Matthew 9:14-17 (TPT)
I like to sew and make new things, but I am not a big fan of mending nor altering. Presently, there is a pair of John’s jeans sitting in my sewing room waiting to be hemmed. I’m not sure how long they will sit there. lol…
In our passage today, Jesus uses a sewing analogy to teach a lesson about a spiritual reality. He uses it to let his disciples know he did not come to patch up an old powerless religious system. He did not come to promote empty rituals. He came to offer something new and exciting that could never be contained in such manmade things; he came to offer humanity a relationship with Almighty God. This powerful reality Jesus offers must be held in new hearts; hearts reborn from above.
Matthew 9:14-17 Jesus Brings a New Reality
14 The disciples of John the Baptizer approached Jesus with this question: “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast regularly, but not your disciples?”
15 Jesus replied, “How can the sons of the bridal chamber[a] grieve when the Bridegroom is next to them? But the days of fasting will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them. 16 And who would mend worn-out clothing with new fabric? When the new cloth shrinks it will rip, making the hole worse than before. 17 And who would pour fresh, new wine into an old wineskin? Eventually the wine will ferment and make the wineskin burst, losing everything—the wine is spilled and the wineskin ruined. Instead, new wine is always poured into a new wineskin so that both are preserved.”[b]
Prayer: Lord, thank you for making my heart new and bringing the Spirit of love and power into my life. I am blessed to be a container for this new reality. In Jesus name. Amen.