“The Old Is Better”

    “And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better” (Luke 5:33-39).

    The Lord Jesus had just saved an elect sinner by his almighty grace, an old publican named Levi (Matthew). Having experienced the saving goodness of God’s grace, having been forgiven of all sin, having seen the glory of God in the face of Christ, this sinner gladly forsook all and followed Christ.

    Not only did he follow Christ, he wanted others to know him and follow him. He wanted other sinners to know the grace he now knew. He wanted other sin-sick souls to know the healing of the Master’s hand. So he threw a lavish dinner party in honour of the Son of God. Hoards of people came: tax collectors; Romans; Jewish scribes; Pharisees; disciples of John the Baptist; the Lord’s own disciples; the Son of God himself; and numerous sinners.

    When the scribes and Pharisees saw the Lord Jesus and his followers mingling with such riffraff, they raised their eyebrows and said, “Why do you eat with publicans and sinners?” The Master responded by saying, “They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

    Being totally ignorant of what he said, knowing that they were neither sick nor sinners (at least in their own opinion), they seem to have totally ignored the Saviour’s words. But observing that John’s disciples kept the same outward religious customs and ceremonies (saying public prayers, fastings, etc.) that they kept, and the Lord’s disciples did not, the scribes and Pharisees perceived an opportunity to create trouble. They thought they could divide Christ’s kingdom. They thought they could drive a wedge between John the Baptist and the Lamb of God, by pointing out these glaring differences.

    True believers are sometimes weak believers; and weak believers are often swayed and easily sidetracked, especially by the religious practices and customs of men. “And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?” (v. 33) In Matthew 9:14 the Holy Spirit shows us that John’s disciples were influenced strongly by these customs of the Pharisees.

    John’s disciples, though true disciples, were greatly impressed by the Pharisees’ outward show of religion in public prayers, displays of fasting and the ostentatious washing of hands before eating. Christ’s sheep will not follow a stranger. God’s saints have an unction from the Holy One and cannot be deceived with regard to the gospel. But God’s saints in this world are only frail, fickle, sinful men and women of flesh and blood. Sometimes they fall under the influence of wicked men, thinking that they are doing good. Sometimes, by bad influence from people they think are sincere, they get sidetracked by meaningless issues.

    That is exactly what happened here with John’s disciples. They got to listening to the Pharisees, with whom they had in common the practice of religious, ceremonial fasting. Ignoring the indescribably far greater issues of redemption, grace, and forgiveness, they joined the Pharisees (of all people!), carping and criticizing the Lord Jesus and his disciples because they did not join in public displays of fasting.

    If you will look at Matthew’s account (Matthew 9:14), you will see clearly that it was not just the Pharisees who raised this issue, but John the Baptist’s disciples with the Pharisees.

    May God the Holy Spirit keep us from being moved away from the simplicity that is in Christ. We must not be side-tracked by the issues of carnal religion, from the gospel of Christ. If he can do so, Satan will use such things to divide the church of God (Ephesians 4:1-6).

    In verses 34 and 35 our Saviour teaches us a glorious fact about our relationship with him and with one another. All true believers are the bride of Christ and he is our bridegroom.

    “And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.”

    This gospel age, is the time of our marriage feast. It is a time for feasting at the banqueting table of grace, a time for celebration and joy, not a time for mourning and fasting.

    Fasting in the Old Testament was a symbol of repentance and mourning. Certain fasts were prescribed under the law as times of personal and national public humiliation. But the Pharisees ignored the spiritual thing symbolized and capitalized on the outward ceremony. They not only insisted on keeping the fast days prescribed by the law, they added many, many more. In conjunction with their show of humility, these proud hypocrites added specified times of prayer, public shows of devotion, by which they could prove to the world around them and to one another how very holy and humble, devoted and diligent, good and godly they were! Our Lord and his disciples had nothing to do with such nonsense. Neither should we!

    With regard to fasting, our Lord’s doctrine is clear. His presence and grace removes all need for sorrow and mourning (that which fasting symbolized) among his people. He said, “When the Bridegroom is taken away, then the bride will be sorrowful and mourn.” And there was a time of weeping for the bride, when the Lord of Glory was crucified and buried. But with the resurrection of our Lord, his exaltation and enthronement, and the out-pouring of the Spirit of grace upon us, we now rejoice with joy unmingled. The bride’s fasting days are over! Our sins are gone! Grace, righteousness and eternal life are ours! Christ, our faithful Saviour, our divine Bridegroom, is with us to provide for us, protect us and comfort us. Why should we fast? These things rejoice our hearts!

    The Lord Jesus here identifies himself as our Bridegroom and all chosen, redeemed sinners as his bride (Ephesians 5:25-30). The Son of God espoused himself to us in eternity. He bought us and washed us in his own blood. We are wed to him by faith, wearing the wedding garments of his provision. We are his bride and he is our Husband.

    What does that mean? We are the objects of his tender love. We are privileged to enjoy a mystical union with the Son of God. We are forever his. “What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder”! “He hateth putting away”! We shall forever participate in and possess all that is his (Romans 8:17). He who is the Bridegroom of our souls will one day present us before his Father and all the universe as his chaste virgin, spotless, holy, blameless!

    In verses 36-38 the Lord Jesus tells us that in spiritual matters we must never attempt to mix things that differ.

    “And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.”

    Our Saviour delivered this parable in response to the question raised by John’s disciples and the Pharisees about fasting. With the Pharisees, fasting had become a common, publicly advertised ceremony. It was an outward show of holiness, piety and devotion. John’s disciples seem to have placed great emphasis upon this religious custom as well. But our Lord always dealt with it as an insignificant thing and insisted that in fasting, in prayer and in giving (Matthew 6:16-18), in fact in anything and everything, we must never make a show of religion!

    It may have been proper, our Lord says to John’s disciples, for the friend of the bridegroom and his disciples to fast. But to require the bridegroom and his disciples to fast was as ludicrous as sewing a piece of new cloth in an old garment, or putting new wine into old bottles, or wineskins.

    Actually the parables here given were simply proverbial sayings that may be applied to many things. Essentially, their meaning is simply this: never try to mix things that do not mix. Many great evils that have arisen in the church could have been avoided if the lesson of these parables had simply been heeded. And many of the evils exiting in the church today could be corrected if this lesson was followed.

    In spiritual matters, we must never attempt to mix things that differ. Just as under the Mosaic law the mixture of linen and wool and the ploughing of an ox and an ass together were prohibited, so in this age, we cannot mix and must never try to mix, law and grace, flesh and spirit, Christ and the world, or carnal ordinances with spiritual worship.

    The problem at Galatia was that the Judaisers tried to put the old wine of Mosaic laws and ceremonies into the new bottle of grace. They tried, like many today, to mix Judaism and Christianity. They tried to hold both to the law and the gospel. They wanted both Moses and Christ. They tried to mix physical circumcision with spiritual circumcision. Such a mixture can never take place. Either we are under the law, or we are free from the law. It cannot be both (Galatians 5:1-4).

    In the early church many tried to mix the philosophies and religious customs of a pagan world with the gospel of Christ, just as they do today. Nothing is new under the sun. In the earliest days, after the apostles, and even while the apostles were living, there were those who attempted to make the gospel palatable to the world by mixing the religious customs, traditions and opinions of paganism with the gospel of Christ. The result was disastrous then, and shall be now. In those days compromise paved the road to Romanism. Today, many are paving a road back to Romanism as fast as possible.

    We must never try to mix flesh and spirit or works and grace in the worship and service of our God (Philippians 3:3). There is absolutely no place in the worship of God for crosses, pictures representing the Lord Jesus Christ, our God, images or pictures of angels, religious relics or symbols, law rule, sabbath keeping, ceremonialism, crossings, kneelings, or anything not prescribed by our Lord and practised by his disciples in the New Testament.

    Many professing Christians today constantly attempt to stitch Christ and the world together. How many there are who seem determined to prove our Lord wrong, who try to serve both God and mammon. They wear the name of Christ in profession, but serve the world. They want to enjoy the new wine of Christ; but they want to drink it from the old bottle of the world. They will not utterly despise the new garment of discipleship, but they want it without cost or cross. They try to sew it to the old garment of pleasure, covetousness and love of the world. They will find one day soon that they have attempted what cannot be done.

    We must not attempt to put new wine into old bottles. Law and grace, flesh and spirit, the world and Christ simply cannot be mixed. We must choose one and hate the other.

    In verse 39 our Lord shows us that in spiritual things “the old is better”, always better. “No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.”

    The gospel of Christ is often compared to wine in scripture. Wine is representative of the Saviour’s blood in the Lord’s Supper. The gospel is comparable to wine because of its sweetness, its reviving quality and its calming effect. If ever you taste the old wine of the gospel, the old wine of free grace, you will not want the new wine of this apostate age (Jeremiah 6:16).