The Parables Of Jesus - The Wineskins: Part 2

The Parables Of Jesus - The Wineskins: Part 2

The Pharisees and Scribes were curious about Jesus and they wanted to be a part of what was happening. In fact, many of them thought that they would be a great choice to be one of His disciples. They were shocked to find that Jesus wasn’t interested in them. When they confronted Jesus about His unorthodox choices for disciples, there was a bit of jealousy and bewilderment in their words. Jesus answered by saying this:

Mark 2:22

“No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

These Pharisees and Sadducees were the best of the best. They were obvious choices for a new rabbi who was selecting disciples to accompany Himself. But, Jesus was looking for something new. These were the old guard, staunchly tied to their traditions.

Jesus didn’t want professional students of the law. He was looking for “untainted” followers. He was looking for disciples among the fishermen, the tax collectors that looked like the “average guy.” He was looking for outsiders who did not already have a preconceived idea of how the system should work.

The religious system was producing consumers of the world rather than seekers of God. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Scribes and the lawyers all lived in a world that revolved around themselves. They were focused on the world and their high positions and their own glory. They were arrogant and full of themselves.

That’s not what a disciple should be all about. The disciple that serves God must understand brokenness and true desire for God. Isaiah once wrote:

Isaiah 66:2

“But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My Word.”

Tomorrow: what a new wineskin is like.