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."

Interpretative Light

Matthew 4:5-7

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

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Jesus did not have a problem with Scripture passages that were in contradiction. Or, are they really in contradiction? I mean, God said the angels would take care of His chosen one, right? But, God also said not to put Him to the test. Does one type of Scripture overrule another? How do you know when you've found one of these overruling passages? No, overruling is not the issue; Light is the issue.

The Bible is a book with meaning, like many others, and that meaning has always been meant to be accessible to the average reader. If that is true, then what do we make of this biblical "contradiction" between Jesus and Satan? I said Light is the issue, rather than overruling. It is true that there are different levels of brightness with Light, and that a strong Light might "overrule" a weaker Light. The difference is that the weaker Light is not, therefore, diminished or done away with; it is enhanced and aided by the stronger Light. Matthew 4:5-7 can be aided by at least three "stronger" Lights.

First, the immediate context of 4:5-7 sheds light on what the temptation of Jesus was all about. Jesus was tempted to break his fast, to throw himself to his death, and to worship Satan. Sounds like a biblical "no-brainer" - DON'T DO THAT! But, as many have pointed out, these temptations, like our own daily struggles, are reflections of what hounds our souls most. Jesus dealt with feelings of despair, perhaps, that threatened to undo his ministry from the start. As in all three temptations, the weapon to fight these thoughts was Scripture itself. The Bible cuts through the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12) and zeroes in on the root sources of our struggles; in this case, despairing was akin to testing God, and Jesus would have none of it.

Second, as mentioned in a previous post, the Light of the whole Bible must be combined with the particular passage in question. Fortunately, many difficult passages contain their own specific allusions to others passages, and this is no exception. You want more Light on what it means for Jesus to struggle with putting God to the test? Well, check out the passage that He quotes, Deuteronomy 6:16. The Light from there will only strengthen the visibility of this passage.

And third, Matthew 4 actually gives us a little hint to what is the greatest Light of all: Jesus himself. In Matthew 4:16 we read,

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.

The allusion is to Jesus and his kingdom ministry, as described in the verse immediately following. Jesus steps into a dark world (in the shadow of the curse of sin and death) and he makes quite a scene, calling people to follow him, teaching in public, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, "and healing every disease and every affliction among the people" (4:23). How is Jesus the Light that aids us in reading Scripture? He, in His very person, provides the picture of what every passage of Scripture is pointing to: the good news of God in the flesh, sent to bear the sin of the world, draw sinners to himself, and restore all creation as the only good and wise King of Kings.