Wednesday Devo
Scripture Reading:
Luke 5:34-39
34 Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. 35 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
36 Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.
37 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. 38 New wine must be stored in new wineskins. 39 But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”
34 Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. 35 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
36 Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.
37 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. 38 New wine must be stored in new wineskins. 39 But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”
Commentary from the ESV Study Bible:
5:35 days will come. Jesus is fully aware of his coming death. when the bridegroom is taken away. Although a riddle for Jesus’ audience, Luke’s readers would have understood this as referring to Jesus’ death. In those days, that is, in the time between Jesus’ death and resurrection, and also after he has returned to heaven, fasting will be appropriate for his followers.
5:36–39 Jesus concludes his response to the question about fasting (v. 33) with a parable consisting of two main metaphors: (1) A new patch cannot be put on an old garment, for upon washing it will shrink and, pulling on the already shrunken, old garment, will tear it. (2) One does not put new wine into old wineskins. New, fermenting wine would stretch the old, inelastic wineskins and cause them to burst. New wine needs newer, more elastic skins. No one is best understood as an ironical condemnation of the Pharisees, who favored the past and rejected the arrival of the kingdom and the “new covenant” (22:20) it brought. The point of these two metaphors is that one cannot mix the old and the new covenant, and that the new covenant era inaugurated by Jesus’ coming will require repentance (Matt. 4:17), regeneration (cf. John 3:3), and new forms of worship (cf. John 4:24).
5:36–39 Jesus concludes his response to the question about fasting (v. 33) with a parable consisting of two main metaphors: (1) A new patch cannot be put on an old garment, for upon washing it will shrink and, pulling on the already shrunken, old garment, will tear it. (2) One does not put new wine into old wineskins. New, fermenting wine would stretch the old, inelastic wineskins and cause them to burst. New wine needs newer, more elastic skins. No one is best understood as an ironical condemnation of the Pharisees, who favored the past and rejected the arrival of the kingdom and the “new covenant” (22:20) it brought. The point of these two metaphors is that one cannot mix the old and the new covenant, and that the new covenant era inaugurated by Jesus’ coming will require repentance (Matt. 4:17), regeneration (cf. John 3:3), and new forms of worship (cf. John 4:24).
Study Questions:
- Get a picture in your head of "old wine", religious Christians. What are they like? What do they value? How are they perceived by others? Are they happy? Do they smile? On the contrary, picture someone with a vibrant, rich, personal relationship with Jesus, someone who lives daily in the Spirit, whose life exudes the fruits of the Spirit. What does this person look like? What do they value? How are they perceived? Now, which one do you want to be? How do you get there? How do you keep from sliding into back into the "old wine"?
- How many Christians stop short of what God has for them in this life? How many miss out on what a true, intimate relationship with Jesus is all about? How many lives are wasted on the hamster wheel of religion, ever striving and constantly failing? How many never truly see themselves the way God does? How many never know the experience of hearing the Holy Spirit speak and the rich reward of obedience that follows? How many say, "the old is just fine"? It's sad, really. When you look at your relationship with God, could you describe it as rich and vibrant? How do you picture God's disposition towards you? Is it perpetual disappointment, or unending grace? Are you stuck in a bit of a rut? If so, spend some time confessing that to God. Write it out in a journal. Ask him to fill you with his Holy Spirit and lead you into his BEST in this life. When it comes to your relationship with God, never settle for "good enough"... because it's just not.
Pray:
- That you would be a "new wine" Christian.
- That you would never settle in your life for the "old wine", but would press into God and live in his best for you.
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