the religious folks remark to Jesus about his disciples. Jesus defends his disciples and offers and explanation... about being guests of a bridegroom... i wonder if anyone understood?
sewing patches and talk of wineskins... few of us sew and most of us have never held a wineskin in our hands... but they are illustrations about timing and appropriateness...
we are all at different places in our walk with Christ... i do believe we have to be very cautious about how we judge how some practices our faith... fasting or attending sunrise services, or...
3 comments:
i had a really hard time understanding this text, but after reading many different commentaries i believe i have a better idea of what God is trying to reveal to me.
in the old testament, there were specific laws and rituals that were practiced for those that followed after God. and in our passage, you see Jesus being questioned about the way he was practicing fasting because it was different from the way it's been practiced before. i see that His authority in a way was being questioned. Jesus, the creator of all things, was being told how to do something that He Himself had created.
Beyond following and abiding rules and laws, I see that what is most important in our walk with God is to love and trust Him, our creator. From this, we will be able to follow after Christ without having to question his authority.
does this make sense or am i way off?
I agree with both Helen and Esther. The way you put into words what was vaguely perceived brought clarity and greater understanding to me.
Thanks for your post.
john's disciples and the pharisees were stuck in the old way of thinking, where your standing with God was based on how well you performed--how often you washed your hands, how studiously you fasted, etc.
Jesus introduced a whole new way of relating to God--compassion and mercy even to those who were poor in spirit and crushed by their failures, like the prostitutes and the tax collectors and the sinners.
these "sinners" rejoiced in His presence, eating and drinking with Him, partying with Him.
they celebrated during the short time Jesus was physically present on the earth.
Jesus tells them that it will all change soon: "the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
this new way of relating to God--not by merit but by faith--requires a new heart and a new way of thinking.
that's why it is impossible to sew the "patch of unshrunk cloth"--(the new way of thinking about God) onto "an old garment" (the old self).
"for the patch will pull away from the garment making the tear worse".
neither do men pour new wine (the new way of thinking about God) into old wineskins (the old self).
"if they do the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.
No, they pour new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved".
to receive such a glorious salvation, one must be completely transformed from within to accommodate it.
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