"New Wine Deserves Fresh Bottles" (Mark 2:21-22)

Introduction



What happens when we come to Jesus and accept him into our life as our Saviour and friend? Hopefully … a lot! However, sometimes, we can just stick the band-aid called ‘forgiveness’ on some of our bleeding sores, and then try to cope the same way we always have. When some other sore eventually breaks out, we head again for that ‘forgiveness’ bottle, and dab it on. This offer of ‘forgiveness’ can make us feel better in the short-term … for there is some release from guilt, and our burden can feel a little lighter.



Yet, this is NOT so far away from the ‘old covenant’ – where sacrifices were brought … because the ‘law’ had been infringed, but having settled the account … life went back to normal. This is why the ‘law’ was only a pointer, and such sacrifices were effectually inadequate. Hearts needed to be changed. And in the fullness of time, this is what Jesus came to change – hearts. The ‘new covenant’ is NOT only about ‘forgiveness’, but also a total change in perspective. So, NOT a band-aid, NOR a bottle of disinfectant – but rather a major operation! Or, as Richard Rohr puts is, we DON’T need problem-solving religion, but rather healing and transformation!



The Old Wardrobe



If we look at verse 21, Jesus guides us away from any sort of patch-up job. Jesus is a total new way of dressing ourselves – not just a bright gold coat [like Joffa’s gold jacket] that we stick on to cover all the old and soiled clothes below. This won’t work – we’ll still smell. And the old will also start to infect the new. And a new patch will just tear away from the old coat. We need to think bigger – towards a whole new wardrobe (of clothes)! For Jesus has won the battle with evil, and offers us a life of victory.



Colossians 3:12 says, “As God’s chosen ones [i.e. the ones God has reached out to in grace], holy [set-apart, with a calling] and beloved – clothe yourselves with [all these new things:] compassion, kindness, humility, meekness [not controlling – gentle, while strong in character] and patience”; and to this, later is added, “forgiveness, love, peace and gratitude” (vs 13-16). This is our new clothing – no room for the ‘old rags’. We need Jesus to take control of everything we wear.



The Old Wineskins



This message is entitled, ‘New wine deserves fresh bottles’. I’m sure that’s true, even though I don’t really know anything about wine. Of course, the ‘new wine’ I refer to here, is NOT something you drink, but rather SOMEONE that you have a relationship with. Jesus is our “new wine”. As the metaphor goes … “old wineskins” will be totally unsuitable to contain this “new wine”.



As the gases of the new fermenting wine expand, the old wineskin lacks elasticity – meaning … our old lives and our old ways do NOT have the capacity to store the ‘new wine’ which is ‘Jesus’. There is too much rigidity – if you like, too much accommodation to sin – the “old wineskin’ will just be too brittle. When Jesus says, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins” – the audience is meant to say, ‘No, that would be stupid’! Nothing would be gained, and a lot would be lost!!



The Old Religion



Jesus was firstly talking about trying to squeeze the new revelation about Jesus being the Messiah … into the old religious ways that had developed among the ancient people of God. Strict rules around what you ate, and whose hospitality you accepted, had tended toward separating people from one another. Proscribed routines about fasting and practicing the Sabbath, although there were some good intentions here, had become the end in themselves, rather than spiritual disciplines toward the greater goals of compassionate and just living.



The deeply-entrenched comfortable anti-change conservatism of some groups … that blocks growth, can also be seen in individuals. And when such individuals group together, we might understand why organisations can become so hard to move at times. Jesus came to put an end to any anti-God practices, and any incorrect or insufficient views about God. To know God – we could now look to Jesus (who is the Messiah – the Anointed One)! Jesus shows what God is like … as the suffering servant on a cross. And, Jesus reveals God’s very deepest desires (Telford Work).



The Living Water



Jesus is also the “living water” – a metaphor from John’s Gospel. Jesus is the only way our real thirst can be quenched. And, dirty old soft-drink bottles will be totally wrong for that fresh beautiful spring water – because it could be spoiled and wasted. Whereas many may still say, ‘No thanks’, others have drunk deeply of this “living water”!



The Samaritan woman that Jesus met up with at Jacob’s well (in John chapter 4), had been so impressed by him, and told her whole village so – that she certainly seems to have decided to leave her past behind – her sins, and the abuse she had suffered, to fully experience the ‘living water’ Jesus had to give her. Jesus had entered into her life story, ignoring the social barriers that may have otherwise prevented such an encounter, understanding her social isolation, engaging with her struggles with relationships, NOT being deterred by her life situation, and was responsive to her honesty.



The key turning point in this story, which I hadn’t noticed before, is that having received the offer of ‘living water’, this woman, “left her water jar, and went back to the city” (John 4:28). This was highly symbolic of something revolutionary happening! The ‘living water’ that Jesus offered her, was destined to fill a different sort of vessel – her whole life – “the water I will give will become … a spring of water gushing up to eternal life (4:14)!



The Way Forward



Some might think that they can take up a bit of the ‘new’, while keeping a bit of the ‘old’ … and still hold all this together. These verses in Mark 2 suggest otherwise! Mixing the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ doesn’t work – not for long – not with any real growth – and eventually it all falls apart! And, if we are completely honest – the ‘old’ wasn’t really working that well for us anyway!!



We wonder why some people have come to some level of faith, seemed strong enough for a while, and then faded away. Here is the reason = new patches on old clothes, or new wine in old wineskins! Jesus doesn’t want to be our periodical local-repair-man or on-call ‘Mr Fix-it’; Jesus wants to be our ‘Lord’ – never in an oppressive way, but rather in a creative, expressive and liberating way!! Jesus CANNOT be squeezed into ‘old’ ways.



So, what would we mean by the ‘old’??

(i)                Guilt and shame – i.e. how we feel about what we have done, any the negative ways we feel about ourselves. This can be very heavy and destructive. This can make us feel very negative toward ourselves, and therefore we can tend to reject any positive opportunities that come. For example, when Jesus first approached Simon Peter … with the greatest of invitations of following him [Jesus], Simon Peter at first said, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8).

Sure, we regret how we have hurt others and ourselves – that is an important part of repentance and why we won’t repeat such mistakes, but we need to be freed from this burden, and to forgive ourselves. And, Jesus took this burden … each of our burdens … to the cross, so that we might live again! We have to be able to anticipate the dramatic change that is possible, so that we can fully receive God’s radical mercy.

(ii)              Resentment, worse … unforgiveness, worse … bitterness, worse … hatred, toward certain people – and sometimes there is a reason for this (we have been unfairly hurt), other times … there is no good reason to feel this way. Actually, where we hold this stuff, there is not much room for the ‘new’ to take over! We cannot hate those that God still loves, and the worst victim of our bitterness is ourselves!

(iii)            Ways of believing, thinking, feeling, speaking and acting … totally contrary to the ways of God and the example of Jesus. Examples would be selfishness, fits of anger, negativity, fear, judgment, any tendency to fragment or divide. These may be comfortable clothes – but they are wearing out a great rate! This includes the notion (a belief that is really a lie) that if I can just get more of something (e.g. fun, money, relationships, work) – then the pain will go away.

Can I say, with some hesitation, that I am often surprised by what I hear coming out of the mouth of those who also worship Jesus! But then, sometimes I am also taken aback by what I’m thinking quietly to myself!! This is where the ‘old’ clothes haven’t yet been discarded … in favour of the ‘new’! There are weeds and rocks for us to dispense with!

Now … no judgments here! Jesus didn’t make judgments; what he did was, with a heart full of compassion, offer healing, forgiveness, a new start, a better and more hopeful future – his own friendship. Jesus kept inviting himself to other people’s homes for dinner, so he could just spend some time with them (and see where that might go). And in the ultimate tale of grace, Jesus told a story about a father who was so keen to be reunited with his estranged son, that, no longer worried about the depth of problems his son had got into, the father rushed to him with arms wide open, calling for a huge reunion party. This was how God promoted ‘new creation’ – with extraordinary love.



The New Creation



Yet, ultimately, we do need to undergo a thorough and complete overhaul – from the old life … to the ‘new creation’. We can’t just try to patch over our problems. Jesus is far too revolutionary to be restricted in old garments or dirty bottles. Paul speaks of this ideal in this way, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new” (2 Cor 5:17). Being “in Christ”, of course, means total commitment!



This is the ideal – this is the way forward – NOT new patches on old clothes, NOT ‘new wine’ in ‘old wineskins’ – but rather a total ‘new creation’. This doesn’t mean that we lose our unique personality – nor the vast learning experiences we have already gathered. This DOES mean that our life is repackaged … WITHOUT the negative pressure of guilt, shame, resentment or false beliefs (lies); AND WITH … the wonderful Lordship of Jesus over our lives! We become more gloriously alive than ever before!!



We don’t have to do this alone, we shouldn’t try to do this alone, we actually can’t do this alone – it is nigh on impossible; but then we have the Holy Spirit, the day-by-day presence of Jesus, to set our course, and keep us on track. Our relationship with Jesus sets us free from the powers that previously distorted and arrested our spiritual development – now we can flourish (T Work)! The ‘new creation’ is seen … as together … we love our neighbour, share and serve in community, and worship God in Spirit and in truth.



What’s at Stake?



This is all so crucial – because we, despite the perfection of our original creation, have been marred and broken by the ‘sin’ within us, and the ‘sin’ and ‘darkness’ around us. We need to be “new creation”. This is all so crucial – for the world, even our own community, even our neighbour, even our own family, need to experience this ‘new creation’. Periods of perceived evangelical success (or ‘revival’) can layer over the need to move from ‘old’ to ‘new’ – large numbers coming forward, but many never really becoming disciples – evidenced by lack of any real change. “New creation” requires deep lasting transformation!



Paul talks about all this on an even larger scale (later in Romans 8:19-21), when he writes: “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; … in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay, and will obtain the freedom of the children of God”. The ‘new creation’ restores the integrity of the original creation – where people live in peace, where difference is understood, where leadership equals service, where grace reigns, where the character of Jesus is evident.



The world will NOT be saved and transformed by people covered in band-aids, but rather through people walking wholly in the reflected glory of the Holy Spirit – identifiably and obviously – ‘children of God’. So we need to dispense with the ‘old’ … to make space for the new – the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. We don’t just want to tinker with the old car in the garage (in the limits of our own abilities – and only a temporary fix), we need a total rebuild – just like a new car with all the best features.



Conclusion



Are we fully in this process of renewal? Have we put ourselves on the starting line … and then moved forward? Do we still need to accept Jesus’ invitation into a ‘new’ life? Do we want to discover what our life is meant to look like, and what our purpose or calling is? This is why Jesus also talked about (in John’s Gospel chapter 3) being ‘born again’ or ‘born anew’. This is our spiritual re-start. We cannot physically start again, but we can spiritually – which can then lead to drastically different lifestyles and outcomes.



Where all lives on earth had fallen short – then came One who didn’t fall short. And Jesus is seeking to draw us into such a life, that proceeds from his life, that in turn proceeds from God; and though still human and imperfect, has now been founded in a new space with a new foundation and a new set of principles (simply based around ‘goodness’). Jesus will NOT coerce us, NOR manipulate us, NOR neglect us into submission – Jesus will only love us, bring us empathy, and invite us into responding to him.



Are we letting Jesus put an end to the ‘old’? What are the new things that Jesus wants to begin in me?? How am I encouraging these to grow? In the most challenging of scriptures, Paul writes: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith – test yourselves; do you not realise that Jesus Christ is in you – unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test”! (2 Corinthians 13:5). Please accept the invitation to be “new creation” – allowing the ‘new wine’ that is Jesus … to dwell in a fresh ‘wineskin’.