CONNECTING POINT: Expired & Worn

I recently found myself digging through the fridge to grab some milk, I was looking forward to enjoying a rare bowl of cereal. Disappointment set in as I took a whiff and squinted to read the expiration date on the milk container. Dina, my wife, pointed out a small amount of heavy cream in the fridge door so I watered that down to enjoy the rather rare bowl of cereal since the expiration date was safe.

In Luke 5 we read of Jesus describing two parables: new and old patching of garments and new and old wineskins to make a point, all the legalism with Judaism needed to be replaced with the simple Gospel. “They said to him, ‘John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.’ Jesus answered, ‘Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.’ He told them this parable: ‘No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better,’” (Luke 5:33-39).

Outdated milk is certainly different from wine. It never ages well for drinking but can be used to make cheese or other products with some effort. Worn jeans can be mended but it doesn’t make sense to ruin a perfectly new pair of jeans by cutting out the knees to patch the old. In essence, Jesus is stating that the “old religious system” was due for the needed change that was promised by God years prior. Jeremiah 31:31 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.’”

First: The Pharisees made fasting into something which it was not-showmanship. This is one of the many dangers of legalism, a God-given principle under which rightful intention can be tainted by man’s misguided efforts. Jesus was chastised for eating and celebrating with His disciples because they didn’t fit into the rigid Pharisaical timeline or structure.

Second: God was establishing a new institution rather than reforming the prior institution, i.e., Jesus came with a whole new set of clothes vs. patching up the old ones. Paul explains in Ephesians 2:14-18 how the “church” was established to bring both Jew and Gentile together through Jesus Christ, something that Judaism could never do. Judaism was expiring, having served an important purpose but Jesus fulfilled all the “Law” as the Messiah who was crucified for our sins and rose from the dead to redeem our souls. Jesus said He came to “fulfill the law, not destroy the law,” Matthew 5:17. In Greek “fulfill” is pleroo meaning to make full, to fill up, or to complete. The good news is that there is no expiration on the completed work of Jesus, however, we have a choice to receive such grace and mercy.