Was Jesus Concerned With Wine?

If you are feeling uneasy in your church, this is for you, particularly. Perhaps you seem to be always shopping for churches, I congratulate you for landing here today. As you follow on, your discomfort will come to an end. You may recall that Jesus spoke of the catastrophe that results when one puts new wine into an old wineskin. The parable is fairly common. The question we need to consider today is: was Jesus concerned with wine when He deployed that parable? Was He thinking of the intoxicating brew in His parable? Or was He merely using wine as an illustration of some deeper concept?

Jesus’ Parable Of the New Wine In Old Wineskin

For those who may not be familiar with the parable, we briefly refresh. The story occurs in all the synoptic gospels but we use its first occurrence, in the gospel according to Matthew. “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.” Was Jesus concerned with wine when He used this parable? The literal answer is “of course.” But let us stay with this for a moment because He might have been thinking of you and me.

Paul later referred to this same concept when he cautioned against bottled-wine intoxication. Instead, he advised, we should ensure that we are drunk with the Holy Spirit. That is what I like to call Divine intoxication. It is a feeling we know very well on this blog and which we hope you are starting to get if you did not already have it. It allows you to live a heady life and still avoid running afoul of the law of the land. We are unabashed about the Holy Spirit intoxication. In point of fact, employing this avenue for intoxication is quite exciting, with no downtime. You must try it soon.

The Parable Of the Patch Preceded Jesus’ Talk Of Wine

Take the story of sewing of garments as an example. The sequencing of these two parables alone gives you a glimpse into the extent of Jesus’ love for His followers. If He had changed the order of the parables, a few, perhaps more than a few, in His audience would assume that Jesus was concerned with wine. But He started with what I call the parable of the patch. It says that 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.

From fairly mundane household experiences, everyone in His audience got it. You cannot combine old with new. Period. Observe, this parable did not need and therefore did not include a recommendation. They all already knew that nobody would do such a stupid thing. It might leave them in rags. What they did not know, however, was that the parable was related to their religious practices.

Jesus Jolted Them With His Concern For Wine

That special awareness only came with the parable of the wineskin. He employed that particular illustration to get them to think, not only of mundane actions like tailoring, but of their religious practices. Some in the audience had accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord. They were already experiencing the newness of life that comes with salvation. They felt like new creations.

Jesus redirected their thoughts from the everyday patch to the spiritual realm with His choice of wine for his next parable. It was quite a shift. Why such a sharp turn, you may wonder.  He needed them to think of their lives as the new wine. Don’t try to fit your old practices into this new life, He was teaching.

In the same way, Jesus needs to shock many of us – present company included – out of wrong thoughts. Thoughts that do not help us on our journey to eternal life. Because they do not reveal to us just how kind and gracious our Savior is. And unless we truly know the Lord as a good God, we are apt to believe lies.

The Trouble With New Wine in Old Wineskins

He made it clear that living as a new creature while continuing with old practices will lead to trouble. First, there is the rupture of the old wineskin. Have you never wondered why your church thinks you are a rebel when you try to live the new life? Right there in Jesus’ parable is the answer. The old religious doctrines and practices will find your new life too much for them to handle.

And rather than have your new life rupture the established religious system, they eject you. Hence the label of rebel – it is merely giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it. I can almost hear your sigh of relief as you realize that there has never been anything wrong with your belief system. Evidently, Jesus was not concerned with wine as much as he was concerned with preserving your new life.

If that was not bad enough, by trying to contain the old practices in your new life, the new wine will spill. You find this stunning. Because now, you suddenly understand why the confidence you had at the beginning of your new life is ebbing. It is because, since you became a believer, your faith has been spilling. You have less faith in God now than at the beginning. It may be that you are now more fearful as your faith increasingly resides in the “works” you can perform.

How To Preserve Your Life With The Parable Of The Wine

Faith may not be the only loss you have suffered as you attempted the impossible. I don’t mind telling you that until God showed me the significance of this parable, my Christian life was also spilling. But once I realized that Jesus was not concerned with wine but with me, my life has truly become new. No label can faze me. Ultimately, you destroy both your church and your life, according to the parable.

However, Jesus wants your life to be truly new. Therefore, unlike with the parable of the patch, He ends this parable with a definite recommendation. By so doing, He demonstrates that He is not concerned with wine, but with you. He says “But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

To retain and preserve your new life, choose your spiritual environment with care. If your religious leaders label you a rebel, rejoice. You are on the right path. Did they not label Jesus a demon? But if the heat becomes too much, move. Leaving the old wineskin is a win-win situation. The leaders of your previous church relax at your departure and you preserve your new life.

Maranatha!