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The Scriptorium

Old and New

New wine, new hearts. Luke 5.32-39

Luke 5 (6)

Pray Psalm 119.81-83.
My soul faints for Your salvation,
But I hope in Your word.
My eyes fail from searching Your word,
Saying, “When will You comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in smoke,
Yet I do not forget Your statutes.

Sing Psalm 119.81-83.
(Ripley: Hallelujah! Praise Jehovah, O My Soul)
My soul faints for Your salvation – but my hope is in Your Word!
I have searched Your Word with patience seeking comfort from You, Lord.
Like a wineskin, Lord, You test me; I am withered with despair!
Let Your statutes my sweet rest be as I call on You in prayer.

Read Luke 5.1-39; meditate on verses 32-39.

Preparation

1. What “old” and “new” things did Jesus mention?

2. When did He say His followers would fast?

Meditation
What stands out in this passage is the old/new contrast Jesus employs. It can be a little confusing.

Jesus is asked about the practice of fasting. The Pharisees (old) practiced it with prayers, as did John the Baptist (new). Why didn’t Jesus? His answer, albeit a little enigmatic, was on the order of “Soon enough” (vv. 33-35). That old, reliable discipline is perfectly suited to the new regime, but only after Jesus has been “taken away” from the earth.

To set His answer in a new regime context, Jesus “spoke a parable to them” – two parables, actually – about patches and wineskins. The new regime of Jesus – His Kingdom – is truly new and living, powerful and expansive. It requires new garments of righteousness (v. 36) and new hearts (vv. 37, 38). Not the outward righteousness of the Pharisees, but righteousness that comes from within, as the Spirit of God works to transform all who believe into the image of Jesus Himself (2 Cor. 3.12-18).

And the old ways of the Old Testament, which always pointed forward to Jesus (Jn. 5.39), must be changed to accommodate the new rule of Christ in the world. We need new hearts (Ezek. 36.26, 27), new minds (1 Cor. 2.16), and a renewed conscience (Rom. 2.14, 15) if the new regime of Jesus is to realize its full potential for making all things new in the world. You can’t encase the Gospel in the old traditions of the scribes and Pharisees (vv. 36-38; cf. Acts 15). We need the Lord to make us new creations (2 Cor. 5.17) – new garments and new wineskins – for the new wine of the Gospel to realize its full potency.

And once we begin to taste the new regime way of life – really come to know it in increasing righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14.17, 18) – we’ll never want to go back to our old ways again (v. 39; cf. Eph. 4.17-24).

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Jesus was telling them in the nicest way possible that they were comparing apples to oranges. Again, His grace was so evident in this exchange. He could have blasted them out of the water with heavy and awesome apologetics, but instead, He told them some parables. Kindly, mercifully, and instructionally. “For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!” (Ps. 117.2).

Our job as “God’s fellow workers” (1 Cor. 3.9) is to imitate Jesus (1 Cor. 11.1). We are to watch Him so closely that we learn from Him (Matt. 11.29) and receive instruction from Him on how to behave in every situation. Our friend Pat Hunter used to say, “If you have the wit to say it, have the grace not to.” That is exactly how Jesus comported Himself.

We have been given many Scriptures to guide us into kind speaking and living. Here are a few:
“Love suffers long and is kind” (1 Cor. 13.4).
“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love…” (Rom. 12.10).
“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4.32).
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Col. 4.6).

When we fully understand the kindness and grace that has been shown to us, we are more likely to show this same kindness and grace to others. As Paul wrote, “And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1.14, 15). We can all vie for that spot.

But as Jesus so clearly stated, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Lk. 5.32). And how very grateful I am that He did!

For reflection
1. What would be the opposite of speech that is kind, patient, and gracious?

2. Why are people more likely to hear us when our speech is like the speech of Jesus?

3. Why do we need a “new heart” to receive the old, old, story about Jesus and His love?

Christ was going to travel throughout Judea in a short amount of time, that the minds of the people in many places might be awakened to the hearing of the gospel as if by the sound of a trumpet. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on a Harmony of the Gospels 11

Pray Psalm 119.84-88.
Call on the Lord for revival and renewal, that He might fill you with His Spirit and lead you ever more fully into His great salvation. Commit your day and its work and challenges to the Lord, and resolve before Him to keep His testimony at every opportunity.

Sing Psalm 119.84-88.
(Ripley: Hallelujah! Praise Jehovah, O My Soul)
Lord, how long, what shall my days be? When will You Your judgment toll?
Let my enemies disgraced be, those who persecute my soul.
All the proud dig pits to slay me, and they persecute me strong!
Let Your Word my strength and stay be: Help me, Lord, receive my song!

For my foes would make an end to my existence on the earth.
Yet Your precepts I befriend to know the greatness of their worth.
In Your kindness, Lord revive me! In Your love, restore my soul!
Let Your Word in me alive be; I will keep it well and whole.

T. M. and Susie Moore

You can listen to a summary of last week’s Scriptorium study by going to our website, www.ailbe.org, and clicking the Scriptorium tab for last Sunday. You can download all the studies in our Luke series by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.



T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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