Parable of the Old and New Wine

When we study, it is always a good practice to study a verse or passage in context. The Parable of the Cloth and the Wineskins is a good example of why we should do this, since the parable concludes a much longer narrative. David Grabbe provides an overview of the context and then uses it to draw deeper meaning and application from the parable.

It is common sense not to put new wine in old wineskins or a new cloth patch on an old shirt. However, most people miss the point Jesus is making: His new way of life is incompatible with our old habits and beliefs!

John Ritenbaugh suggests that the preaching the gospel to the world, held by some to be the only identifying mark of the church, is at best the beginning of a long, complex process of creating disciples and godly offspring through steady feeding and encouragement to overcome (feeding the flock). God, as a responsible parent, is not one-dimensional in assigning responsibilities to His children, but frequently shifts gears, changing circumstances, giving His begotten children a well-rounded education. God - not Satan or an incompetent ministry - engineered the massive scattering of the church of God to move it away from pernicious and fatal Laodiceanism. We need to adjust to the new situation, realizing that God has engineered these events with the real work of God in mind: making man in His image and reproducing Himself.

John Ritenbaugh focuses upon the unique emphasis made by the apostle John in his gospel. Unlike the emphasis on Christ's humanity, shared by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John's depiction of Christ seems to be more spiritual, depicted in the image of the eagle, whose ability to soar, having keen eyesight and the ability to transport its offspring out of harm's way, gives Christ His proper God-dimension. John realized that he had been in the presence of God Incarnate—a Being indescribably transcendent?the very source of eternal life. Christ provides a model of how to live a godly life in the flesh, living life the way God lives it. Using His light, we can negotiate our way in this dark, hopeless world, finding eternal life and partaking of His divine nature.

John Ritenbaugh focuses on Luke's message of Christ the man, the son of man, the high priest of man, and the savior of man, having all the feelings, fears, anxieties, compassions, and aspirations of man. In this account, Luke emphasizes the universality of the message (Gentiles as well as Jews), emphasizing the common concerns of humanity, highlighting many lowly circumstances. Luke, demonstrating Jesus' humanity emphasizes His frequency in prayer, reflecting His total dependency upon God the Father. Jesus, as the pattern man, learned by obedience, by the things He suffered, qualifying as our high Priest and savior, providing a model of perfect man for us to emulate.

John Ritenbaugh asserts that only a converted person humbles himself before the truth, making a conscientious, unflagging effort to follow the light of evidence, even to the most unwelcome conclusions, resisting desire, passion, and prejudices acquired through our culture. Human nature is hostile to God's truth, but rejecting truth leads to idolatry and a debased mind (Romans 1:28). We have been redeemed from the traditions and philosophies produced by corrupt men, inspired by demons, the patterns of thinking and conduct that are at odds with the truth of God. We have to desperately fight the perverse downward pull of human nature (inspired by the culture into which we are immersed) to ignore the truth.

John Ritenbaugh, focusing on Matthew 9:2-9 recounts an event in which an evangelist criticized Herbert W. Armstrong for suggesting that healing constitutes a forgiveness of sin. The effects of sin on successive generations are clearly seen in Exodus 20:5. Sin causes disease, but the person who becomes sick does not necessarily commit the sin. Because God alone can forgive sin, God alone can heal. Matthew, a former publican, was nevertheless made an apostle by Jesus Christ. Matthew's need to overcome stands in stark contrast to the Pharisees smug condemnatory righteousness. Christianity is a joyous experience we share with Christ. The reactionary Pharisees, bogged down with manmade traditions, were extremely resistant to new truth and change. Human nature is passionately attached to the status quo. Consequently, the new teachings of Christ are incompatible with the teachings we learned from our parents or society. Even with our inadequacies, Jesus will nevertheless grant us our requests if they are according to God's will. We should remember that the best teaching is always done through example. [NB: This series of Bible Studies from 1981-82 is incomplete.]