This message was given at Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. At the end, we will give information about how to contact us to receive a copy of this or other messages. If you have your scriptures, let's open to the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 5. Gospel of Luke, Chapter 5. We'll be picking up in verse 33. The gospel of Luke chapter five, picking up in verse 33, this is the reading of God's word. And they said to him, the disciples of John fast often and offer prayers. And so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink. And Jesus said to them, can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them and then they will fast in those days. He also told them a parable. No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, the old is good. This is the reading of God's word. Let's ask the Lord's help. Our Father, we pray for your help right now. Free us from the distractions and free us from the weariness. And we pray that you would give us pure truth, pure grace from this passage. Lord, not all the scriptures are equally easy for us. And so we pray that you would help us to be faithful, faithful to the task, even when the task is more difficult. Please bless us now. We pray that you were pleased with how we conduct ourselves. It's in Jesus's name. Amen. So this passage, pretty straightforward, right? You don't know if you can laugh at that or not, huh? I mean, this is a passage where you kind of look at it, don't you? And you think, huh, I sure felt that way this week. Actually, I got a bonus week to think and meditate on this passage because Pastor Conrad was with us. But there really are times when you are reading, especially, it seems, what Jesus says, and you are just thinking, I do not know what that means. I mean, be honest with yourself. Some of you at least are feeling that way with this passage, right? If you were even paying attention, that is. It's not just a straightforward passage. And these challenges are actually all across the Bible. That's one of the fun, challenging blessings of consecutive expository preaching is because I get to this and I say, well, that's what we're doing. And it's also an act of faith as we're reading, as we're studying to say, well, God gave that to us for a reason. And it wasn't just to skip over it to get to the next chapter. So I encourage you, this is a harder passage. If you don't think so, well, good for you, but it is a harder passage. And it's not exactly clear what we are to take from it, not immediately, but I think we're going to get there. And I want to encourage you as you study your Bibles, There's just a real satisfying reward to working through God's word, even when you get to the hard parts like this. Because once you've done the work to understand them, you know, you've put in your reading, you've put in your prayer, you've asked other people. Once you've done that work, you see, it turns out they were glorious all along. They were glorious, they were relevant, and you will be blessed for taking the time with them. So it's an encouragement. The scriptures are meant to bless. But you got to put in the work sometimes. So we look at this passage. It's not entirely obvious what we're to take from it, but that this be also not just a sermon, but perhaps something to encourage you in how we study our Bibles. Let's do this one chunk at a time. When the whole passage seems overwhelming, one chunk at a time, and you see what you can kind of get to, okay? So, first chunk, 33 through 35. I'm going to read each of these sections again because you just have to, so we're real clear in what we're talking about. I'm picking up in 33, we'll go through 35. And they said to him, the disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink. And Jesus said to them, can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. So context, context, context. This is a passage that we are constantly going to be returning to context. So why do we even have this kind of question, right? Why is anyone coming up to him and asking him about the fasting practices of his disciples? Well, what you see from the start is that this apparently represents a broader concern because it's not just Pharisees that show up. That's how we realize this is a bigger concern. It's the disciples of the Pharisees. It's the disciples of John. This is apparently something that a broader part of the community cares about. And essentially they're coming and they're asking, why don't your disciples keep with the traditions? Why don't they keep the tradition? Jesus, verse 34, he answers, and you have to really focus to determine if this is in fact an answer, right? You can't make, this is essentially what he says, you can't make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them. Now, let's be honest, does that clarify it for you? Why don't your disciples fast like everyone else? You can't make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom's around. Huh, right? Well, it's, it's supposed to be actually an obvious illustration, even if it's not for us anymore, at least for these people, it's intended to be an obvious illustration. So one, one piece at a time, one piece at a time, right? We start a basic understanding of fasting, just a basic understanding of fasting. One thing you may not realize is that the only fast that was required by the law was on the day of atonement. That's the only one that was required. Beyond that, fasting was considered to be more of a voluntary response, responding to specific circumstances that you or maybe a group was going through together. And fasting was actually prohibited on festival days and during the Sabbath. So I say that just to point out that there was a time for fasting. And there was a time for not fasting. Now, fasting in Jesus's day, it had expanded and it expanded greatly. And it was now taken to be not just something you would do voluntarily, but this was actually a very important practice of piety. And you were expected to do it regularly if you were a zealous believer. Zealous believers actually had days on which they fasted, typically Mondays and Thursdays. all the time, always fasting. And so you see, there's this cultural understanding behind fasting that's just pretty foreign to us, but it was lodged in their culture. The idea of the normalcy of fasting, the usefulness of fasting, and really on top of that, the meritorious nature of fasting. Fasting had really ballooned from just going from what you did on the day of atonement to now what these people are questioning Jesus about. Now, according to the scriptures, there were a number of reasons that you might fast. You could be seeking God's will in a particular way. You could be dedicating yourself to God, to his service. And then very importantly, you might do it in time of mourning. In a time of mourning, fasting would often accompany that time. And we're going to come back to that because Jesus is going to particularly pick up on the use of fasting during times of mourning. More on that in just a moment, okay? Hold that in your brains. But back to this illustration that's supposedly obvious, okay? This illustration that's supposedly obvious, here it is. Picture wedding guests that are too weak to celebrate because they have been fasting. Right? You see that? There's an obvious nature. That's not how it's supposed to be. There's something obviously wrong when the guests of the wedding cannot celebrate the wedding because, oh, we were fasting today. Now, there's more to this than meets the eye. You still with me? It's a little harder, I know. It's a little warmer. You guys warm? You falling asleep? No. One person. Everyone else, you're in it. Okay. There's actually more to this illustration than you might realize. Whenever Jesus does something, just be very willing to say, is there something more that he's doing there? Why does he pick the picture of a wedding? Well, you're going to find that more than one spot in the scriptures that God will describe himself as the bridegroom. And you're going to find that with several of these pictures, the bridegroom illustrations are going to be used to allude to the times ahead when the Messiah would come, those messianic ages to come. So you see, just one more of these small touches, as Jesus is introducing himself, it's small touch after small touch after small touch, where he is showing, this is who I am, and this is where I fit into things. I will take up the picture of God as a bridegroom. And Jesus here is the bridegroom now. You're starting to see Jesus, just a little bit at a time, wants you to understand who he is. Okay, now come back to that mournful use of fasting. Mournful use of fasting. A wedding, hopefully, is a joyful time. Weddings are not meant to be mournful times, are they? Weddings are supposed to be just this beautiful new chapter of life. Everyone's celebrating. It's just, you know, eat, drink, and dance, and just lovely times. That's what a wedding is supposed to be like. And then the presence of the bridegroom at that wedding, it brings joy to the wedding, doesn't it? Well, here we start transitioning into what Jesus is saying about himself. The presence of Jesus brings joy to his creation. And the presence of Jesus marks a new stage in God's plans, one unlike any other that has come before. Jesus, when he answers back like this, he is actually giving a very big, very full answer to what was a very specific question. And really he's not all that interested at that moment in interacting with the bloated tradition that had become fasting. He's just not all that interested in it at the moment. He points out something different, that the new age of joy that comes with his presence, right? He says, there's a new age of joy now. How can my disciples fast like they're mourning? That doesn't make sense. Again, it's that obviousness picture that does not line up in this age of joy to have the disciples of the joy bringer fasting as if they are mourning. Jesus's presence is bigger than fasting. It is more important than fasting. And so fasting in this discussion actually takes a back seat. Well, Jesus then adds on one more thing, and it's just one of these unsettling things that Jesus does from time to time. In verse 35, he adds just this ominous touch to what was otherwise a joyful picture. Verse 35, the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. And you get this glimpse, you get this glimpse into what Jesus knows and he's hinting at what's going to come ahead. One day he will be taken away. The bridegroom won't always be at the wedding if you want to keep the illustration. One day he will be taken away and then there will be sorrow. And he's not, he's not just talking about one day I'm going to ascend into heaven. I think it seems pretty clear that he's talking much more specifically the one day violent men are going to seize me. And in that day, that will be a day of sorrow. But it's not that day yet. So my disciples don't fast. The fundamental point again here, it is not about fasting, not specifically. The point here is what it is like when Jesus is around. Jesus brings joy to his people. His nearness is joy. And the farther away he gets, the lesser that joy is, the less that joy is made manifest. And the disciples, they were living a joyous time, day in and day out with the Son of God. the son of God guiding them, the son of God caring about their daily existences, the son of God opening up realities they had never perhaps imagined before. It was a joyous time for them. We're in a different chapter of God's plans, but we have our own delightful privileges. We really do. God, the Holy Spirit dwells with us and through the Holy Spirit, the father and the son dwell with us too. We are not cheated by any means in this equation. We have joy now and we have even fuller joy to come. The joy now is everything that brings us closer to Christ. Everything that brings us closer to Christ is a source of joy. We sometimes get things so backwards. The Christian life is so backwards in so many of our heads. We lose the joy of our walk and we replace it instead with some cold, bare obedience and obligation. Now, there will always be a place for obedience. I would never take that away. It will always be there. but the obedience of a Christian is sandwiched in joy. You have joy motivating the obedience and obedience leading to further joy. It is a great existence to be a Christian. And so when you draw near to Christ's body, which you all have done by prioritizing one more service, when you draw near to Christ's body, which is his church, you can expect joy. When you draw near to Christ's word, which reveals his work and it reveals his character, you can expect joy. Even when you are put through the furnace of the trials of this life, you are being made to look like Christ. And in that, you can expect joy. There is a joy now, and there is a joy, a fuller one yet to come. We also have the certain expectation of the fullness of joy that will come when Christ comes back. If you think that you have had joy in this world, God would tell you that is a shadow of the joy he intends for his people. The coming of Christ will be joy like you have never known. It will be joy like you have never imagined. When the Savior comes and sets all things wrong, right? That will be joy. When the Savior completes the rescue of his people from their sin and sorrow, that will be joy. When the faith becomes sight, when the promise becomes reality, brothers and sisters, that will be joy. The nearness of our Savior is our joy. So joy is present throughout our lives. And joy is the glorious reality toward which we sojourn. Each day we make it through, day by day by day, it's a day closer to the fullness of joy that Christ alone offers. Now, you pick back up into the text, and Jesus sort of clarifying, sort of explaining, let's again be honest, maybe makes things more complicated. So, He builds on this point that he's been making, and we're going to try and keep a strong continuity across this passage because that's what's going to guide us through. Jesus builds on his point by discussing the relationship of new to old. Okay? Verse 36. He also told them a parable. No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, well, he'll tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. Okay, a picture of new and old garments. Now, the picture is actually real straightforward. And maybe it's confusing when you read it, but as soon as you think about it, it makes all the sense in the world. You picture I've got an old ratty shirt, and then I've got a new shirt. And I'm like, huh, what should I do about this old ratty shirt? I know, I'll take the new one and I'll rip off a strip. And then I'll go and put it on the old ratty shirt. Are you picturing this? That's not actually a solution, is it? The reason being, because in the whole process, now you have a ripped new garment, and you got this ratty old one with this weird new strip of cloth across it. And it just, it doesn't match, Jesus says. I appreciate, Jesus is like, that doesn't match. It's just, that does not make sense. That is not the way that you solve a problem like that. So the so-called solution actually only caused more of a problem. Big picture principle, mixing the new and the old hurts both. You hear that? And it's going to come one more time. Verses 37 and 38. And no one puts new wine into old wine skins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wine skins. Okay, this is a picture less familiar to us, but it's a picture that often we've studied, so maybe you're more familiar with it. So you have the idea of wineskins. A new wineskin still has some elasticity, some stretch to it. So you put new wine in a new wineskin. When the wine ferments and expands, the wineskin, the new wineskin that is, can stretch. It can handle it. Now, let's say you've had that wine skin, you know, since your college days or something like that, and it's all old and brittle, but you think, ah, it's just as good today as they got it, right? It can handle another batch of new wine. You put the new wine in that one, it can't actually handle the stretching anymore. So when the new wine ferments, pssh, you burst the skin. The skin's no good for anything anymore, right? Like a water bottle with a hole in the bottom doesn't do you much good, right? Then the wine's all over the floor. And you're supposed to look at it and say, that was not a good solution. I ruined my favorite wineskin and I lost all the wine. The mixing of new and old hurts both. So, in both of these illustrations, again, there's this sense of obviousness. If you had the bad shirt and the good shirt, you wouldn't actually try that solution. And if you knew anything about wineskins and new wine or whatever, you would certainly not have tried that solution either. Both of these are supposed to be just an obvious thing. You don't need a sage wise man to tell you, don't do obviously dumb things. Right? So there's supposed to be this characteristic of obviousness. Obviousness. And the story comes back to you like, why would you do that? Well, it doesn't make sense. Okay. So you can imagine saying to Jesus, okay, Jesus, I follow the picture. I see that you're saying that something is obvious, but what do you mean? I get not to do that with cloth and I get not to do that with wine, but what does that mean here? Why did you just mention that here? Now, to understand this, again, context, context, context, take the passage as a whole. The disciples of John and the Pharisees, they ask about traditional fasting, not law required fasting, traditional fasting. Jesus responds by telling them that his presence marks a new era. And the joy of his presence is fasting. And so to illustrate this principle, he gives us the parable of the garments and the wine. And his point seems to be that Jesus brings a radical newness that cannot be contained by the old traditional ways of Judaism. Radical newness. Radical being a very important word here. Radical newness. Jesus marks a radically new era of God's plans. See, what's interesting about Jesus is on the one hand you can say that Jesus is the complete fulfillment of God's plans. He abolishes nothing. He fulfills everything. Jesus is exactly what the plans of God intended. His work perfectly upholds and maintains the plans of God. You can say that wholeheartedly, accurately on the one hand. On the other, Jesus is also radically different than anything that has come before. I think as soon as the creator becomes a part of the creation, everything he's going to do from there on out is going to be radically different than anything that's come before. But Jesus radically surpasses and transcends the ancient promises. I mean, you just run through the things of what people expected. People expected political victory. Jesus would bring victory over death. When people were expecting a blessed life in the land, Jesus brought everlasting life and a promise of a new heavens and a new earth. Where people expected that one day God would send his godly Messiah, God instead sent God himself to be their Messiah. You see how in all these things, Jesus is going above and beyond what people were expecting, yet he is the perfect fulfillment of God's plans. When God brings a radically new and better development in his plans for his people, God's people can't go and start imposing back on it their traditions, their old ways. You can't take the old ways of the people and impose them on the newness of God or else both will be hurt. Jesus's rescue mission, it naturally arose out of God's plans of salvation. And in those plans, Jesus also brought a radically new era. One that was different, absolutely different from anything that had come before. Verse 39, this last verse, it contains this very specific kind of rebuke. I'll show my cards a little bit there. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says the old is good. And again, it's another one of these moments where you're just like, what does that mean? And again, context, context, context. If the only passage you had was chapter five, verse 39, you really would not know how to interpret this. You would not know how to interpret this. Is the old wine a good thing? Or is the old wine a bad thing? Context clarifies. Jesus has been talking about the new era that his presence brings. And he's talked about how the old ways cannot be mixed with his newness. So in context, we see what this means. If one is so content with the old that one doesn't even want the newness that Jesus brings, that is a very bad thing. In the plans of God, the old was always meant to point to the new. So if instead of pointing to the new, the old goes and replaces the new, The old is not being used for what it was meant for. So you can hear then, you start getting that context and you can hear the rebuke in Jesus's words. All throughout this teaching, He has been making illustrations that should have been considered obvious. And he did that on purpose. This obvious characteristic was supposed to be brought through the whole thing. He's made a pointed deal on the things that were obvious. So likewise, with these questioning disciples or whoever they were, the idea is, how do you not understand this? Embracing the new things that God is giving you is obviously what you are supposed to do. Clinging to the old things, your traditions, is obviously not what you are supposed to do. As we hear this rebuke, we need to guard our hearts also. We are not free from this just because we don't fast on Mondays and Thursdays. We cannot be so enamored with the old that we reject the newness of God. I'll give you an example. Christians are known for being really excited about things like the land of Israel, the temple that once stood there, the way things used to be in the times of kings and of prophets. But I hold out to you that God will look at us in all of our hubbub and say, don't you realize it's obvious that those things were only getting you ready for the real thing, which was Jesus Christ and his work. We feel the rebuke also. when we realize that we would rather cling to something old that we believe or something old that we kind of possess right now, rather than cling to Jesus as is his due. See, Jesus says things like, follow me, follow me. And maybe to you, he says, follow me like you have never done before. Commit your life to me with all the parts that you've been holding back. and I will give you new life. You will experience new life like you have never known before. You will experience new blessings like you have never imagined before. And then somewhere in our hearts, we whisper back, but Jesus, that would really interrupt my plans. Somewhere in our hearts we whisper, but Jesus, my life is pretty blessed already. I don't need any of this new blessing you're talking about. Somewhere we say, but Jesus, the old ways are the ways I've always done it. Why would I do something differently now? Don't be a person who rejects new life in Christ because you think that what you have is good enough. What a tragedy it is when people do that. And I think frankly, what a crime. This was a harder passage. I appreciate that you stuck with me and I hope that it's already bearing fruit for you. It was a harder passage, but the truth of it, it wasn't crazy at all. It wasn't outlandish at all. It was as relevant and everyday as you can imagine. There are the old ways and there are the new. If the old ways are not leading you to the newness that is found in Jesus Christ, one of them has to go. And it better not be the new ways. You need to be left behind. Even if the old ways of your life are the best thing that you can possibly imagine, I say without any doubt, the new is better. The new is better than any old thing you've ever known. Christ brought newness. Christ brought new life. Christ brought new access to God. Christ brought new hope. Christ made a new covenant. So embrace the one who makes things new. Leave the old things behind and never look back. Let's pray. Our Father, we pray that you would give us Eyes to see and ears to hear. Truly, these things are not always easy. And then sometimes we understand them and it makes them even harder. Father, forgive us that we would prefer the old to the new life you would give us. Forgive us that we would prefer old sins, old philosophies, old habits, old fool's gold to the newness that we could have in Jesus Christ. Lord, give us new life. For those who already know you refresh us in that new life. For those who don't, may they forsake the old ways today. May they never be content with what this world has been giving them. Give them a hunger, give them a thirst for the righteousness and the life that is found in Jesus Christ alone. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. We hope you've enjoyed this message from Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. To receive a copy of this or other messages, call us at area code 775-782-6516 or visit our website gracenevada.com.