Matthew 9:14-26

“No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:16–17, NKJV)

The disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus. They did not understand why they fasted, and the Pharisees fasted, but the disciples of Jesus did not fast. Jesus explained that the friends of the bridegroom could not fast while the bridegroom was with them. Seeing that weddings in Israel lasted for an entire week, and were considered a time of great celebration, it would have been rude to fast while everyone else was feasting! But the time would come when Jesus would depart, and then His disciples would fast.

In those days, they would not throw away clothes that got holes; clothes were much too valuable. Instead, they made a patch with other material and sewed it onto the garment. But the patch had to be pre-shrunk cloth or else when it was washed it would tear away and make the hole worse than before. Likewise, they put new wine into new wineskins that had enough elasticity to handle the fermentation process. New wine placed in old wineskins would break the wineskins, ruining both the wine and the wineskins.

Jesus came to bring the new wine of the Good News of salvation and eternal life through faith in Him. The Law came with Moses, but grace and truth came with Jesus Christ. The old wineskins of law and traditions could not handle this new wine. Jesus could not use these old forms of religion but brought a new movement of the Spirit.

As we apply this today, we see that some people become old wineskins. They are set in their ways and are unwilling to change to accommodate a new move of God’s Spirit. Other people have the elasticity to recognize and welcome a fresh movement of God and stretch and conform with it. So, guess whom God uses when He does a new work?

May God help us not to dry up and become stiff, but to be supple and yielded to the Spirit. How we need a fresh work of God today! We don’t want to miss out on what Jesus is doing but join Him in His marvelous work.

Where is Jesus moving today? How can we be new wineskins and let Him stretch us to meet the need?