New Wine for New Wineskins

Mark 2:18–22

As we come to the turning of another year, it is common for people to speak about change. New calendars, new routines, new intentions. And yet Scripture reminds us that real change is not produced by the turning of a page, but by the work of God upon the heart (Ezekiel 36:26–27; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Time moves forward whether we wish it or not. The deeper question before us is not whether the year will change, but whether we will be changed by the God who stands outside of time, and yet has entered into it for us (Psalm 90:2; John 1:14).

In Mark 2, Jesus has already made His mission clear:  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (v. 17)

Our Great Physician has come to change us, to bring health to the sick, repair to the broken, and salvation to the lost (Isaiah 53:5; Luke 19:10). When Jesus is present, we should never expect things to remain the same (John 5:8–9; Matthew 9:6). To defend our preferred status quo from the hands of our Almighty Creator is not faithfulness; it is resistance (Acts 7:51).

The issue is not whether God wants to pour out new wine, but rather are we willing to become new wineskins.

 

The Question Behind the Question

Mark tells us that John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they noticed that Jesus’ disciples were not (Mark 2:18). So they asked Him why.  At first glance, the question appears to be about fasting. But fasting is not the real issue. The real issue is expectation. John’s disciples fast (Mark 1:14–15). The Pharisees fast (Luke 18:12). Fasting is known. It is visible. It is measurable. But Jesus does not fit neatly into their established religious categories.

The unspoken question is this: “Why aren’t you meeting our expectations?”  Does this sound familiar?           “Tradition is a useful servant but a dangerous master.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Jesus does not condemn fasting. He does not belittle the discipline or deny its place (Matthew 6:16-18). Instead, He redirects their attention away from the practice and toward His presence. He reveals Himself as the Bridegroom (Mark 2:19). Wedding guests do not fast while the bridegroom is with them. Joy, not mourning, is the proper response when the long-awaited One has arrived (Isaiah 62:5; John 3:29).

Then Jesus gives two illustrations: a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, and new wine poured into old wineskins. Both teach the same truth. You cannot simply attach something new to something old without consequence. Our expectations must be shaped not by habit or tradition, but by Christ Himself. (Colossians 2:6-8).

  

The Meaning of the Wineskins

In the ancient world, wineskins were made of animal hides. New wine continues to ferment and expand. Fresh skins are flexible and able to stretch. Old skins are brittle. Even if they do not burst immediately, they will not stretch; eventually, pressure builds, fabric rips, wine is lost, and a mess is made.

What does the garment patch and wineskin parable mean to us?

• Old wineskins = the old man, our sinful flesh and self-will (Romans 6:6; Ephesians 4:22)
• Old wine = works-based righteousness and familiar but insufficient habits (Galatians 3:3; Philippians 3:4–8)
• New wineskins = the new man, redeemed, washed, and free (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10)
• New wine = the Spirit-filled, life-changing presence of God directing us into His will (Acts 2:13–18; Romans 8:1–14)

As new wineskins filled with new wine, we must anticipate the stretch. Stretching not only makes room for growth, but also keeps us flexible (Hebrews 12:11).

Is it true, “you can’t teach old dogs new tricks”?  Is it ok to say, “that’s just the way I am”?

This is not the Way…

“Christ says, ‘Give Me all. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you.’”  (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

Jesus is announcing that something entirely new has arrived, something promised for centuries. The prophets had spoken of this day.

• “I will make a new covenant… I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.” (Jeremiah 31:31–33)
• “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
• “The mountains shall drip sweet wine…” (Joel 3:18)
• “New wine shall make the young women flourish.” (Zechariah 9:17)

Throughout Scripture, new wine represents the life-giving work of God’s Spirit (Proverbs 3:9–10). And Jesus is saying: That day has arrived (Luke 4:21).

Luke adds a sobering detail in his account: “No one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’” (Luke 5:39)  There is danger in clinging tightly to something that is passing away; by doing so, they risked missing the Messiah standing right in front of them (John 1:11).

 

When “New” Is Not Better

Scripture also reminds us that not all change is good. The Athenians delighted in hearing what was new simply because it was new (Acts 17:21). But this curiosity only led them into polytheistic confusion and superstition (Acts 17:16). Paul knew they did not need novelty, they needed Jesus, the Creator and Savior of the world (Acts 17:24-31).

“Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it.” (Jeremiah 6:16)

The problem was not the law, the covenant, or obedience (Romans 7:12). The problem was hearts that refused to be renewed (Jeremiah 17:9).

Uzzah learned that good intentions and new methods cannot replace obedience when he reached out to steady the Ark on a new cart (2 Samuel 6:3–7; Numbers 4:15).
The Philistines once believed new ropes could bind Samson, but strength is not found in novelty. Strength is found in faithfulness to God (Judges 15:13–14; 16:11).

There is also a danger of pretending. Like the Gibeonites who disguised old provisions as new (Joshua 9:4–13), we can dress up the old while resisting real transformation. Just like the Gibeonites, such a plan ultimately leads into a place of captivity and servitude (Joshua 9:23–27); Paul battled this in most of his epistles. 

Faithfulness is not clinging blindly to the old, nor chasing the new simply because it is new, nor faking it until we make it. Faithfulness is discerning where the heart and hand of God are working, then willingly yielding to Him (John 5:19; Romans 12:1–2).

 

Becoming New Wineskins

The Apostle Paul tells us plainly:  “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

And again, we are called: “To be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self.” (Ephesians 4:23–24)

Here is the warning Jesus gives: You cannot simply add Him onto your old life (Luke 9:23). You cannot pour Him into unchanged habits, unchanged priorities, unchanged affections, and expect life to flourish (Matthew 6:24). Something will break.

So the question before us is not whether we want new wine, but whether we are willing to become new wineskins.  It is tempting to desire God’s blessing, God’s power, and God’s renewal without wanting God to change us (James 1:22). We want joy without repentance (Psalm 51:10–12), strength without rest (Matthew 11:28–30), growth without surrender (Luke 14:27). We want new wine without stretching. But new wine expands, and if we refuse to stretch, eventually it gets messy.

Stretching is uncomfortable; it may feel risky. But just as a gardener prunes a tree, it is not punishment, it is preparation (John 15:2). God does not stretch us to harm us, but to allow us to hold more of His life (Romans 8:18). New habits, deeper prayer, greater obedience, sacrificial love, these are not burdens meant to crush us. They are shaping us into vessels able to contain what God desires to give (2 Timothy 2:20–21).

May God make us like Elihu, full and ready to burst, “My belly is like wine that has no vent” (Job 32:19).  But may we be full of Him, and not full of ourselves (John 3:30). To be full of ourselves, whether in pride or in the busyness of our own plans, is to miss Messiah (Luke 10:41–42).

 

 Our Hope Ahead

Jesus ends this story with hope. At the Last Supper, He spoke of a day when He would drink the fruit of the vine new in the Kingdom of God (Mark 14:25). And in Revelation, the risen Christ declares: “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5).  This is where our HIStory is headed.

Renewal is not just an idea; it is a divine promise (Isaiah 43:19). So as we step into a new year, may we not merely turn pages, but yield our hearts (Proverbs 23:26). Do not be content with the apparent safety of old wine in old wineskins. Let Christ make us new and fill us with His ever-expanding kingdom and His uncontainable presence (Ephesians 3:19–21).

Faithfulness is not found in clinging to the old, nor in chasing the new, but in humbly yielding to Christ (Philippians 3:7–10). When the Bridegroom is present, everything changes (John 2:1–11).

So as we begin 2026, let us ask ourselves honestly: Are we willing to become new wineskins?

 

“Christ did not come to make us comfortable in sin, but to make us uncomfortable until we are holy.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Ephesians 3:14-15  For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  (15)  Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

 

Throughout Scripture, God reveals Himself not merely as King over a kingdom, but as Father over a family. “Families” is found 174 times in the Bible (all OT) while “family” is found 123 times (3x of which is found in the NT; Luke 2:4 & Acts 3:35)

In the NT, House or Home is often used and family rarely; home or house implies family.  While, conversely, those OT “families” each had a dwelling. 

Luke 8:39  “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

 

Acts 16:30-34  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  (31)  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.  (32)  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.  (33)  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.  (34)  And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

(Sidetrack) Some have attempted to make this verse prescribe infant baptism; it is quite the opposite.  First, recognize that there is no mention of infants or even of children in the text; one would have to imagine this to insert it here.  Second, there is no evidence that anyone was baptized who had not first had “the Word of the Lord” “spake” unto them and was not first “believing”. 

However, what is beneficial to our topic here is that “house” is used in reference to this man’s family (extended and/or otherwise).  Similarly, see Acts 18:8  And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.    This is a good testimony to the character of these “head of households” who where able to have such a positive influence over others.  What shines here is the moral and spiritual gravity of the head of the household. His repentance becomes a conduit of grace to those under his care.

1 Corinthians 16:15: in the NT, “house” often refers to a building, but frequently, as well, it is used in reference to those dwelling in that building.  In both the OT and the NT we see family or house used not just in reference to the nuclear family, but also in reference to the corporate church family.

 

OT corporate use: Amos 3:1-2  Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,  (2)  You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

Exodus 4:22  And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

NT corporate use: 1 Timothy 3:4-5  One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;  (5)  (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

Ephesians 2:18-22  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.  (19)  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;  (20)  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;  (21)  In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord:  (22)  In whom ye also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

OT: family language emphasizes lineage, inheritance, covenant continuity Vs.   NT: household language emphasizes shared life, faith, obedience, and order.  The Bible does not move away from family language in the New Testament; it moves deeper into it.

Have you ever been ashamed of family?  Why?   Hebrews 2:11à Jesus was “not ashamed to call them brothers”.  (Selah)    1 John 3:1-2  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…

 

Jesus beautifully reveals the identity of His Family (both personal and corporate). 

Mark 3:31-35  There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.  (32)  And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.  (33)  And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?  (34)  And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!  (35)  For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

We are now commanded to love our heavenly family.

1 Peter 2:17  Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Philia (φιλία, philía) means "affectionate regard, friendship", usually "between equals". (Brotherly love)

Storge (στοργή, storgē) means "love, affection" and "especially of parents and children"  (Family love)  A love which comes naturally in the flesh.  Earthly love.

Agape (ἀγάπη, agápē) means, when translated literally, affection, "love: esp. unconditional love, charity; the love of God for person and of person for God".  A love which is heavenly and results from and in choice.  Heavenly love. 

 

Galatians 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

OT: God gathers families into a nation     VS.    NT: God gathers nations into a family

1 Corinthians 5:9-13  I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:  (10)  Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.  (11)  But now I have written unto you not to keep company (G4874), if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.  (12)  For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?  (13)  But them that are without God judges. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

G4874  συναναμίγνυμι soon-an-am-ig'-noo-mee : to mix up together, associate with, company (with).  (Also used 1 Cor 5:11, 2 Thes 3:14; in church relationships).  Carefully designed “mixing together” can create wonderful things like cookies.  As long as the recipe is right (which it is) and the baker is best (which God is), we can expect wonderful outcomes.  By ourselves, we are just individual ingredients with our own strengths/weaknesses and qualities; but God is working all things together for good according to His recipe and in His Iron Furnace.   

What does it look like to be all mixed up together?  

1 Corinthians 12:25-27  that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  (26)  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.  (27)  Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

We know from experience that families share both our good and our bad with each other; our highs, lows, victories, failures and even tummy bugs run virulent in families.  Such is life when you are a part of a family.  Like marriage, a family is for better and for worse and of course our aim is for better.  God’s design for “mixing together” always assumes submission to His recipe and His holiness.

Acts 2:44  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.

Galatians 6:1-2  Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.  (2)  Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

 

In our family and with our family is the safest place to learn, and the best place to grow here on earth.  There, the food is best, the counseling is free, and the love is unconditional. 

Charles Spurgeon  “The church of God is not a club for the elite, but a household of faith.”

Voddie Baucham  “The church is not a group of people who agree with one another, but a family who belong to one another.”

I enjoy being connected to you.  I am not embarrassed by you.  I am not ashamed to call you brethren. 

 

We stand together today not merely as attendees, members, or acquaintances, but as family, named by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and indwelt by the Spirit. What God began in households, He has fulfilled in His holy household; what He formed in tribes, He has completed in the body of Christ. We are not bound together by convenience or culture, but by covenant.  

They say that blood is thicker than water, but faith is thicker than them both.  We best bear resemblance to each other when we best bear resemblance to Him.  Christ is not ashamed to call us brethren, and therefore, we must not live as strangers to one another either. Let us love the brotherhood, bear one another’s burdens, guard the holiness of God’s house and mix together in a way that Glorifies our Wonderful Heavenly Father.

“Behind the Veil: The Advent of the Incarnate Christ”

Matthew 1:18-25 contains a beautiful quote of the Messianic Isaiah 7:14 prophesy where God brings miraculous deliverance from the midst of a hopeless situation.  While this prophesy is a little difficult to understand within the context of the 7^th or 8^th century B.C., the name Emmanuel could not be clearer...“God with us”.   

Advent = “the arrival of a notable person or thing”.  The word itself is not found in the bible; however, religiously speaking: “Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming”.

Incarnate = “To clothe with flesh; to embody in flesh”.   Again, the word itself is not in most common translations of the Bible, but the concept is well-founded Biblically. 

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt (G4637)among us…” (John 1:14).   Jesus stepped out of eternity into time, out of infinity into finiteness, out from behind the veil and into our presence.  G4637 σκηνόω skēnoō to tent or encamp, The word dwelt means tabernacled, He pitched His tent among us. Our unbounded God chose to be housed in the limits of human flesh.  This incarnation is staggering. 

Philippians 2:5-8  He “emptied” Himself

1 Timothy 3:16  “Great indeed is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh”

1 John 4:1-3 “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God”

2 John 1:7-8  For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.   

Who are these “many” because most of the modern world admits to the historic presence of Jesus of Nazareth…?  The larger portion of the question lies not in His historical existence but rather in His Eternal existence.  Again, most acknowledge His humanity but fewer yield to His Deity. 

Romans 8:3-4  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh…

Hebrews affirms this:  Since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same…” (Hebrews 2:14).  He did not save us from a distance but reached way down into our humanity in order to personally pay the price for our redemption.  God somehow, by His Sovereign Power and Grace, subjected Himself to our finiticity-to hunger, fatigue, pain, growth, and ultimately death.  He became helpless to help the helpless.

 

 

This Truth is plainly declared in the Old Testament where we see a Tent for the Uncontainable.   In Exodus 40:2–3, 21 the Ark of the Covenant (a symbol or OT type of Emmanuel) was placed in the tabernacle and covered with the veil.   The tabernacle was a temporary, dusty movable tent for the unbounded Almighty.  At its pinnacle was the Mercy Seat, where God dwelt between the Cherubim, but this was further covered by the veil, thus separating the Holy from the Holiest. 

This is beautifully prophetic of Christ, the true dwelling place of God, covered in flesh and thus veiled, as it were, from His own Deity.  Try for a moment to wrap your mind around this ineffable reality.

John 17:5  And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

In a way that we can only faintly understand, Jesus was momentarily separated from Glory.  Yet theologically we understand that God is immutable and could in no way be diminished.  How is this possible?  Let consider the picture God has given us in our attempt to grasp the ungraspable.  When the Ark was covered by the veil, had it changed?  Its appearance and tangibility only changed from our reference point (and very necessarily so for our benefit).  

Jesus’ incarnation was without man’s help and so was His glorification; the Holy Spirit overshadowed the virgin Mary separate from any man; further, the veil of the Temple was rent from “top to bottom” as from Heaven itself.  Both the cloaking of His Glory and the Revelation of His Glory were of Divine operation.

  Similarly, man could not go behind the veil, but in contrast, the veil, nor the tabernacle itself, could contain the Almighty.  So from Earth’s perspective, there was separation, but not from Heaven’s perspective.  God the Father and the Holy Spirit were very present with the Son even though the Son at that moment had left Heaven to be with us. 

 

Our Flesh acts as a Veil: Moses was told, “No man shall see My face and live.”  Paul says, “to depart (out of the flesh) and be with Christ is far better”, Why?  Because flesh is the veil separating the temporal from the eternal.  To pass fully into God’s unveiled presence is to pass beyond flesh itself (typically done at death).  Jesus lived within this veil from zygote to the Cross.  Romans 8:3-4 God condemned sin in the flesh.   Hebrews 10:5 “A body You have prepared for Me”.  Christ’s human flesh both concealed His glory but also made redemption possible.

A Glimpse Behind the Veil:  There have been and appear to still be moments when this veil grows thin. 

Isaiah was granted a glimpse into the Throne Room of Heaven and said “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Isaiah 6:5

In Luke 5:8-9  after the miraculous catch of fish, Peter falls at Jesus’ knees and says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man”.  The Bible records that he was astonished G2285 θάμβος tham'-bos to dumbfound, undone; “stupefied.” Here, Peter caught a glimpse behind the veil, of Christ’s deity, thus revealing his own helpless humanity.  Clearly Peter did not die at this moment, but the King of Glory was shining past/through the veil of His flesh.   

Again, and more clearly, on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter gets to glimpse behind the veil; he gets to see the Glorified Jesus interacting with Moses and Elijah (apparently in the realm of the Spirit World). 

Finally, the Veil was torn:

Matthew 27:51-52 At the cross, something extraordinary happened; because of Jesus the Temple veil was torn from top to bottom.  At the exact time of the tearing of Jesus’ flesh veil, the physical Temple Veil was torn.  At this same the Bible also records “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose.”  Though we understand very little of what happened here, clearly a veil was breached.  While some physical things were happening, we understand that Christ’s death on the Cross also marked a spiritual turning point for us.    

This was the (at least partial) fulfillment of Isaiah 25:7-8  when God destroys the covering spread over all nations Isa 25:8  He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces;

Psalm 24 reminds us that in the history of humanity there has only been One man who could ascend into the Hill of the Lord.  Who? …The One who first descended, the King of Glory, He has opened the everlasting doors. 

Now we are invited to follow our Savior in behind the veil. 

2 Corinthians 3:15–18

When the veil is removed in Christ, we all with unveiled faces, behold His glory and are transformed into His Image. 

Hebrews 10:19–23

We now enter the Holy Place “By a new and living way… through the curtain, that is, through His flesh.”  What was once forbidden is now commanded: Draw near, enter with confidence and hold fast.

 

In conclusion:

Matthew tells us they would call His name Emmanuel - God with us. At Christ’s 1^st Advent, God did not at first tear the veil; rather, He stepped in front of it for us. He let us behold Him.  However, when His flesh was torn at the cross, the Veil in the Temple was torn with it. So, what the cradle in a way concealed, Calvary and the empty tomb revealed: Truly this Son of Man was indeed the Son of God.  Now in Christ, we are invited to draw near with confidence into His very Presence.