Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
As I have said, Mark often condenses things.
He keeps his text moving - it is full of action.
He keeps his text moving - it is full of action.
Here Jesus tells a couple of short stories - they are parables or parabolic sayings.
- First, as a reminder, Mark is recording some of the ongoing conflict with religious authorities.
- Second, Jesus himself fasted when he was in the desert (cf Matthew 4:1-2).
- Third, John’s disciples and the Pharisees may have been fasting for completely different reasons.
In the Old Testament, the bridegroom is an image of God (Hosea 2:19; Isaiah 54:4; 62:4). In the New Testament, we find the same thing. John the Baptist refers to Jesus in this manner in John 3:29 as does Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:31-32.
Which brings us to Jesus being asked this question about fasting and His answer. People have wrestled with both Jesus’ reference to the bridal feast and this parable of wineskins and patches.
Fasting is often seen as a practice of spiritual formation. It means setting aside something we enjoy and is important (food) for the purpose of prayer and focusing on Jesus without the distraction - although for many of us, our stomach growling is a distraction. Fasting is not a means of earning points with God. It is not a sign of spirituality (as it was with the Pharisees). It is sometimes, as Jesus does here, tied into lament for something that is lost.
He follows this up immediately with patches and wineskins.
Before I get to these images, let me say that some have used this passage to justify abandoning large portions of the Scriptures. They claim that Jesus is revealing new ways. And, yes, it is true that there are many things in the Old Testament that are no longer relevant. Jesus has done a new thing - God is always doing new things. But to abandon Scripture is to misunderstand Jesus. Jesus does not discard the Bible. Look at Matthew 5:17, or Luke 24:44-46, or John 5:39.
When we use this, or other texts, to justify ways that deviate from God’s design for the human race, we are making Jesus, and His teaching, into a twisted reflection of ourselves.
So, what is Jesus saying?
Jesus is saying something very straightforward.
He has already connected Himself to the Old Testament image of God as bridegroom. Now He notes that he and his Gospel are the “new wineskin” and the “new wine”.
Jesus is not throwing out the Old Testament. He is fulfilling it.
Jesus and the Gospel is so new, and so completely fulfills all of God’s designs, that all human ideas - past, present, and future, find their meaning and completion in Jesus. You don’t put Jesus” into something. Jesus fills you. You don’t add Jesus onto something. Jesus makes all things new. We can't just patch the old. Jesus is doing something new.
Jesus, is the fulfillment of all that God has proclaimed!
Any of the ways of thinking and acting that minimize this are to be thrown out. God is reiterating the value of every person. Whether you agree with their politics, or lifestyle, or language; that is not what is important. What is vital is that this "other" is a person created in the image of God and is therefore loved by God. He is the one who makes those value judgments not us.
This is so important to understand in a political - economic - social world that devalues some people and elevates others. This is so important to live out when words are thrown around without context or meaning.
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