“The Taste of New Wine”
Luke 5:33-6:11
But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved – Luke 5:38
The “new wine” is a new work that Jesus came to do. It is a work of the Spirit that comes by way of the Cross of Calvary. Jesus came the first time “to preach the gospel to the poor; to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” [Lk 4:18-19].
He quoted this Messianic prophecy in the synagogue of His hometown and said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” [Lk 4:21] And the people were furious. They even wanted to throw Him off a cliff. Jesus, the one who they had grown up with for 30 years, was proclaiming to be Messiah [ref. Lk 4:20-21].
But notice the very first words in Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me…” This is key. It is the Spirit “upon,” and the Spirit “anointed” that makes all the difference. It would be a new work rendered in a new covenant.
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts.” [Zech 4:6] The work of God must be done with the “in” and “upon” of the Spirit. It is a “new wine” that believers in Christ have access to. The question is, will we receive it? And that is where new wine skins come into play.
Our passage this morning describes the battle between the old and the new. “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spoiled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” [Lk 5:37-38]
Now notice the “both are preserved” verbiage. It is in the New King James [NKJ] translation. New wineskins receive the new and preserve the old, an important detail that is oftentimes overlooked. Why is this important? Because “no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’” [Lk 5:39].
Is there a time element inferred, a period of mercy involved? It would seem so from the NKJ text. Something to ponder as we taste the new and pray for transformation.
