Old and New

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

OLD AND NEW

Matt 9:14-17

14 Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 15 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. 16 "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. 17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." 

NIV

We are not sure of the exact timing of this event in relationship to the life events of John the Baptist, but it might be that this is the time he has been imprisoned by Herod and soon will be losing his head. When his disciples show how Jesus and his disciples were having such a great time, they could not understand why since John was in danger. It was the custom of that cultural to fast as a result of mourning. This would have been in addition to the regular days of fasting the Pharisees practiced. This might have been the reference the disciples of John were asking about. It might have been one of those regular days when fasting was supposed to happen and here Jesus and his disciples were eating with the sinners.   It may not have had anything to do with John, but rather about the old and the new. Jesus answers them with three examples why his disciples should not be fasting at this time. First, they are not the disciples of John nor are they the disciples of the Pharisees. They are his disciples and while he is with them they rejoice, not mourn and therefor no need to fast. But when their bridegroom is taken from them, then they will mourn and fast because of their mourning. He goes on to give them two other examples of why it is not appropriate to fast on a regular basis as the Pharisees were doing and teaching others their rules and regulations. Without repeating the examples they both say the same thing. It is not correct to try to tie his new doctrines with the old doctrines of the Pharisees. A new patch on old cloth only makes the tear even worse. New wine in old skins only will burst the skin. The teaching is for us as well. We cannot adhere to all the rules of the old covenant because Jesus established a new covenant. This is not to say fasting has been outlawed by the new covenant, but it should not be done as a regular practice, such as an annual day or week of fasting put on by a church. This is the old, and we cannot just patch the new covenant with the old ways, it just makes it worse. Jesus was telling them and us that his new doctrines as just that and they can only be put into a new practice, not associated with the old doctrines in any way. Sometimes it is hard to unlearn our old ways. This could apply to us in that sense as well. When we come to Christ we cannot put his new teaching into our old way of thinking. We cannot just patch up our old lives with Jesus. We cannot just pour Jesus into our old skin. We have to be born again, a new creation in Christ. We have to put off the old, completely, and put on the new. We cannot combine the things or the world, the way the world functions and the things of God, the way the kingdom functions. They are incongruent. Patching our old life with Jesus will just make it worse. As we do not live in the Old Testament, we do not live in the old life. We really should neither try to combine the Old Testament with the New Testament. Yes it is worth our examination, and we find many great truths about God. But that is the main purpose of it, is to find God, and see our need for Jesus. We do not adhere to the Law recorded by Moses. But we find out about the character of God throughout the Old Testament. However Jesus fulfilled the Law and gave us a new commandment. How can we live under the rules of the old and fulfill his new command? We cannot. This is all Jesus was saying. He is the way, the truth and the life, no person can enter the kingdom of God except through him. It is not by the practice of religion or religious acts or rites. It is through him. It is not through the old ways, of religion or as with us, our old ways of living. It is only when we are made new, born again, are we able to contain his new wine, his new covenant. We cannot continue to think in terms of religion, but in terms of Jesus. Get rid of the old and accept the new.