categories of fasting: “(1) fasting as a sign of grief or mourning, (2) as a sign of repentance and seeking forgiveness for sin, (3) as an aid in prayer, (4) as an experience of the presence of God that results in the endorsement of his messenger, and (5) as an act of ceremonial public worship.”¹This was the lens that the disciples of John the Baptist had when they questioned why Jesus and His disciples didn’t fast.

Matthew 9:15: You would think that the disciples of John the Baptist and those of Jesus would have been supporters of each other. In verse 15a, Jesus said, “Can the wedding guests be sad while the groom is still with them?” In other words, He asked, “Can the wedding guests—the sons of the Bridegroom, the disciples—be sad while they’re with Me?” One of the

reasons for fasting was grief or mourning. The verse continues that when Jesus is taken away, they will then fast (v. 15b). Jesus’ words shook John’s disciples’ understanding. Yet, John the Baptist was named the best man (Isaiah 62:5; Hosea 2:20; John 3:29). Nelson’s Commentary says, “The principle expressed here is that Jesus Christ has come to bring in a new dispensation altogether, which cannot be fitted into the forms of the old Jewish economy.”²We’re going to go from a period of rule of Law, to God’s grace.

Matthew 9:16-17: Jesus began to spell out what He was saying about grace through the example of old and new wineskins. Just like new cloth sewn onto old would not hold securely, the Jews had been following instructions for how to fast for a long time and could not see there was a new way. In verse 17, the focus is on “new” and “fresh.” John MacArthur provides an explanation for these illustrations:

“Animal skins were used for fermentation of wine because of their elasticity. As the wine fermented, pressure built up, stretching the wineskin. A previously stretched skin lacked elasticity and would rupture, ruining both wine and wineskin. Jesus uses this as an illustration to teach that the forms of old rituals, such as the ceremonial fasting practiced by the Pharisees and John’s disciples, are not fit for the new wine of the New Covenant era.”³

The Pharisees were a small, isolated sect of about 6,000 Jews who had been separated and represented the “orthodox core.” If there was any group that would hold on to the old garments or the old wineskins, it would be the Pharisees. But Jeremiah said there was a new covenant of grace that would not be like the covenant made with their ancestors, the covenant they broke even as God brought them out of the wilderness. God would put the new covenant “within them and write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26-27). But that new spirit could not be put in the old rituals, the tablets, the 613 laws; into the old way of doing things. The new covenant changes that and begins with God’s Spirit being within us. And the fact that when we’re open to new wineskins, radical change can happen.

In Acts 19:2-5, Paul didn’t write the disciples in Ephesus off for not being baptized by the Spirit, but instead poured into them, teaching, and doing ministry with them. He laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came over them, and they began to speak in other languages and prophesy (Acts 19:6-7). Part of our calling is to walk with them and to set the religious free. In this case, because Paul invested time, 12 men got to experience the new covenant.

It was this event that led to the beginning of Revive School, this example of studying daily for two years at the lecture hall of Tyrannus (Acts 9b-10), engaging in discussion, and learning about the kingdom of God so that all throughout Asia, both Jews and Greeks, could hear the message of Jesus.

CLOSING

The gospel is intended for tax collectors and sinners. The gospel is intended for Jews and Gentiles. We don’t embrace the new wineskins for ourselves, but so that all have the chance to hear about the Lord and to be set free from the bondage of religion. When you study the Word of God on a regular basis, we believe that your entire community can be changed.