Don’t drop the plonk!
by Rev Dr Noel Due
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Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. The skins burst, the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins (Matthew 9:17).
Read Matthew 9:9–17
In Jesus’ day, wineskins (literally, made from the skins of animals: tanned, stitched into a container shape, and provided with a corked spout) were expensive items that took a long time to produce. Consequently, they were not disposed of but reused. Over time, the acid content of the wine made the skins brittle and subject to catastrophic failure. If you put new wine, still yeasting and fermenting, into these old skins, both wine and skins would be lost as the new wine burst the old skins.
What is Jesus referring to?
This metaphor appears in the context of his actions and words about various forms of religious legalism.
On the one hand, the Pharisees thought that Jesus was contaminating his holiness by mixing with ‘tax collectors and sinners’ (both well-known titles for people whom the religious elite rejected).
On the other hand, some of the disciples of John the Baptist lived a very austere life to underline the seriousness of the message of repentance. They were critical because neither Jesus nor his disciples engaged in ritual fasting, which they thought marked serious spirituality.
But neither understood.
Jesus was providing the new wine of the Spirit, bringing grace and freedom to those who had been captive to legalistic religion. Those who had been rejected by the brittle legalism of the Pharisees were welcome in the new wineskins of Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus’ kingdom is one of freedom and joy, not fear and austerity.
Just as in a wedding feast (Jesus says he is the ‘bridegroom’ in this passage), the focus is not on the potential trials and sufferings the married couple may eventually face, but on the overwhelming joy of being together at the feast. Here, Jesus says that when he is present it is like the feast is underway.
It is very easy for us to forget that the main thing in the Christian faith is Jesus. He is not only the foundation but also the active, present and eternally faithful ‘bridegroom’.
It is very easy for us to become like them: hard and brittle, unable to cope with Jesus’ new day of grace and the new wineskins he was creating to contain it.
Heavenly Father, thank you that you continually break down our resistance to your grace, to preserve us from becoming brittle and legalistic in our faith. May we be filled with your Spirit so that Jesus’ life flows through us to bring joy, freedom and blessing to others. Amen.
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