Luke 5:36-39

Luke 5:36-39

And He was also saying a parabola to them that, “Nobody, after splitting a patch from a new garment, casts it upon an old garment.  And if he should indeed do this, he will both split the new and he will not match to the old the path that is from the new.  And nobody throws new wine into old wineskins.  And if he should indeed do this, the new wine will burst the old wineskins and it will be poured out and the wineskin will be destroyed.  But new wine is placed into new wineskins.  No one, after drinking the old, desires the new.  For he says, ‘The old is good enough.’”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

This new versus the old patch is a very interesting parable.  First of all, notice that Jesus talks about tearing a patch out of the new to fix the old.  This is backwards from what we think, isn’t it?  Who goes out and buys a new garment in order to fix the old.  Do we buy new garments and use old garments to fix the newer ones?  That’s really what Jesus is saying here.  Why make something new to fix something old.  No!  What we do is get something new and if necessary bring something older into the new.  If we think about it, that’s what Jesus is doing on earth.  Jesus didn’t come to be the new thing that fixes the Law.  Jesus came to be a new way of being in relationship with God while inviting any in the old system to come up and participate into the new system that He is unveiling.

Why do we like to think about patching up the old?  In what way is Jesus speaking to our human desire to not change?

Second Thought:

Second, notice how Jesus says that the both the old and the new will be destroyed in such a circumstance.  That’s also really important to understand.  Sometimes when we try and save the old we also end up ruining the new.  Often in life when we refuse to change we can’t save the old thing and we miss the opportunity to change into something different or better.  Sometimes life can be a both/and.  Sometimes we get an opportunity to choose and have either/or.  But often we find ourselves in a situation where if we try to save the old we end up in a lose/lose.  This is important to understand and contemplate as we examine our faith and our response to God’s love.

Have you ever made the wrong choice and found yourself losing both the old way in addition to the opportunity to change?  How good are you at evaluating opportunities as they come along?  What can help you make a good decision?

Third Thought:

What is Jesus’ ultimate point in this passage?  Jesus is speaking about God’s plan in Him on the earth.  Jesus is the new garment.  He’s the new wine.  The old system – that is, the Law – cannot contain Him.  The aw may point us to Him, but it cannot fully explain Him.  The Law can point us to our need for Him, but it cannot fully explain what God is going to do in Him.  None of us could have possible guessed that Jesus was going to come and die for our sins.  None of us could have ever known how it is that God would atone for our sinful nature.  He’s the new thing.  We can’t force Him into our understanding, we must leave our understanding and embrace Him and what He does for us.

Why must we leave our human thinking and embrace Him and God’s ways?  How does this speak to the process of discipleship?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 6:1-5