New Wineskins – Part 2

First off, yes, I know that this post is over a week late. I have no excuses!

Anyway, last time I was taking a look at the often quoted passage from Luke dealing with "new wine". Check the previous post to read the passage in its entirety. I will however, repeat my question.

If we make this passage about comparing new and old practices in the church, are we in fact missing the point completely?

My answer to this question would be yes, here's why.

I think it is important to note that Jesus does not actually call for any change in practice here. He does not say, "fasting is something attached to the old ways, I'm doing away with it." In fact He acknowledges that fasting will continue.

"The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in     those days."

So if the practice of fasting will continue, why the talk about new wine? What is so new? First let's look at fasting in the Old Testament. It is interesting to note that many of the fasts performed by the Pharisees that confronted Jesus were not prescribed in the books of Moses, but had rather been added on top of God's law. One of the few times when the Bible does call for a fast is in association with the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD. And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath." Leviticus 23:26-32

A key component of "afflicting" oneself was fasting. This passage makes it very clear that fasting was required to properly prepare oneself for the Day of Atonement. It goes so far as to say that anyone who does not fast is cut off from God's people! Therefore we can see that in the minds of the Pharisees fasting was born of the law; it was something a person must do to receive God's Atonement.

The fasting Jesus suggests is much different. He puts fasting into the context of a wedding celebration. If this were like the fasting associated with Yom Kippur, then it would occur before the wedding celebration as a cleansing action to prepare for the feast. However Jesus has the feast happening first followed by a time of fasting.

This fasting seems to be less about preparing oneself and more about longing for another. The fast does not earn the love of the Bridegroom but flows from a love and longing for a gracious Bridegroom that has brought a great feast to His bride. This fasting is borne of Grace.

The more I read this passage the more I see it has nothing to do with guitars versus pianos, or ecstatic hand waving versus quiet reverence. Rather it compares the way of the law with the way of the Gospel. The question this passage asks us is, "why do we do what we do?"

I think this is a very relevant question this time of year. We have entered the season of Lent, a season often marked by fasting. If you choose to fast in some way, whether it be an elimination of food or perhaps some form of entertainment or anything else, why are you doing it? Are you fasting in the hope that God will provide you something, such as physical possessions or a spiritual experience, or are you fasting out of gratitude for what Christ has already given you?

God provides us our daily bread, but we do not live on bread alone. We live in the freedom of the forgiveness won for us on the cross. We feast in the righteousness that has been imputed to us by Christ. When we fast, let it be borne out of a longing for our great God and Savior, who has so richly blessed us. May we, the bride of Christ, remember the feast of victory provided by the Lamb of God, and anticipate his return.

Compared to the rat race in which we so often find ourselves, this is truly new wine.