QT 10/24/2023 Mark 2:18-22, The Christian story is a NEW story

Mark 2:18–22 (ESV) —

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

 

NOTE: The old wineskin is scribal Judaism and the new wineskin is Christianity. Jesus was saying is that the pattern and practices of the new covenant are different. We do not carry the law into the new covenant. The marriage motif is a better picture of the new, because a wedding is a time of celebration. Salvation is a joyful celebration that never ends as we realize the benefits and blessings of being part of the family of God. There will be times of fasting. The NT has a handful of occasions where believers fasted. It is neither common nor uncommon. The Christian life is not ascetic where one suffers the body for godliness. Certainly there is discipline and rejecting sin, but asceticism does not achieve holiness. When we try to add OT laws to our faith, we are really subscribing to a works salvation.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I believe that Jesus paid it all? Or do I think my salvation is somewhat dependent on how I live my life?

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you for my salvation and that it is "NEW." I live in a personal relationship with you because of Jesus. I am unworthy and I am so appreciative of my new life.