Today we’re going to jump into our 9th week of studying the book of Mark. We’ve been studying Mark to better understand the life that Jesus calls us to. As we’ve said before, we’re laying the ground work for this winter when we’ll talk about the last aspect of the vision that God has given us. This last aspect is Life. The life that Jesus has, that he died for, and that we can now experience.
In previous weeks, we have talked about two main points that the Gospel of Mark makes. These are: Jesus is God, and he is our example. Time and time again, we have seen Mark showing situations where Jesus is God. From John the Baptist’s declaration, to Jesus’ baptism, his authority, and even a demon calling Jesus God. And in a couple weeks, we’ll see Jesus again, pointing towards himself being God.
And for our example, we see time and time again, how Jesus does certain things so that we can understand what we are to do. Whether it be getting baptized to follow Jesus in obedience, or how we are to treat people, moving past what society thinks into loving without condition.
That brings us to the last time we looked at Mark. We talked about the tax collector Levi, and how he was an outcast to society. But when Jesus called him to be one of his disciples, Levi went from an outcast to someone greatly used by God. In fact, we talked about how he was one of the disciples whom Jesus actually changed the name of. Calling him Matthew, which means gift of God. From that, we talked about how we too are Levis; people who are sinners and outcasts, but by accepting Jesus’ work on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, we become Matthews.
Today we’re going to jump into Mark chapter 2 verses 18-22. And as we do, you’ll notice that we’ll be talking about fasting. But as we read through Mark 2:18-22, we’re not going to be getting into the act of fasting itself, but rather, Jesus’ societies view on fasting and how it wasn’t compatible with Jesus’ teachings. So let’s begin reading Mark chapter 2, starting in verse 18.
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
21 “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. 22 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.”
Now, I have to tell you I struggled with this passage for a few days. Because Jesus’ answer to the these people asking about fasting, and Jesus’ additional response about the wine skins didn’t seem to fit until, I realized something.
So let’s break this passage down. You have three sets of disciples:
The first is John’s. Now we’re talking about John the Baptist here, and we have to remember that John was the last of the Old Testament prophets. So for him, following the Old Testament with all it’s ceremonial restrictions is still part of the deal.
Then you have the second set of disciples which are the followers of the Pharisees. If you remember, this was the group who wanted to get people back following God’s law, except they went overboard and added a lot more to God’s word.
Finally, we have the last set of disciples, these were Jesus’.
But before we get into Jesus’ disciples, let’s back track a bit and understand fasting in general. The term is used incorrectly a lot when someone uses it to say they’re fasting an activity, or a place. Fasting is meant to only reference not eating. Biblically speaking, when we see fasts in the Bible we’re seeing people fast food for a specific purpose. Usually the fast is to seek God for an answer to a problem, or a deeper revelation of who God is. We see this when Daniel fasts for an answer to a question in Daniel 9. We also See fasting used by Jesus to prepare for his ministry.
But the fasting that is being talked about here is not a fast that is seeking a question, or preparation for anything. Instead it is a fast because of tradition. See the Pharisees had developed a tradition of fasting twice a week. This added to the prescribed fast of the Old Testament in Leviticus 16:29-31, where fasting was supposed to be for the Day of Atonement.
Now here’s the thing that is interesting. We know that at this time John the Baptist is in prison. Some of his disciples moved on and became disciple of Jesus, but these are the ones that didn’t. We also know that John didn’t have any care for the way the Pharisees tried in added on to God’s word. We see that in Luke 3:7 where he calls these people a brood of vipers. But here we see his disciples leaderless, and falling back into the traditions set down by the Pharisees.
Now this is where we come to Jesus and his disciples. Unlike the other two sets of disciples, Jesus’ disciples are not following the Pharisees’ tradition, and people are wondering why. So Jesus gives an answer contrasting fasting with a wedding celebration. The point of fasting, is to seek God when we don’t feel like he is there. Fasting is to exclude the very substance we need to survive and in a sense say, “God it is only you that I need to survive. And I will exclude food to seek you until I find you.”
But Jesus is telling these questioners, why do my disciples need to seek me when I’m already found? This is where the wedding comes in. Fasting was used in times of morning or times of trouble. But with Jesus there, it’s a time for neither, but rather it is a time for celebration. God has come, instead of depriving ourselves of substance, let us indulge ourselves in the God whom we seek.
But he does say there will come a time when his disciples will fast and it’s the first time we see Jesus reference his eventual death.
But it doesn't end there, and it’s in this next section that I have been wrestling with this past week. At first read, verses 18-20 and 21-22 don’t seem to go together. One talks about fasting and celebration, while the other just seems to come out of no where. But as we have talked about, the Pharisees added these twice a week fasting times. onto the word of God.
This was done because they wanted to get closer to God, to shed the physical and to reach the spiritual.
And once we understand that, we can understand where Jesus is coming from when he speaks in verses 21-22.
The idea of the old and new wineskins was simple for the people to understand. When they would make wine they would put it in goatskins. As the wine fermented the goatskin would expand. New skins were necessary to allow for this expansion due to the fermentation process. If the unfermented wine were to go into old goatskins, the old skin did not have the elasticity necessary to allow the process to work. Therefore the old skins would break and the wine would fall on the ground and be lost.
Jesus draws a parallel between the Pharisees man-made tradition of fasting constantly, to God’s way. See man’s tradition becomes rigged and inflexible. Anytime God comes into work, breaks happen.
And that’s the big problem that Jesus is tackling here: Our own presuppositions, our own baggage, our own traditions, and ways of thinking, hinder the work of God. We say things like, well this is what I believe. This is how I do things. This is the way I feel. But those can become inflexible positions. And when the Word of God comes in, there becomes the tendency for us to break. We break away from God because his ways don’t fit ours. We break away from God because it’s not socially acceptable. We break away from God’s word by changing it’s meaning. Our presuppositions don’t allow for the new life that God desires us to have, because we are not flexible enough to allow God’s life to happen. And then we wonder why the thrill of God we got at the beginning doesn’t last.
It is because the reality is this: at the beginning of our Christians walk, God’s new and transformative work happened in one area we were willing to be flexible in, but now that it’s moved on to other areas, areas that we are not so flexible in, we fight against it.
We become these questioners, wondering why some people are fasting when others are celebrating. In other words, we wonder why others are growing in their faith, and we’re not. And the answer is: Jesus’ way has broken us and we don’t understand how to fix it.
I want to share a few of Jesus’ teachings that break our modern day societal skins:
1) The first teaching comes from Luke 6:27-30, “27 But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.”
In our society, love for oneself is the most important love, and that love can only be extended to those that are in lock step with us. Any deviation from it, to where we feel hurt in any way, means that love can no longer be given. Jesus’ teaching on loving those that hurt you, breaks our wine skins because we desire to hold on to the hurt, so that we may hurt others. Or, so that we may not be hurt again.
2) Another teaching comes from Matthew 5: 27-30, “27 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
In our society, sexual desire fuels every other aspect. From physical contact, to self identify, sex is the beginning and end all of our culture. But to be a disciple of Jesus means that we must get rid of those things in our lives that lead us into sin. That might mean staying away from social media, certain movies and TV shows, or even certain people. This teaching breaks our wine skins, because our sexual desire and societies acceptance of it, makes us feel good, but inevitably leads to broken relationships.
3) Finally, Matthew 6: 31-34, “31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
In our lives, a constant look toward the future and what it holds, holds us. What will happen with family, finances, and our own self-preservation, all haunts us. The worry it brings, leads us into a state of fear, and can cause depression. Jesus’ teaching breaks our wine skin because it says to let go. Let go of what could be, and trust the God who knows what will be. But we would rather hold to our worry because it gives us some sense of control in a world that seems out of control.
So the question we should be asking is this: how then, do I go from old wine skins to new wine skins? How do I become flexible to the work of God in my life? And here’s the answer. Chose to follow.
This happens by first allowing God’s word to be unchangeable. Meaning, I don’t change God’s word to what I want, I allow God’s word to change me to the way he wants.
Then we put it into practice, by doing good to those who have hurt us, by getting rid of those things that lead us to sin, and by letting go of the worry that plagues us.
Finally, we praise. Worship, especially worship alongside other people who are dealing with the same thing, is important because it takes our eyes off ourselves and puts them on the God who has spoken.
So today, here is your challenge: I gave you three teachings of Jesus, decided with Go which one you are least flexible in. Then, this week, I want you to take that teaching and let it break your wine skin. Let it change you, let it bring you closer to the God who spoke it.
Because that is where Jesus wants to take us, into new wine skins, that we may know him, and become the people he saved us to be.
Now may the Lord, who desires that we come into everything he has saved us to experiences, grant you the ability by his Spirit to do so. That you may be the new wine skin that he intends you to be. Amen.
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