New Wineskins

Mark 2:22

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins--and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.

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In our introduction to the Gospel of Mark, we noticed some of the unique characteristics of this gospel and it's overall emphasis upon the kingdom of God, as summarized in Mark 1:15. Now, we come to a somewhat cryptic verse about wineskins in chapter 2 which hopefully will shed more light on what this new kingdom is all about. We will approach this passage as a parable, since the version in Luke 5 explicitly calls it such. And, we will utilize the tools for parable interpretation that we learned while studying Matthew -- especially looking at the immediate narrative context and the synoptic parallels.

1. Immediate Narrative Context. Jesus is in the beginning stages of his Galilean ministry. He has dramatically healed a paralytic in front of a vast crowd, and in the process, claimed the authority to forgive sins (2:10). He has called Levi the tax collector to be his follower, and then proceeded to have fellowship with a whole room full of "sinners." And, the chapter ends with a shocking reinterpretation of the Sabbath, in which Christ claims to be Lord of the Sabbath and the final arbiter of its meaning and purpose. It is in this context of paradigm-shifting events and teaching that we find the parable of the wineskins.

What the context tells us about the parable confirms the interpretation of the wineskins as representing religious paradigms. In other words, the old wineskins represent the rabbinic customs and regulations that have been built up around God's law over the centuries; the new wineskins represent the kingdom of God which is being inaugurated by Christ. Christ's teaching is the new wine, and so we are here learning that we cannot fit His truth into our preconceived religious paradigms. We must conform completely to His reality, not the other way around.

2. Synoptic Parallels. Matthew's version of this parable is essentially the same, but Luke's version adds another verse which, at first sight, appears to contradict our initial interpretation:

And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, "The old is good."

This appears to be an affirmation of the Jewish religious paradigm which was criticized in the previous verses! However, there is a simple explanation for this -- the statement is descriptive, rather than prescriptive. In other words, Jesus is describing the common experience of preferring old wine over new (or old teaching over new). He is NOT prescribing such a preference, but rather saying that the religious leaders have no desire for the new teaching, since they are entrenched in their love for the old. (If you are familiar with the interpretation of Solomon's Proverbs, you will better understand this descriptive/prescriptive dichotomy.)

While this passage about this wineskins is still bound to its cultural context and a rather foreign illustration to our modern ears, we do have tools to build a substantial understanding of what it means for us today. We can say with certainty that Jesus is using this illustration to critique the entrenched religious paradigm of the day. And, we can say with certainty that Jesus is calling each of us to question our own paradigm and make sure that we are not trying to fit Jesus' teaching into a preconceived religious mold. If we do so, the mold and the teaching will both be useless -- "the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins."

Start Spreading the News

Mark 1:15

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

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When you see the word "gospel" you should always read "good news," because that is what is means. And, when you look at the Gospel of Mark you should always think "news flash." Mark shares many similarities with the other two synoptic gospels (Matthew and Luke): exact textual parallels in many cases, as well as similar chronological ordering and emphasis upon the "kingdom of God." But it is where they differ that is striking for our introduction today. Mark is unique in at least two ways:

1. Pacing. You may notice the words "immediately" and "at once." Well, you should notice them, because they appear about 8 times in chapter one alone! The significance of these phrases is that Mark's pacing is fast and driven. The shortest of the gospels, Mark is all about getting to the point and summarizing the ministry of Christ as it approaches its climax at the cross and empty tomb. This "good news" is more of a "good news flash."

2. Action. Another distinctive of this gospel is that the content of the book is dominated by narrative action, with only snippets of teaching quoted here and there. As opposed to the Sermon on the Mount and John's lengthy Olivet Discourse, Mark is primarily concerned with following the action of Jesus' ministry, once again, giving the story a sense of speed and urgency. In chapter one alone we learn about John the Baptist, Jesus' baptism and temptation in the wilderness, the calling of the first disciples, an exorcism, two healings, a glimpse at Jesus' times of solitude, and some mention of Jesus' teaching. As for the content of that teaching, out of 45 verses, only one of them gives us a glimpse at what Jesus is teaching the crowds: verse 15, which is quoted above.

As many have suggested, Mark 1:15 is a good summary statement for this gospel. Jesus has come to fulfill all that God's people have been waiting for for hundreds of years: namely, the kingdom of God has arrived on Earth. Chapter one gives us an early glimpse of what characterizes this king and his kingdom: teaching with unique authority and dominion over the forces of nature. But, perhaps the most important (and possibly surprising feature) of this coming kingdom, is how we are commanded to respond to it: Repent and believe. Jesus cuts to the core of what the kingdom is about here by demanding a changed life and a changed heart. As we continue through the Gospel of Mark, we will see more of this "news flash" unfolding, and be ourselves challenged to respond to Christ's authority with repentance and faith. Perhaps the response of the leper will be our own:

But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news...

You Must Be Good

Psalm 15:1-2

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
He who walk blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart...

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The first impression I receive when reading this psalm is that the criteria for being accepted by a holy God is quite simply this: complete holiness. It is, after all, a "holy" hill that is described here as the desired destination of believers. What else should we expect as the criteria for entrance into the presence of God?

The problem is that we fall short of this list in Psalm 15 almost every day. We continually fail to do the following:

- speak truth in our hearts
- avoid slanderous speech
- avoid doing evil to our neighbor
- avoid taking up reproach against our friends
- despise vileness
- honor those who fear the LORD
- swear to our own hurt and never change
- avoid lending money at interest
- avoid taking bribes against the innocent.

The temptation here is to finish reading this psalm and immediately despair. We know that our salvation is by grace, but these verses seem to contradict that reality. Is it really fair to the text to say that this list of rules is no longer applicable for the Christian who lives under the forgiveness that was purchased at the cross?

Well, I believe this conundrum can be solved using two very simple (and fair) interpretive tools: proximity and parallel. First, it is easy to miss, but the proximity of this psalm to the one before must not be overlooked. As we have already discussed, Psalm 14 is very clear about man's depravity. If it's not clear enough for you by itself, see how Paul refers to it in Romans 3. This is clearly a final verdict on man's inability to please God on his own. Second, the parallels between the lists found in Psalm 15 and Romans 3 are too close to be coincidental. Romans 3:13-14 speaks of humanity's propensity for evil speech (parallel to Psalm 15:2-3). The psalm requires us to honor those who fear the LORD (v. 4), but Paul says that there is no fear of God in the eyes of any man, period (Romans 3:18). The psalm describes a man who swears to his own hurt (v. 4), while Romans describes humanity as continually hurting others (3:15-17).

Clearly, these passages create a paradox that, on one hand accords completely with reality as we know it, but on the other hand, must somehow be resolved by a divine intervention alone. Gladly, the gospel tells that story exactly. While our God is completely holy and welcomes to himself only those who match the list, our Savior was also completely holy and has made a way for us to be welcomed into the presence of God through his shed blood and imputed righteousness (see 2 Cor. 5:21).

I pray that we can face these realities with awe and gratitude for the God who is there and who has intervened on our behalf. Let us sing of these truths along with the hymn-writer:

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus' name
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand.