Luke 5:36-39
Luke 5:36 (KJB)
And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment
upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that
was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.
Jesus then uses an example from everyday life. If you have an old shirt or other
garment that ripped and you place a new piece of cloth on that garment, it will
be of little value because the old garment is already worn and stretched but the
new piece of cloth would not be stretched yet and when the person would make a
move, the rip would become much worse than the original tear. What Jesus is
emphasizing here is not about clothes but it is the Gospel in reference to the
Mosaic law. The new life under grace could not be patched on to the Mosaic law
as a way of living. They were in opposition to each other. Under grace, the Lord
Jesus Christ kept the law for the believer but under the law, each person was to
bring a sacrifice to the priest for an appropriate offering. They were two
different systems. Under the law, a person’s sins were temporarily covered until
the next time but under grace all the sins of a believer have been atoned for
and removed. So grace was not something which was to be appended to the Mosaic
law but was to be lived in totally without any reference to keeping any of the
Mosaic rituals or ceremonies or feasts. This is why the old garment representing
the Mosaic law stands alone while the Gospel of Grace stands alone. The Book of
Galatians was written about this very subject.
Luke 5:37 (KJB)
And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the
bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
Jesus reinforces what He just said by giving another example. It basically
taught that the new wine of the Gospel cannot be kept in the old bottles. The
custom in that time was to keep wine in leather flasks rather than bottles. They
were normally made from sheepskin or goatskin and were much more durable than
pottery bottles. A mixture of boiled down grape juice plus water which would be
placed in the wineskins and would be free from the yeast which causes the decay
of fermentation.
Luke 5:38 (KJB)
But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
The new wine would not quickly ferment and both the wineskin and grape juice
would be preserved. What Jesus is stating here is basically the same premise
that is found in the previous verse. The new wine which is the Gospel of Grace
cannot be amalgamated with the Mosaic law. This would be considered a Law/Grace
gospel which would only lead to eternal damnation and this is why Jesus stated
the bottles would perish. When one becomes truly saved, they are made a new
creature. (2 Cor 5:17 KJV) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. He
is in essence a new bottle and because of that the Gospel of Grace richly dwells
in him. This way the person is saved by grace alone and that results in him
receiving eternal life without any merit of his own except to receive it from
the hand of God.
Luke 5:39 (KJB)
No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The
old is better.
It seems in this verse that Jesus had reversed His position but when we look at
the context of this passage we see that Jesus is directly addressing the scribes
and Pharisees. They were steeped in the Mosaic law and refused to change from
the rituals and ceremonies. Instead of them rejoicing in the fact that Christ
was going to fulfill all the demands of the Mosaic law and they would no longer
have to, they much rather reject grace and stay with the old covenant, the “old
wine” as Jesus describes it. Unfortunately, staying with the old covenant will
not bring them into Heaven but will cost them an eternity in Hell. (Mat
23:13 KJV) But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up
the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither
suffer ye them that are entering to go in.