What Does New Wine in Old Wineskins Mean?
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"And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.” - Mark 2:22
Many times, Jesus spoke in parables to teach lessons. He would use everyday things to convey a spiritual message. In Mark 2, we find that Jesus was questioned about fasting. He answers in a seemingly unusual way by describing examples. What does new wine in old wineskins mean? Today we are going to uncover this biblical truth.
The Context of Mark 2:18-22
During the time of Jesus, the Pharisees were the people of the Law who did a lot of good things outwardly, but many were prideful or had very hardened hearts. They were the religious people who attacked Jesus often and tried to find fault in Him. The Pharisees were threatened by the popularity of Jesus and His ways that seemed to them to be against the law, even though we know that Jesus lived a perfect life and fulfilled the law (1 Peter 2:22, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, Matthew 5:17).
People asked Jesus why the Pharisees were fasting but not the disciples of Jesus. Then Jesus answered them, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast” (Mark 2:20).
Jesus was telling the people that He was in their midst, the Savior of the world was standing in front of them, so their religious act of fasting was not as valuable as being with Him. Is this not a great message for us today? Jesus is inviting us into a relationship with Him, so why do we often worry about our religious practices more than simply being in relationship with Christ? We have everything in Him, and our works will flow out of our love for Him.
Mark 2:21 says, “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.”
Bibleref.com shares that Jesus did not come to “patch Judaism with a new piece.” He came to fulfill Judaism. They say, “Jesus comes to redeem, not plug holes.” They share a brilliant biblical connection. “The noun translated "tear" comes from the Greek root schisma. The verb form, schizo is used in Mark 15:38 to describe how "the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom."
This curtain was the barrier between God and the priest who approached Him in the Holy of Holies. Jesus removed the barrier between God and humanity by His sacrifice on the cross. In other words, Jesus did not come to destroy the law, He came to complete it.
New Wine in Old Wine Skins Explained
Mark 2:22 says, “And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Regarding verse 22, Bibleref.com teaches that the Pharisees lived lives like old wineskins. When new wine was poured in, the wineskins would break apart and the wine wasted. Jesus however, brought freedom in grace. His grace could not be held in legalistic rules that the Pharisees enforced over others. We cannot alter Jesus to fit our mold of religion, we have to remember that we are the jars, and He is the Potter. He will shape us to learn. “To try to fit Jesus' teachings of love and freedom into the Pharisaical legalism (or even its modern-day equivalences) would have resulted in a burst tradition and pieces of love and freedom spilled out all over the floor” (Bibleref).
How Do We See Old Wine Skins Today?
Have you ever been around a church group or lived under the spiritual leadership of someone who required more of you than the Bible says? Did they force a certain dress code? Did they only allow certain instruments? Did they require you to be in the building every day of the week? Did they not allow dancing? Did they make you wear dresses or skirts down to your ankles only? These are some modern examples of legalism.
I remember a story from my mother who grew up in a very legalistic church. The setting was an “old wineskin” kind of place. She was not a Christian yet and the church was pushing her to get baptized even though she had not accepted Jesus. One day she was chased out of the sanctuary into the parking lot by a man who was yelling at her to get baptized. As you can imagine, my poor mother was traumatized and this cause her to run away not only from that man but from God.
The legalism of this church was misrepresentative of Jesus. They were forcing an action without a heart change. Had my mom decided to undergo baptism to please men, it would have been genuine. Praise the Lord that my mom accepted Jesus as her Savior in her 30s and her life has been forever changed by the grace of Christ. She no longer lives in legalism, but in freedom, because Christ has set her free and in case you were wondering, she did get baptized.
All of us have likely undergone an experience with old wineskins. We might even have been the people creating the unnecessary boundaries based on the law. The law itself is not bad, it is perfect, but when we are so hyper-focused about rules and practices of faith, we miss the point, we miss the relationship.
How Can I Avoid Living in an Old Wineskin?
Are you finding it difficult to avoid perfectionism? Being a Christ-follower does not mean that you are going to do everything right. In fact, there are some minor beliefs and practices Christians will have that are ok for some, but not for others. Speaking of wine, the Bible is very clear that it is a sin to be drunk on wine. However, it never says not to drink at all. Some though may be unable to drink because of a history of alcoholism, anxiety, depression, or just a personal conviction to stay away from the temptation. Others might find the freedom to enjoy a glass of wine as a treat occasionally without overindulging. However, the person who drinks wine does have a responsibility to not cause others to stumble within their freedom (1 Corinthians 8). Both are acceptable even though they are different convictions.
We need to know when to recognize an old wineskin. Deuteronomy 4:2 says, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” We need to be careful to not add or remove from what the Lord has commanded.
Celebrating Jesus as the New Wine
Jesus is our new wine. We can celebrate today that He gave His blood as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. He tore the veil. He removed our sins from the East to the West. He gives us grace upon grace. If we try to box the grace of the gospel into our legalized religious package, it will burst forth because grace cannot be hidden. Jesus breaks through all sin, all legalism, all old wineskins. Because of Jesus, He is freeing us from the same stumbling block of the Pharisees still today. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
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