Out with the Old, in with the New?

 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 people 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. (Matt. 9:16-17)

Most of us are more familiar with Jesus’ analogy to “new wine in old wineskins” than we are to the previous verse, “unshrunk patch on new garments.”  To put new wine into old wineskins is like trying to hold to an old tradition that no longer is relevant for today. For example, my father-in-law built an incredible solid wood cabinet as a gift for my mother-in-law. This beautiful mahogany structure was the centerpiece of the living room-it was all handmade, tongue and groove joints and integrated shelving. It surely would have remained in the family as an heirloom had it not one time-stamped problem; the shelves were made for VHS videos! Once that technology moved on, that family centerpiece became much less desirable, especially when we had to move all 300 pounds of it. Just like VHS cabinets are not needed for movies on Netflix, so old wineskins and new wine just don’t go together.

What about unshrunk patches? They too, just like new wine, are incompatible with an old pair of pants needing mending. However, I don’t think Jesus is saying that all old things are worthless, but rather, some are no longer needed now that God himself is revealed through Christ. What things are worth preserving? Wisdom, for one, is obtained through an entire life, even generations of lives. Wisdom often is spoken by those who have experienced decades of hardship and difficult choices. They reassure us because they have stood where they are now standing and came through on the other side. They can tell us the rest of the story and one day, by God’s grace, we will do the same.

Paz,

Scott