Luke 5 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Luke 5:33-39 – The Old and the New

Luke 5:33-39 – The Old and the New

|| Matthew 9:15, 16;[1] Mark 2:19;[2] John 3:29[3]

LK5:33 Now these said to Jesus: “The disciples of John fast often with prayers just as the Pharisees, but your disciples [only] eat and drink.” LK5:34 Jesus asked them: “Can you force the friends of the bridegroom to fast as long as he is with them? LK5:35 However, the days will come when the bridegroom[4] is taken away and then they will fast in those days.” LK5:36 Now Jesus also told them the parable: “No one places a patch from a new garment on an old garment. For the old and new will both tear because the new does not match with the old. LK5:37 Also, no one puts new wine into old wineskins because if they do the new wine will burst the old wineskins[5] and then both are ruined. LK5:38 Instead new wine must be put into new wineskins. LK5:39 Now he that has drunk the aged wine does not want the new, for he says, ‘The aged wine is better.’”[6]

[1] Matthew 9:15, 16: For details see notes in Nazarene Commentary 2000 on Matthew.

[2] Mark 2:19: For details see notes in Nazarene Commentary 2000 on Mark.

[3] John 3:29: For details see notes in Nazarene Commentary 2000 on John.

[4] Bridegroom: That is, Jesus. [2 Corinthians 11:2]

[5] New wine will burst the old wineskins: [Job 32:19] It is the view of some that the “new wine” is the Nazarene doctrine forming in the new Israel of God. It cannot just be placed within the framework of the Jewish Mosaic Law. Some would later try to do this by forcing the new congregation formed by Jesus into the old Jewish system. [For details see notes in Nazarene Commentary 2000 on Acts 15:1, 2.]

[6] The aged wine is better: Or, good enough, preferable, nice, suits me. The view of many Jewish members of the old law covenant with Israel. The new Nazarene community with its little house churches could not be compared to the glory of Jerusalem’s temple with its grand rituals.

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Preceding

1. Luke 5 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Luke 5:1-11 – Fishermen Follow Jesus
2. Luke 5 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Luke 5:12-16 – Healing a Leper and Then Privacy
3. Luke 5 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Luke 5:17-26 – Who Can Forgive Sins?
4. Luke 5 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Luke 5:27-32 – Tax-man Levi Called
5. Matthew 9:14-17 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Bridegroom and Fasting
6. Matthew 9:14-17 – What others are saying about feasting at the sinners’ table instead of fasting for God’s table
7. Mark 2 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Mark 2:18-22 – The Question on Fasting

Luke 1 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Luke 1:8-17 – An Angel Appears to a Priest

Luke 1:8-17 – An Angel Appears to a Priest

LK1:8 Now [something] happened while Zechariah was serving as priest before The God when it was the turn for his [priestly] division. LK1:9 Then according to the ritual of the priesthood it was his turn to burn incense[1] when he entered the temple of the LORD. LK1:10 Outside the throng of worshippers were praying at the time of the offering of incense. LK1:11 Suddenly YHWH’s angel[2] appeared on the right side of the altar of incense [in the Holy Place]. LK1:12 Now when Zechariah saw the angel he was startled and he began to tremble in fear. LK1:13 Then the angel said to him: “Do not to be frightened, Zechariah! For your prayer has been heard and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son and you will call his name ‘John’.[3] LK1:14 And you will become filled with joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. LK1:15 For he will be great in YHWH’s sight[4] and he will not drink wine or strong drink.[5] [Numbers 6:3] He will be filled with holy Pneuma even while in his mother’s womb. LK1:16 He will restore many of the children of Israel[6] to YHWH their God. LK1:17 He will be a forerunner before [the Messiah] in the inspiration and power of Elijah – to restore the hearts of fathers to their children [Malachi 4:5, 6] and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to get ready YHWH’s people[7] prepared for [Messiah].”

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[1] His turn to burn incense: Something rotated in the priestly divisions. In the first compartment of the Temple called the Holy Place there was an incense altar before the curtain to the Most Holy. [Exodus 25:1, 2, 6; 35:4, 5, 8, 27-29; 30:34-38]

[2] YHWH’s angel: A Hebraism where the Greek could suggest YHWH originally occurred here.

[3] ‘John’: Meaning “Jehovah Has Favored” or “God’s Gift.” One of the most common names in the Western world, occurring as Juan, Yves, Ivan, Sean, etc.

[4] YHWH’s sight: It is possible the Tetragram originally occurred here.

[5] He will not drink wine or strong drink: That is, a Nazarite from birth by God’s choosing like Samson. [Numbers 6:3; Judges 13:7]

[6] He will ‘restore many of the children’ of Israel: The phrase is borrowed from Malachi 4:5-6. This foretold “restoration” by Elijah was that of Israel to their God and also between Hebrew fathers and sons.

[7] To get ready YHWH’s people: The allusion to Malachi 4:5-6 gives an inspired interpretation to the prophecy. Peter alludes to a similar “restoration” at Acts 3:21. John the Baptist would go ahead of Christ by six months to prepare Israel for Messiah’s appearance by a baptism of repentance. All of Jesus’ apostles and early disciples were most likely disciples of John first.

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Preceding

Luke – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Introduction to the Third Gospel

Luke 1 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Luke 1:1-4 – A Factual and Logical Statement

Luke 1 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Luke 1:5-7 – Zechariah and Elizabeth

Matthew 9:14-17 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Bridegroom and Fasting

Matthew 11:2-6 Encouragement for John and Reproach for cities 2 Imprisoned Baptist Encouraged

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Additional reading

Truth, doubt or blindness

Matthew 11:2-6 Encouragement for John and Reproach for cities 2 Imprisoned Baptist Encouraged

11:2-6 – Imprisoned Baptist Encouraged

|| Luke 7:18-23

MT11:2 But while in jail[1] John the Baptist heard[2] about the works of the Messiah,[3] and by means of his disciples,[4] MT11:3 asked Jesus, “Are you the One coming[5] or are we to expect a different person?”[6] MT11:4 Jesus responded, telling [John’s disciples], “Go back and report[7] to John what you heard and saw: MT11:5 Blind people are seeing, lame people are walking around, lame people have been cleansed, deaf people are hearing, dead people are being raised up, and poor people[8] are hearing the good news! MT11:6 And blessed is anyone who is not offended by me!”[9]

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[1] Jail: See Luke 7:18-28.

[2] The Baptist heard: Either he is able to receive visitors or he learns from his guardians.

[3] Messiah: The Greek is CHRISTOU. Originally the Gospel of Matthew was written in Hebrew and so the word would have been more like ham·Ma·shi’ach. Leviticus 4:3, 5 is the first use of the word regarding the high priest of Israel, Aaron. Anyone “anointed” is a “messiah.” Compare Daniel 9:25, 26.

[4] His disciples: For some time the Messianic movement was divided into two primary groups: the disciples of John and the disciples of Jesus. There may have been a degree of dissension between the two. Later in the Book of Acts we come upon John’s disciples unfamiliar with baptism in the name of Jesus (Acts 18:24, 25). The phrase “his disciples” is also used of Paul (Acts 9:25).

[5] One coming: At Matthew 3:11 John has already confessed of another one coming who is more privileged. Possibly the idea of a “Coming One” is drawn from Genesis 49:10, Daniel 9:24, and Malachi 3:1. Compare also Deuteronomy 18:15 (Luke 7:19). Possibly the imprisoned John wants confirmation regarding the very one he pointed out as the “Lamb of God.” (John 1:29)

[6] Expect a different person: Evidently some Jews had different views regarding “the coming one” expecting two different persons, one of which was to be “Elijah.” To this day some Jews expect both the Messiah and Elijah. At Passover an empty chair is provided should Elijah appear.

[7] Go back and report: Jesus sends these disciples back to the imprisoned Baptist with the good news of what has been happening during his incarceration. We may happily assume this news was received by John with tremendous joy. We can hear his rejoicing and prayers in that dungeon.

[8] Poor people: Jesus never forgets the poor and he lists them among genuine miracles.

[9] Not offended by me: The Greek is interesting and related to an English word, SKANDALISTHE – and perhaps “scandalized” would be a better word. Most translators prefer “stumbled.” A person in prison gets his news from mixed sources – some may be accusatory and scandalous. Possibly there was much divisive talk among John’s own disciples. John wants confirmation and proof that the One he baptized is the Messiah. Perhaps he wants this more for his disciples than himself. Note Jesus does not directly answer the question which is something of a Hebrew manner. The prophet foretold stumbling (Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 8:14; Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8).

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Preceding

Nazarene Commentary Matthew 3:7-12 – Opposition and Two Baptisms

Matthew 9:35-38 – Looking at Jesus our shepherd

Matthew 10:5-10 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Jesus’ Orders: Territory, Theme, Trust

Matthew 10:40-42 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Reception and Reward

Matthew 11– Intro to The Nazarene’s Commentary: Encouragement for John and Reproach for cities

Matthew 11:1 Encouragement for John and Reproach for cities 1 Twelve Sent out to Teach

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Related

1. The Mad Prophet
2. The Baptiser (Part 2)
3. The One who comes after the messenger. Mark 1:7-13 (by New providence Mennonite) or The One who comes after the messenger. Mark 1:7-13 (by William Higgins)
4. Seeing and Blind
5. Blind Guides
6. The Chosen Stone
7. belonging together
8. Trusting the Process
9. Violence (Mt 11:12-11:12)

Matthew 9:14-17 – What others are saying about feasting at the sinners’ table instead of fasting for God’s table

Allen Browne posted on September 6, 2017 Managing criticism (Matthew 9:14-17)

In his writing he looks at the disciples of John the baptist and the disciples of the king of the kingdom and how Jesus handled criticism.

He copped it from the scribes (9:3). He copped it from the Pharisees (9:11). Now he cops it from friends: John the Baptist’s disciples:

Mathew 9:14 (his translation) Then John’s students came to him saying, “How come we and the Pharisees fast often, but your students don’t fast?”

Browne writes

Jesus understands how disillusioned John’s disciples feel. His first reaction is empathy. They’re grieving. Their leader has been taken from them. When the day comes when Jesus is taken away, his disciples will be grieving and fasting too:

9:15 Jesus said to them,

“It’s not possible for the bridal party to grieve when the bridegroom is with them. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken from them, and they’ll fast then.

We may not miss the main point.

Like a people separated from their heavenly sovereign, Israel has lamented and fasted so long for the coming of the one who would restore the Davidic kingship. Now the son of David is among them! Jesus is the bridegroom they’ve been waiting for. The king is here. This is no time for mourning. You may have been grieving in the past, but you can’t attend a wedding dressed in black with sorrow written all over your brow! This is a day of celebration. God is at work among his people again. His Messiah is leading the nation in joyful feasting.

Browne looks at the people who find change difficult and feel nostalgic about the old ways, the familiar ways, things they’ve grown up with.

Israel had been fasting and grieving for so long that lament now defined their faith. They could not imagine a kingdom characterized by feasting rather than fasting.

So Jesus tells two stories to make the point that they cannot mix the old and the new. They must let go of the familiar to experience the kingdom being established in Jesus. If they try to hold onto the old, they’ll lose both the old and the new:

9 ¹⁶ No one puts a patch of new cloth on an old garment; for the fullness of it pulls away from the garment and the tear becomes worse.
9 ¹⁷ Neither to you put new wine into old wineskins; if you do, the wineskins break, the wine is spilled and the wineskins are ruined. You put new wine in new wineskins and both are preserved.

Jesus is re-establishing the reign of God over humanity. Their old mourning clothes seemed so appropriate to the kingdom that disintegrated in Old Testament times, but those old garments cannot hold the new cloth of the kingdom being establishing under his kingship. Try to patch them together, and you lose both. The old leather wine bottles they’ve used for so long cannot contain the fresh fermenting wine of the new kingdom. Jesus understands their nostalgia, but they can’t have it both ways.

Jesus extended genuine empathy to those who struggled to adapt, while at the same time being crystal clear that they must relinquish the familiar to experience life under his kingship.

What others are saying

R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007), 356:

For John’s disciples that indicated a movement which did not take its religious commitment seriously, and the feasting in Matthew’s house only deepened their suspicion. In their different ways the Pharisees, John’s disciples and the Jesus circle were all renewal movements within first-century Judaism, and this brief encounter serves to draw out their distinctive approaches and priorities.

Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2009), 300:

Weddings generally lasted seven days … Weddings were a matter of joy with which any signs of sorrow seemed conspicuously incongruent … The Gospels’ readers would probably catch an allusion that Jesus’ first hearers missed: Jesus is the groom of God’s people in the coming messianic banquet foreshadowed in their table fellowship (22:2; 25:10–13). The “taking” of the bridegroom, of course, is a veiled reference to the impending crucifixion.

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Preceding article

Matthew 9:14-17 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Bridegroom and Fasting

Matthew 9:14-17 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Bridegroom and Fasting

Matthew 9:14-17 – The Bridegroom and Fasting

|| Mark 2:18-22; Luke 5:33-39

MT9:14 Then the disciples of John[1] [the Baptist] approached Jesus, asking,

“Why, though we and the Pharisees fast, your disciples do not fast?”[2]

MT9:15 Jesus told them,

“The sons of the bride-chamber[3] cannot possible feel sad[4] while the bridegroom[5] is among them. But the days are coming when the ‘Bridegroom’ will depart[6] from them and then they will fast.[7]

A Man Drinking from a Wine Skin; Images of Spain Album, 63

MT9:16 “Nobody sews an unshrunk cloth patch on an old outer garment for the stretching garment will tear it and it becomes worse. MT9:17 Nor do they put new wine[8] into old wine-botas for the wine-botas will tear and burst[9] [Joshua 9:13; Job 32:19] and the wine is spilled and the wine-botas ruined. Rather, they put new wine into new and fresh wine-botas[10] and so both are preserved.”

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[1] Disciples of John: There is a clear difference between the disciples of the two Masters. John’s disciples view themselves as different from those of the Nazarene. Jesus had selected his disciples from among those baptized disciples of John the Baptist. This difference lasts for some years even into the Book of Acts (Acts chapters 18, 19).

[2] Fast: Going without food for religious reasons. The first occurrence of the word “fasting” in the Bible is 1 Samuel 31:13 for a total of 30 times. Jesus does not condemn fasting, indeed, he gives counsel regarding proper fasting in Matthew 6:16. The prophets and teachers in Antioch fasted before making appointments (Acts 13:1, 2). The same fasting occurs before appointments in Acts 14:23.

[3] Sons of the bride-chamber: The literal phrase in Greek. It is variously rendered: KJV: children of the bride-chamber; TCNT: bridegroom’s friends; GDSP: wedding guests; BAS: friends of the newly married; NASB: attendants of the bride-groom.

[4] Feel sad: Or, mourn. The bridegroom’s buddies mourn or feel sad their friend’s affections will now be divided and likely he will not be free to do some of the things he did before.

[5] Bridegroom: The Greek is, interestingly, NYMPHIOS from which the English “nymph” is rooted. Yahweh was viewed as the Husband of Israel. Jesus becomes such to his Church who is likened to a bride (NYMPH) (Revelation 21:2).

[6] Will depart: The Greek is APARTHE and related to EPERTHE of Acts 1:9, HARPAGESOUMETHA at 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and HERPASTHE at Revelation 12:5.

[7] Then they will fast: Compare John 16:20.

[8] New wine: Possibly the teachings of the Nazarene or a new relationship with God. Rather than use the old bota of Israel under the Law the Messiah uses a new bota, his Church to contain new doctrine and relationships. Remember the original context was fasting.

[9] Wine-botas will tear and burst: The language may be an allusion to Joshua 9:13 and Job 32:19.

[10] Wine-botas: Or, wine-skins. Compare Genesis 21:14, 15, 19; Joshua 9:13; Job 32:19.

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Preceding

Matthew 9:9-13 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Pharisees Accuse When Matthew Is Called

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Related articles

1. Matthew 9, Jesus heals, forgives sins, calls Matthew, what about fasting?, great faith, the Lord’s harvest.
2. Gospel Reading (Matthew 9:14-17)
3. Matthew 9:14-17
4. Managing criticism (Matthew 9:14-17)
5. Thoughts to Ponder from Matthew 9:14-17
6. Daily Ponderings ~ “A Question of Fasting”…
7. Out With The Old, In With The New
8. New vintage
9. Behold the Bride of Christ of Jesus the Christ, the Bride Groom
10. Fasting: Some Food For Thought
11. Do You Believe? – Matthew 9:28
12. Daily Thoughts from Hebrews: New Wine
13. the need for new wineskins