THE PARABLES OF
JESUS, #004
A Chronological Study
Series Introduction
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"The Un-carded Wool, The Old Garment"
"The Old Wineskin, The New Wineskin"
Matthew 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22
(The Old Covenant is replaced by the New Covenant)
"To Him who opened
His mouth in parables and
uttered things hidden
since the creations of the world."
Psalm 78:2
INTRODUCTION:
The parables are the direct words of Jesus! Now, open
your ears, sharpen your understanding, and hear what He has to say.
OUR
TEXT:
MATTHEW
9:14-17 [NASB]
Jesus Said:
14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why
do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus
said to them, “The attendants of the groom cannot mourn as
long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when
the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast (Lit.
be fasting)."
16 "But no one puts a
patch of unshrunk cloth (Lit. uncarded wool) on an old
garment; for the patch pulls away (Lit. will shrink) from the garment,
and a worse tear results. 17 Nor do people put new
(Lit. young) wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wineskins burst, and
the wine pours out (Lit. spills) and the wineskins are ruined (Lit.
perish); but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are
preserved.”
[Comments
on Matthew's Report]
Vss. 14-15
John
the Baptist has been brought forth to give the members of the nation of Israel
one last offer to repent of their sins and return to the Old Covenant
relationship that God has ordained for that nation. While many listened to
John's message it became clear that Judea and the Judeans are continuing to
listen to the evil, broken, and twisted rabbinical leadership of the Sanhedrin
that was made up of the Scribes, Pharisees, and the Sadducees. Each group had
their reasons to keep their leadership under this corrupt old system of
idolatry - love of self, power, and money. These disciples of John who came to
Jesus were concerned about Jesus and His disciples being very different from
the religious structure that they were a part of. In a paragraph earlier, Jesus
was having dinner with hated tax collectors and known sinners. When the
Pharisees asked Jesus why this was so, He responded, "It is not those who
are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick... Now go and learn
what this means: I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,' for I did not
come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Now the disciples of John came and ask, "Why do
we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" Jesus gives
them a stark and truthful answer that they are just not going to understand,
until after Jesus' resurrection and they themselves believe Jesus’ message.
That answer will remain hidden from them. It should be remembered that
"Fasting," is to deny yourself food and unnecessary drink at a time
of sadness. It is a precursor to confession of sins directly to
The Lord. Fasting and Repentance go hand and hand.
The bridegroom is Jesus, the attendants are His disciples. In the time before Judas plants his kiss upon the cheek of Jesus in Gethsemane, His disciples are with Jesus at the "Stag Party," the "Bachelor Party," if you will. The time is coming when Jesus will leave them, like the groom must leave to join with his bride. And when He leaves them... they will mourn. So, you see, His disciples are not now fasting in sorrow - but they will, when Jesus is called to leave them, and begin the last steps to the Cross.
Vss. 16-17
Those who sat around Jesus while he taught didn't live
like most of us do today. They couldn't go down the street and go to a store
and pick up a new wool shirt, or trousers, if they began to split down the
side. Hidden in the literal translation is what is missing from most
translations. It's not a question of new cloth versus old cloth. The
"new" here is freshly cut sheep's wool, the literal calls it
"un-carded" wool. It hasn't been cleaned, boiled, bleached, dyed,
pulled through a comb to separate the hairs, made into threads, pre-shrunk, and
woven into cloth. If you used unprocessed wool to make your threads and cloth,
then the first time you washed your garment all the new threads and cloth would
shrink into a little bunch and rip away from the old cloth - thus ruining the
garment you were trying to repair.
We
need to keep in mind that Jesus is telling them about the coming change from
the Old Mosaic Covenant, made with the nation of Israel, based upon the Law of
God, to a New Covenant, made with the nation of Israel, based upon the Grace of
God – through Jesus Christ - toward His people. The two covenants cannot be
combined, the New Covenant is so remarkably different from the Old… that it
cannot “Patch-up” the Old Covenant for great rips and tears would result. Law
and Grace… just don’t mix!
They also couldn't do the same in decanting new wine
into an old container for their wine containers were made from leather. Over
time the leather would begin to rot. When fresh wine was placed into the old
wineskin it was "new wine," fresh grape juice with sugar added. It
was placed someplace cool and allowed to ferment. The fermentation process both
sterilized the wine and it also released large quantities of carbon dioxide
gas. In order for the finished product to have a
little sparkle to it - the wineskin had to be kept sealed until the
fermentation process had ended. If your wineskin was old - it would burst under
the pressure. So, you would know in those days that you don't repair your
garments with un-carded wool, and you don't put new wine in old wineskins.
Instead, you replaced the OLD with the NEW.
Jesus is, of course, speaking of a time coming
(shortly for them) when, First - Jesus would be leaving His disciples, followed
by a time of fasting. Second, The Kingdom of God was at hand and the whole Old
Covenant system was due to be replaced with the New Covenant. We'll explore
this idea in a moment, but first, I don't want you to miss the last few words
of Matthew 9:17, "Instead,
they are pouring fresh wine into new wine-skins, and
both are being preserved." In their
near future the nation of Israel is going to be set aside. The first elements
of the New Covenant will be established with believing Jews and Gentiles, and
they will become known as "The Church." But the setting aside of
Israel is not the end for them. They will be re-established as a believing
people, their names already written in the book of life, and they will finally enter into their Promised land of rest under the Kingship of
their 'Anointed One, Messiah, Christ, Jesus' in the millennial kingdom to come.
As the Gentiles are grafted into Christ the Vine, so the believing nation of
Israel will be re-grafted back into the Vine, as well [Romans 11:23]. As Jesus
says, “and both are preserved.”
MARK 2:18-22 [NASB]
18 John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting;
and they *came and *said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of
the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them,
“While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot
fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot
fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast (Lit. be fasting) in
that day.
21
“No one sews (Lit. is sewing) a patch of unshrunk cloth (Lit.
uncarded wool) on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it (Lit.
will shrink), the new from the old, and a worse tear (rent) results. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins;
otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as
well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”
Since we covered the meanings in Matthew's telling,
we'll now look for areas where Mark increases what we now know.
The first difference is that Mark is speaking to an
audience that is very familiar with both the garment and the wineskin repair
issues. Matthew's and Mark's telling of this story are very similar. Again, I
really enjoy the freshness of Mark's literal translation. The words
"rent," (the act of violent tearing or splitting) in verse 21 and
"burst" (sudden and explosive) in verse 22 give a clarity of the
image that Jesus is foretelling.
Certainly the Jewish synagogue leadership was about to
become unglued as they recognize that their esteemed positions and elevated
sense of authority were in jeopardy... if indeed this Jesus was the Messiah
(and many believed He was). He was talking about their ungodliness to their
faces and indicating that all they stood for, and all their false systems of
religion were about to be replaced. Jesus was going to "rent" their
lives from top to bottom - and they knew it.
Also in verse 21, Mark states that without a closing
out of the Old Covenant, before the opening up of the
New Covenant, the changes that were to come would have been much more
difficult. He uses the phrase, “a worse tear would result.” Think of the
possible ramifications that would have resulted if Judaism and Christianity
were both attempting to live side-by-side as official versions of worshipping
God.
In verse 22 the literal says "bursting." The
Sanhedrin, Sadducees, and Pharisees could see the population that had followed
Jesus down from Galilee were thrilled with this new Messiah who had the ability
to change people's lives and heal the sick... even the born blind could now
see. He could even forgive sins! Yes, the population was about to be
"bursting" open the old religious system – let alone the very
possibility that this could cause a “religious uprising” and the Roman military
would take everything away from the Jews – like they would do in 70 A.D.
COMMENTARY
and APPLICATION(S):
So, lets summarize:
We need to make mention of some of the differences
between the old and new covenants. The Old was based on the Jewish people, as
physical descendants of Abram (Abraham). Abram's faith (his belief, and his
willingness to sacrifice his own son) was so pleasing to God that a people of
like faith would be Abram's legacy both in this life and the next. On the
upside of this covenant was a promised people, a nation, and a promised land of
rest. On the downside was the fact that this was a "conditional"
covenant. It was an "I will bless you if you love me and keep the
faith," and "I will discipline you if you don't."
A covenant and personal salvation are two different things.
At the center of this old covenant was the three
central aspects of the Law of God that was given to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai.
Part-1 of the Law was the legal aspects of the Law. This was to educate every
Hebrew as to the holiness of God and the sinfulness of mankind. It was a
mirror.
As a
mirror, the Law, and its sacrifices, was to get them to look upon God's
holiness and then to reflect back upon themselves and
their sinfulness. It was to teach them a specific lesson - in
order to be free from their sinfulness, they needed a savior.
There would be two family lines (Moses/Aaron and Levi)
that would make up the “Priesthood,” who would be administrators of the Law. It
would fall upon them (Moses/Aaron) to be the leadership of their priesthood in order to be mediators between God and the Hebrew people.
Those from the line of Levi would be the functionaries who cared for the
Tabernacle (their place of worship) and carried out the sacrificial process.
There was to be a system of animal sacrifices who had
to give up their lives in order to find atonement for those who would bring
their animals for substitutionary sacrifice (the shedding of the animal’s as a substitute for their blood). These three
portions of the Mosaic Law were, in every sense, to point to a Messiah,
literally an "Anointed One," who would be the final sacrifice (the
blood sacrifice) and put an end to the sin and death that had entered into the world via Satan, Adam, and Eve. It should
also be noted that the Law did not bring salvation without personal Abraham
like faith.
Instead,
the Law brought condemnation and then if they were faithful under the law and
the sacrifices, they would find atonement for their sins - atonement is not
salvation. It is only a release from the penalty of their sins. Salvation for
all ages is only by Grace to those who "love God with all their heart,
minds, and might" [Deuteronomy 6:5] (there are over 100 verses of
scripture which speak of this mandate).
So what is our application from this parable?
To start, let us ponder fasting. There's a lot of talk in today's world about
"fasting" as a good health measure that helps with losing weight.
Some even talk about using "fasting" as a way to
get things from God - a way of pleasing Him so He will be good to you. This, of
course, is all nonsense. You can't make God do anything! If you think you can
manipulate Almighty God, the creator of the universe - you are seriously being
misled by the evil one. If you desire to lose weight... don't eat so much, but
don't call it "fasting." If you desire to have "God's
blessing" in terms of "doing something that will win you favor,"
then your attempt at fasting is just WORKS. The way to God's favor is through
His Son's sacrifice of Himself for you. Ephesians 1 teaches us that, if we are
in Christ, we are already the possessor of "every spiritual blessing"
through faith in Him. Biblical fasting is very specific. It is a private time
of denying yourself so that you can focus upon your sorrow for sin, and to be
in prayer to your heavenly Father seeking His presence and pleasure.
Then, we need to consider
the plan of God as He reveals it through the nature of His Covenants:
First, His covenants are a contract between God and man
whereby God figuratively writes the contract and signs it… They are unilateral
contracts; the affected parties don’t get to approve or sign them.
Second, some of these contracts are unconditional (God
Promises and man receives). Other contracts are conditional (God Promises based
upon man’s performance… if this, then this… if not, then this).
There are many covenants in
the scriptures but 5 of them are key.
1.
NOAHIC COVENANT - Unconditional
Post universal flood – God promises He will never
again flood the earth [Genesis 8:20-9:17].
2.
ABRAHAMIC COVENANT – Parts Unconditional and Conditional
A redemptive partnership between God and Abram
[Abraham]. God promises Abraham a huge family that will inherit land in Canaan
and bring universal blessing to all humanity.
3.
MOSAIC COVENANT – Conditional
God meets with Moses on Mt. Sinai and God promises to
bring blessings IF they follow His Commands, and to bring curses if they
do not.
4.
DAVIDIC COVENANT – Unconditional
God chooses David to be His representative King over
the nation of Israel and will provide a faithful descendant of David to
eventually reign over Israel.
5.
THE NEW COVENANT – Unconditional
The New Covenant is to be everlasting. God will write
His law on the hearts of His people, bringing complete forgiveness of sin, and
raise up a faithful king from the line of David who will restore all that has
been broken [Matthew 26:26-29; Luke 22:19-22].
JESUS
IS THE COVENANTAL CLIMAX[i]
The New
Testament authors present Jesus as the offspring of Abraham who trusted
his Yahweh, even to the point of death, and became a blessing to all nations. He,
Jesus, is the greater Moses, leading us out of bondage, and He is
the obedient Israelite who perfectly follows the laws of God. He is the
royal son of David who inaugurated God’s Kingdom in His life, death, and
resurrection, and who now sits at God’s right hand forever reigning as the one
true King.
Jesus perfectly succeeded at every point where humanity
failed. He is the guarantor and mediator of the new and better covenant
[Heb. 7:22; 9:15; Hebrews 7:22; Hebrews 9:15].
Now people from every
nation, tribe, and tongue who trust Jesus can become a part of God’s
covenant family.
In the new covenant, we
receive the forgiveness of sins and God’s empowering Spirit to help us live
lives full of self-giving love. Because of Jesus, we can live
righteously and partner with Him as He renews the world.
A
Brief Commentary on the evil leading to the Cross
The Bible tells a story with a single purpose – but that
single purpose is also complex. Somewhere back before the creation of material
things God made decisions concerning a material universe for His purposes. One
of those purposes that the Bible reveals to us is to acquire a people for
Himself who would not only say they loved Him, but also proved it. In His plan
and purposes, He allowed evil to enter into His plan,
first through one of His angels, Lucifer [Satan]. That evil element made
possible the dividing line between those who would, and those who would not,
willfully choose to serve, follow, be obedient to, and most of all Love the
Lord God with all their hearts, minds, and wills.
Satan was cast down to earth to be master and
ruler here. God established mankind here on this small insignificant planet on
the far edge of a galaxy that was one planet in a galaxy of a hundred million
stars in a universe where there are more galaxies than there are stars in our
galaxy – seemingly insignificant – except for the master plan of God. Create a
people destined to be His human children. With such a high calling there would
be no salvation for those who rejected His master plan – to provide Himself as
their savior.
The Fall [Genesis 3]
Adam and Eve begin their lives here on this planet in
a place that is without match – the wonderful Garden of Eden. A place where
there is no evil, no pain, no suffering, no weeds, no animosity between the
animals, and weather where no clothes are necessary – and no evil knowledge to
make clothes emotionally necessary. It all ends when the Serpent [Lucifer,
Satan] brings his evil and spreads it to mankind. And mankind is ejected from
God’s perfect environment. The nature of the whole world is changed including
the nature of man and beasts.
Evil leading to the
death of Abel [Genesis 4]
Two young men, brothers, sons of Adam and Eve, and
one is jealous of the other. Why? – He was born in a world of sin. A place
where choices are no longer made because they are right, but often made because
we benefit from our choice. Cain chose a life of raising food. When it came
time to worship God, he took what he had raised and offered it to the Lord.
Able
chose a life of raising animals. When it came time to worship God, he took the
life of one of his animals and offered its dead body to the Lord. And the Lord
was touched by Abel’s offering, as it reminded the Lord of the plan of the ages
to take the life of His beloved Son and offer it on behalf of the forgiveness
of those who would receive it. Cain was not pleased with God’s pleasure with
Able, and not pleased with Abel’s blessing – so Cain killed him.
Evil
leading to the Flood [Genesis 6-7]
There is not a lot of information as to the downfall
of humanity leading up to the Flood. We are told that people had become
uninterested in the worship of God. Society had moved away from righteousness
in a Biblical sense and was only interested in self-interest. Sounds a lot like
today.
The
day came when God brought severe discipline for their complete occupation with
things that were self-involved and self-interesting. Leaving God out of their
worldview brought on enormous consequences… as it will again… The day came when
there were only 8 people who loved the Lord God, Noah, his wife, and his 3 sons
and their wives. Noah completed and loaded the Ark and God closed the door.
Evil leading to the
slavery of Joseph [Genesis 37-50]
You may, of course, remember the story of Joseph, the
young son of Jacob. His dad loved him and gave him many special things. His
brothers were envious of him to the point where they wanted to kill him. It was
Ruben who first rescued him from murder [Genesis 37:21] and it was Judah who
saved his life and persuaded the others to sell him into slavery instead
[Genesis 37:26]. I love the line that Joseph said when He met them again in
Egypt, “you intended it for evil, but God intended it for good” [Genesis
50:20]. That line would stand as the byline for all of time. Joseph loved the
Lord and brought them into the time of Moses.
Evil at the foot of
Sinai [Exodus 32, Numbers 13]
Moses battled with Pharaoh and was able (through
God’s miracles) to lead his people to safety, across the dead sea
(miraculously) and on to Mt. Sinai. Moses showed them great miracles and led
them to a place of safety. But, when he left them and answered the Lord’s
command to join Him on the top of Sinai… the people rebelled and wanted a
different God, one that would do what they wanted him to do. The golden calf –
even Moses’ brother Aaron was involved, “I melted the gold and the calf just
appeared!” (… Sure …) It was an 11-day journey from Sinai to the border of
Canaan. When they arrived at the edge of the Jordan river Moses sent 12 spies
into the “Promised Land” to scout it out. When the spies returned only 2,
Joshua and Caleb, believed God and wanted to cross over into that new land.
Because of the nation’s continuous rebellion against God’s word, ending with
these spies who rejected God’s plan and leading, they were sent back into the
wilderness… it took 40 years to get back and enter that “Promised Land.”
Cycles of Evil
throughout Israel’s history
Here in the AncientPath.net study of The book of Ruth
there is an addendum which speaks to the recurring struggles with sin that the
Nation of Israel traveled through (Ruth
- Addendum-6). In that study you can see how
Israel cycled around and around in sin that eventually resulted in first, the
division of the nation, and then later the complete dissolve of the nation in
the captivity brought on by Babylon.
Evil leading to the
Cross [The Gospels]
With the reestablishment of the nation of Israel,
first under the Persians, then a brief war and liberation, only to be
reacquired by the nation of Rome, came the return of a corrupt religious
leadership that had been brought about by previous generations of scribes and
rabbis. They slowly turned the worship of God through the Law of Moses into a
worship of works in keeping the law. Even the sacrifices had suffered the
complete loss of meaning. They had become a way to buy a nonexistent forgiveness
based on money and works. The people who were supposed
to be free had become captives and the world that was supposed to be reached by
this nation had become lost to them.
When Jesus arrives on the scene the local rulers seek to have him killed as a baby and His family fled to Egypt. It was the culture to kill anyone who might take the throne – even a little child. By the time Jesus and His family had moved back to Israel and He has been an adult and involved in His ministry to the Galileans, the Judean religious leadership had already plotted to Kill Him as an adult. Evil had spread all over the land. When He returns from Galilee with hundreds of followers who know He is the Christ – who have seen Him heal, who have seen Him raise the dead, who have seen Him make the blind see. But there, His death is the foremost sought-after idea in the minds of all those who are evil – and so… they put our precious Lord Jesus to death… as planned by God, His Father, from before the foundations of the World.
FOLLOW-UP
QUESTIONS WITH OUT ANSWERS
1. Who asked Jesus why didn't He and His disciples
fast?
2. What was John the Baptist's main message?
3. Why didn't Jesus' disciples fast (from Jesus' point
of view)?
4. What is the message about the Old and New
Covenants.
5. What is the main point of verses 21 & 22?
6. What are the three main elements of the Mosaic Law?
7. Why was Jesus so hated by both the religious and
political leadership of His time?
FOLLOW-UP
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
1. Who asked Jesus why didn't He and His disciples
fast?
The Disciples of John the Baptist.
2. What was John the Baptist's main message?
Repentance of the Jew, return to the Old Covenant.
3. Why didn't Jesus' disciples fast (from Jesus'
point of view)?
Like in a wedding feast the groomsmen are enjoying the
groom and have no reason to fast - that will come when He is taken away.
4. What is the message about the Old and New
Covenants.
The two covenants cannot co-exist. The Old, the Law,
only brought judgment and condemnation. The New, The King and His Kingdom,
brought complete renewal. No more evil, sin, or death,
in a people and a place prepared for Him.
5. What is the main point of verses 21 & 22?
The complete system change
from the Old Covenant to the New.
6. What are the three main elements of the Mosaic
Law?
First, the elements of the legal requirements (law).
Second, a priesthood who would mediate God to man, and man to God. Third, a
substitutionary atonement system to teach of a coming savior. The substitute
sacrifice must die for the sinner to be forgiven - that substitute sacrificial
savior is Jesus, the Anointed One, Messiah, Christ, The very Son of God.
7. Why was Jesus so hated by both the religious and
political leadership of His time?
The big picture is the evil of this world and the
ruler of it, Satan (Lucifer), is completely and absolutely against the
Substitutionary atonement brought about by Jesus. Prevention of this moment in
time would mean that God is not all He says He is, and that He is a liar.
Therefore, Satan has a right to be lord over this world and all others.
Secondarily, is the evil greed of the rulers of that day. If Jesus was the
Messiah and He came and made the world system righteous - they stood to lose
everything - their power, their positions, even their lives. Jesus must die.
Series Introduction
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Jeremiah 18:15
"Don't stumble from the Ancient Path"
2023-06-12 updated
2024-03-27
[i] The Bible Project, Covenants: The Backbone of the Bible, Whitney Woodllard