You need to know what kind of yeast it is. There is good yeast and there is bad yeast. Jesus said, beware of the leaven, or the yeast of the Pharisees. But with grape juice, you might know that it takes an ingredient, the catalyst, to cause it to ferment. There, He turned water into wine, it was not grape juice. Why is that? Well, if you know anything about wine, the way that you turn grape juice into wine is not by a miracle as Jesus did at the wedding in Cana in Galilee. Jesus said that you don’t take new wine and put it into an old wineskin. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’” No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. But FB doesn't notify me of new comments, so if the post is more than a week old and you want to make sure I see your comment, it's better to use the comment box.In verses 36-39, Jesus told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. You can comment using the box below or your Facebook profile. Image credit: smileus / 123RF Banque d’images Comments So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. I exchange it for something soft and supple – something capable of holding new wine and all that is good. I don’t patch up what is old and broken and try to make do with it. I shed a skin which can no longer perform its function of holding the new wine, and I take on the new skin that has been given to me. I become that crinkled and cracked thing that can no longer hold new wine (new words, new ideas, new life) without spilling it all over the floor and wasting it.Īnd when I fast, I empty myself of the old wine – the old ways, my old self. When I get swept up in my busy life – too distracted to get nourished properly from the Word, too intent on achieving my goal, even if it means I get lost in the process – I become an old wineskin. On the surface, it makes sense that fasting just because everyone else is fasting is no longer something God requires in order to honour him.īut I think there’s more to it than that. I never understood why this parable followed a question about fasting. His way was to tap into the vine which flowed abundantly – and that we should tap into him and not thirst. His way was to follow the spirit of the law, without neglecting the letter of the law. Jesus came to say that his way was to worship God in spirit and truth. The old garment and the old wineskin are the old way of doing things – earning salvation by following the rules. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.’ (Matthew 9:14-17) If they do, the skins will burst the wine will run out, and the wineskins will be ruined. ‘No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them then they will fast. Then John’s disciples came and asked him, ‘How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’ It’s ironic, isn’t it? That eating can make you feel empty, and fasting can make you feel full? But having this epiphany this morning, coupled with my fast, helped bring a Scripture to life whose meaning was previously hidden: We’re feeling empty, and we just want to be filled. We’re so caught up in the noise of the world, we just want to be quiet in his Word and in his presence. Occasionally we fast because we want to urge God to act in something.īut most of the time we fast because we miss God. Sometimes it’s the quantity we limit or we do a combination of all these things. Sometimes we fast things we like – bread and cheese, sugar, caffeine. Sometimes “liquids” includes smoothies and soup purées. We don’t follow any set days for doing this – no set time periods. ‘But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.’īut we are fasting. The details are between us and God, and really I shouldn’t be telling you this at all because Matthieu 6:16-18 says: I am joyful today because Matthieu and I are fasting.
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