New Wine into Old Wineskins (''οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς παλαιούς'', lit.: New Wine into Old Bags) is a parable of Jesus. It is found at
Matthew 9
Matthew 9 is the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It continues the narrative about Jesus' ministry in Galilee as he ministers to the public, working miracles, and going through all the cities and towns of the area, pre ...
(),
Mark 2
Mark 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. In this chapter, the first arguments between Jesus and other Jewish religious teachers appear. Jesus heals a paralyzed man and forgives his sins, mee ...
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, and appear to be part of a discussion at a
banquet
A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes inc ...
held by him ().Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke ', Eerdmans, 1997, , pp. 248–50. The parables are told in response to a question about
fasting
Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...
:
Jesus' response continues with the two short parables. Luke has the more detailed version:
Interpretation
The two parables relate to the relationship between Jesus' teaching and traditional
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
. According to some interpreters, Jesus here "pits his own, new way against the old way of the
Pharisees
The Pharisees (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...
and their scribes." In the early second century,
Marcion
Marcion of Sinope (; ; ) was a theologian in early Christianity. Marcion preached that God had sent Jesus Christ, who was distinct from the "vengeful" God ( Demiurge) who had created the world. He considered himself a follower of Paul the Apost ...
, founder of
Marcionism
Marcionism was an Early Christianity, early Christian Dualistic cosmology, dualistic belief system that originated with the teachings of Marcion of Sinope in Rome around 144 AD. Marcion was an Diversity in early Christian theology, early Chr ...
, used the passage to justify a "total separation between the religion that Jesus and Paul espoused and that of the
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
roots in Jewish antiquity, although "Jesus has brought something new, and the rituals and traditions of official Judaism cannot contain it."R. T. France, 1985, The Gospel According to Matthew: An introduction and commentary ', Eerdmans, , p. 169.
In his commentary on Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
John Calvin
John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...
says this is part of the larger answer Christ is making to the Pharisees about the fact his disciples did not fast twice a week as they did, and as the disciples of
John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
did (Calvin also points out that the Pharisees were using it as a way to create a division between Jesus and John). In the first part of the answer, he illustrates through a marriage situation: it would be ridiculous to fast during the event which used to last a week in their culture, especially when you are with the groom. Christ (which means "messiah") is the groom, so there is no point for them to fast, only to rejoice. Calvin then states that both distinctions (old and new wine and wineskins as well as the old and new garment) are the mentality and oral tradition left by the Pharisees which is not in accord with the proper teachings of the law, as Jesus was preaching. So those who follow Jesus should abandon their old (and bad) views on how they must obey the law, and not the oral tradition with what Jesus was preaching. But especially the Pharisees had a taste for it, and it blocked their minds to recognize what Jesus was teaching them. Calvin's Commentary Volume XVI Baker: Grand Rapids, 1981, p. 408; via CCEL..
Based on parallel rabbinic sayings found in
Pirkei Avot
Pirkei Avot (; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth'', also ''Abhoth''), which translates into English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from Rabbinic Jewis ...
, one interpreter sees the parable as depicting the difficulty of teaching disciples with prior learning as compared to teaching new, uneducated disciples.
The
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...
s in the two parables were drawn from contemporary culture.James R. Edwards, 2002, The Gospel According to Mark ', Eerdmans, , pp. 91–92. New cloth had not yet shrunk, so that using new cloth to patch older clothing would result in a tear as it began to shrink.Craig S. Keener, 1999, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew ', Eerdmans, , pp. 300–1. Similarly, old wineskins had been "stretched to the limit" or become brittle as wine had fermented inside them; using them again therefore risked bursting them.
Cornelius a Lapide
Cornelius Cornelii a Lapide (''né'' Cornelis Cornelissen van den Steen; 28 December 1567 – 12 March 1637) was a Flemish Catholic priest. He was a Jesuit and exegete of Sacred Scripture.
Life
Lapide was born in Bocholt, Belgium. He studied hu ...
in his ''great commentary'' gives the traditional interpretation of this parable, writing that: "Christ shows by a threefold similitude, that His disciples must not fast when He was present. 1. By the parable of the Spouse and the wedding. 2. Of the old and new garment. 3. Of the new wine, and the old bottles of skin. The sense is this: 'As new wine, or must, by the violence of its
fermenting
Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduced ...
spirit, and its heat, bursts the old skins, because they are worn and weak, and so there is a double loss, both of wine and skins; therefore new wine must be poured into new skins, that, being strong, they may be able to bear the force of the must: so in like manner, new austerities and fasts must not be imposed as yet upon My disciples, lest their spirits should be broken, and they depart from Me. But I wait for the coming of the Holy Ghost at
Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...
.'"
See also
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Abrogation of Old Covenant laws
In Christianity, the abrogation of Old Covenant laws is the belief that the entire Mosaic or Old Covenant as abrogated in that all of the Mosaic Laws are set aside for the Law of Christ. While most Christian theology reflects the view that at ...
*
Biblical law in Christianity {{Short description, Legal aspects of the Bible
Biblical law is the legal aspects of the Bible, the holy scriptures of Christianity and Judaism.
Christianity
* Abrogation of Old Covenant laws
* Christian views on the Old Covenant, term referring ...
*
Covenant (biblical)
The Hebrew Bible makes reference to a number of covenants () with God (YHWH). These include the Noahic Covenant set out in Genesis 9, which is decreed between God and all living creatures, as well as a number of more specific covenants with Abr ...
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New Commandment
The New Commandment is a term used in Christianity to describe Jesus's commandment to "love one another" which, according to the Bible, was given as part of the final instructions to his disciples after the Last Supper had ended, and after Ju ...
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New Covenant
The New Covenant () is a biblical interpretation which was originally derived from a Book of Jeremiah#Sections of the Book, phrase which is contained in the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31–34), in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of the ...
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Split of early Christianity and Judaism
Christianity began as a movement within Second Temple Judaism, but the two religions gradually diverged over the first few centuries of the Christian Era, and the Christian movement perceived itself as distinct from the Jews by the fourth century ...
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Supersessionism
Supersessionism, also called replacement theology by its detractors and fulfillment theology by its proponents, is the Christian theology, Christian doctrine that the Christian Church has superseded the Israelites, Jewish people, assuming Jews a ...