THE DANGER OF MIXING THE OLD AND THE NEW
SCRIPTURE:
“He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.” (Luke 5:36—39 NIV)
OBSERVATION:
This parable that Jesus told his disciples started by saying what an experienced wine producer does with the wine. Jesus said the term NO ONE, three times. Jesus also gave three reasons why NO ONE who knows wine will do such a thing with the wine.
He said, NO ONE tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Why? Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.
Jesus continues, NO ONE pours new wine into old wineskins. Why? Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out, and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.
Furthermore, Jesus said, “And NO ONE after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, “The old is better.” I have many wine-drinking friends who think wine is the best drink when it’s old. Others hold a different view. However, in this passage, Jesus speaks about the incompatibility of the old and the new. Jesus is addressing the danger of not doing things properly. Jesus is giving a warning of the danger of mixing the old and the new.
If you know wine, you should know what to do with the new and the old and know not what to do with it. Both old and new must be in the right place, in the right environment, and in the right storage temperature fitted and needed for both wines.
This teaching came, and the heel of Jesus called his first disciples. He spoke to Better about going deeper with him instead of relying on his own know-how and experiences as an experienced fisherman. Jesus was calling Peter to a new experience. Instead of being a fisherman, he will become a fisher of men. Something new for Peter when he encounters Jesus. But Peter can’t be a fisher of men if he still insists on being a fisherman.
The Pharisees, on the other hand, refused to see a new thing happening among them. They opposed Jesus at every corner. The Pharisees kept on insisting that the old way of doing things was much better. Jesus did not condemn the old wineskin. He just taught us that we must know the difference. The new and the old must never mix. They will both be destroyed. If we are going to do something new, then it requires new thinking, new passion, new vision, new drive, and new everything in order to see things preserved and be of good use.
But if we insist on doing the old, then why waste time thinking new or trying to mix it? So is life; I can never get where I want to go in 2024 while my mind is still stuck in 2023. I can’t have renewed energy for the present and the future if I am still fighting the battles of last year. I won’t be able to move forward if I love my accomplishments of last year.
The way forward is to know what is compatible with my vision of the future, not dwelling on past victories and experiences but on what is necessary for the new to occur. Hoping for the future and yet wanting to mix in the old is detrimental to my productivity. It will be a wasted effort to try to do new things with an old mindset. To move forward, and be all that Jesus wants me to be is to say goodbye to my old ways of doing things. If the old things that I am doing is going well, then I must keep doing them until God gives me something new to do.
APPLICATION:
My desire is to completely leave my dependency on what I have achieved in the past in order for me to achieve and accomplish the demands of the new year. I want to always follow the word of Jesus at every step of the way. I want to acknowledge the Lord in every step. It is so easy for me to default back in my old ways. I want to achieve this year new things in my personal life and ministry wherever Jesus leads me. I will submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit to do whatever he seems right for me to do for the glory of Jesus.
PRAYER:
Holy Spirit, I ask that you lead me and guide me with your hand this year. I want to accomplish all that you have called me to do. I am willing to be led by you into new advantages and new visions of what you want to do in my life. Jesus, please help me never to live a mixed life trying to please my own desire and do your will. Lead me to a life of submission to your purposes in this year’s journey. Keep me holy and pure in your sight. Amen!
