Old Wineskins

[cmc]

Key Passage: Mark 2:18-22
Topic: Jesus; Pride/Humility

"And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins--and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins." (Mark 2:22, ESV)

As you read today's key verse, you're probably remembering the last time you accidentally poured your new wine into an old wineskin and the mess that followed later.

Well, maybe not. On the surface, this looks like one of those Bible verses that just doesn't apply to us today. Wine comes in bottles now, not skins. The verse before this is only slightly more relevant. There Jesus talks about patching old clothes with new cloth. But really, what's the point?

Jesus, when He made this seemingly odd statement, was actually leveling harsh criticism against the so-called religious leaders of Israel: the Pharisees. You see, the Pharisees thought they had God figured out. They had the 613 laws of Moses memorized plus several hundred more they made up just to keep themselves from breaking the original laws. They had "religion" mastered.

The Pharisees missed something vitally important though. God doesn't want religion; He wants a relationship. The Pharisees didn't care about relationships and by all indications they could be downright jerks sometimes. They just cared about the rules.

This "new" teaching of Jesus didn't fit their "old" traditions, and they couldn't handle it. Do you think you have God figured out? Think again.




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