SCRIPTURE: Luke (NIV) 5:36 He [Jesus] 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.”
OBSERVATION: When Jesus told parables or stories, they were always true to life. He did not make up unreal or fictionalized characters. People could easily identify with His teachings. The characters in His stories were just like them. They did the same things His hearers did.
In the above parable, I believe Jesus was telling them that His church would be quite different from the Jewish religion. Yes, Christianity clearly comes from the Jewish religion, but it is very different. The Jews are still looking forward to their Messiah while Christians believe the Messiah has already come, and JESUS is His name!
APPLICATION: In applying this passage to the church today, I see that there are many different wineskins today. There are different groups of churches, and different cultural differences in worshipping God today. Some worship in large gatherings and some in small meetings. But each wineskin must contain the LIFE OF JESUS! The purpose of the wineskin is to promote and protect the LIFE OF JESUS in the worshippers. The form, structure, shape of the wineskin is not an important issue…it is the New Wine, the Life of Jesus!
PRAYER: Lord, today you are worshipped in large gatherings and in individual families having devotions together at night. You are worshipped every day of the week. Holy Spirit, help us to keep our focus on Jesus! Amen
Pastor Leon
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