Luke 5:37
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined.
And no one
This phrase sets a universal principle, emphasizing the wisdom and common understanding of the time. In the Greek, "οὐδεὶς" (oudeis) means "no one" or "nobody," indicating an absolute statement. This reflects the cultural and practical knowledge of winemaking in ancient times, where certain practices were universally accepted. The phrase suggests that the teaching to follow is not just a suggestion but a well-known truth.

pours
The Greek word "βάλλει" (ballei) means "to throw" or "to cast," but in this context, it is used for pouring or placing something carefully. This action implies intentionality and purpose. The act of pouring new wine is deliberate, symbolizing the introduction of something fresh and transformative. It suggests a careful and thoughtful process, much like the careful consideration required in spiritual renewal.

new wine
"New wine" in Greek is "νέον οἶνον" (neon oinon), referring to freshly pressed grape juice that is still fermenting. In biblical symbolism, new wine often represents new teachings, covenants, or the work of the Holy Spirit. The freshness and potential of new wine symbolize the new life and transformation brought by Jesus' teachings and the New Covenant. It is a metaphor for the dynamic and living nature of the Gospel, which cannot be contained by old, rigid structures.

into old wineskins
The Greek term "ἀσκοὺς παλαιούς" (askous palaious) refers to containers made from animal skins used to store wine. Over time, these skins would become brittle and inflexible. Historically, wineskins were essential for storing and transporting wine, but they had a limited lifespan. The "old wineskins" symbolize the old religious systems and traditions that were unable to accommodate the new, vibrant teachings of Jesus. This phrase highlights the necessity for new structures and mindsets to embrace the transformative power of the Gospel.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of this parable, Jesus uses this metaphor to teach about the incompatibility of the old and new covenants.

2. Disciples of John and Pharisees
The context of this teaching involves a question from the disciples of John and the Pharisees about fasting, which Jesus uses to illustrate a broader spiritual truth.

3. Wineskins
A common item in ancient times used to store wine, made from animal skins. They symbolize the old structures or systems that cannot contain the new work of God.

4. New Wine
Represents the new covenant and the transformative work of the Holy Spirit, which cannot be contained within the old Jewish legalistic framework.

5. Old Wine
Symbolizes the old covenant and traditional Jewish practices that are insufficient for the new life Jesus brings.
Teaching Points
Incompatibility of Old and New
The old covenant and its practices cannot contain the new life and freedom found in Christ. Believers must embrace the new covenant fully.

Transformation Requires Change
Just as new wine requires new wineskins, spiritual transformation requires a change in mindset and lifestyle.

Flexibility in Faith
Believers are called to be flexible and open to the new things God is doing, rather than rigidly adhering to outdated traditions.

Embrace the New Covenant
Understanding and living out the new covenant is essential for spiritual growth and maturity.

Guard Against Legalism
The parable warns against the dangers of legalism, encouraging believers to focus on the spirit rather than the letter of the law.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the metaphor of new wine and old wineskins illustrate the relationship between the old and new covenants?

2. In what ways can we ensure that our spiritual "wineskins" are new and flexible to accommodate the work of the Holy Spirit?

3. How does the concept of becoming a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) relate to the teaching in Luke 5:37?

4. What are some traditions or practices in your life that might be hindering your spiritual growth, and how can you address them?

5. How can we guard against legalism in our faith communities while still honoring the truths of Scripture?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 9:17 and Mark 2:22
These parallel passages also recount Jesus' teaching on new wine and old wineskins, emphasizing the need for new structures to accommodate the new covenant.

2 Corinthians 5:17
This verse speaks about becoming a new creation in Christ, which aligns with the idea of new wine requiring new wineskins.

Hebrews 8:13
Discusses the obsolescence of the old covenant, reinforcing the need for a new covenant as represented by new wine.

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Prophecies about a new covenant, which Jesus fulfills, highlighting the transformative nature of His ministry.
The Call of Levi, and the Subsequent BanquetR.M. Edgar Luke 5:27-39
A Mixed GarmentC. J. Elliot, M. A.Luke 5:33-38
Christian NaturalnessW. Clarkson Luke 5:33-38
Christianity a New DispensationArchdeacon Farrar.Luke 5:33-38
Christianity Will not Amalgamate with JudaismH. Melvill, B. D.Luke 5:33-38
New Cloth on an Old GarmentDean Plumptre.Luke 5:33-38
New Wine in Old BottlesDean Plumptre.Luke 5:33-38
No Patch-Work MoralityM. R. Vincent, D. D.Luke 5:33-38
Permanence of the OldD. E. Lancing, D. D.Luke 5:33-38
Suitable External FormsDean Chadwick.Luke 5:33-38
The Broken BottlesH. Melvill, B. D.Luke 5:33-38
The Patched GarmentM. R. Vincent, D. D.Luke 5:33-38
The Unity of the GospelM. R. Vincent, D. D.Luke 5:33-38
Theology Must Tally with ExperienceM. R. Vincent, D. D.Luke 5:33-38
Worthlessness of a Patched CharacterM. R. Vincent, D. D.Luke 5:33-38
People
James, Jesus, John, Levi, Peter, Simon, Zabdi, Zebedee
Places
Galilee, Genneseret, Jerusalem, Judea
Topics
Bottles, Burst, Destroyed, Destruction, Fear, Itself, Otherwise, Perish, Pour, Poured, Puts, Putteth, Ruined, Run, Skins, Spilled, Spilt, Wine, Wineskins, Wine-skins
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Luke 5:33-39

     4548   wineskin
     5588   traditions

Luke 5:36-37

     2363   Christ, preaching and teaching

Luke 5:36-38

     6698   newness

Luke 5:36-39

     8145   renewal, people of God

Luke 5:37-38

     5234   bottle

Library
March 25 Evening
Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing; nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.--LUKE 5:5. All power is give unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: . . . and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea. Though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: necessity is laid
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

March 19. "Launch Out into the Deep" (Luke v. 4).
"Launch out into the deep" (Luke v. 4). Many difficulties and perplexities in connection with our Christian life might be best settled by a simple and bold decision of our will to go forward with the light we have and leave the speculations and theories that we cannot decide for further settlement. What we need is to act, and to act with the best light we have, and as we step out into the present duty and full obedience, many things will be made plain which it is no use waiting to decide. Beloved,
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

December 9. "Launch Out into the Deep" (Luke v. 4).
"Launch out into the deep" (Luke v. 4). One of the special marks of the Holy Ghost in the Apostolic Church was the spirit Of boldness. One of the most essential qualities of the faith that is to attempt great things for God and expect great things from God, is holy audacity. Where we are dealing with a supernatural Being, and taking from Him things that are humanly impossible, it is easier to take much than little; it is easier to stand in a place of audacious trust than in a place of cautious, timid
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Humility
LUKE v. 8. Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Few stories in the New Testament are as well known as this. Few go home more deeply to the heart of man. Most simple, most graceful is the story, and yet it has in it depths unfathomable. Great painters have loved to draw, great poets have loved to sing, that scene on the lake of Gennesaret. The clear blue water, land- locked with mountains; the meadows on the shore, gay with their lilies of the field, on which our Lord bade them look,
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons

Instructions for Fishermen
'Now when He had left speaking, He said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.'--LUKE v. 4. The day's work begins early in the East. So the sun, as it rose above the hills on the other side of the lake, shone down upon a busy scene, fresh with the dew and energy of the morning, on the beach by the little village of Bethsaida. One group of fishermen was washing their nets, their boats being hauled up on the strand. A crowd of listeners was thus early gathered round
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

Fear and Faith
'When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' --LUKE v. 8. 'Now, when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him,... and did cast himself into the sea.'--JOHN xxi. 7. These two instances of the miraculous draught of fishes on the Lake of Gennesareth are obviously intended to be taken in conjunction. Their similarities and their differences are equally striking and equally instructive. In the fragment
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

Blasphemer, or --Who?
'And it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before Him. 19. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the house-top,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

"The Moody and Sankey Humbug. "
There was a man, while we were in London, who got out a little paper called "The Moody and Sankey Humbug." He used to have it to sell to the people coming into the meeting. After he had sold a great many thousand copies of that number, he wanted to get out another number; so he came to the meeting to get something to put into the paper; but the power of the Lord was present. It says here in this chapter (Luke 5) that the Pharisees, scribes, and doctors, were watching the words of Christ in that house
Dwight L. Moody—Moody's Anecdotes And Illustrations

Absolution.
Preached June 2, 1850. ABSOLUTION. "And the Scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?"--Luke v. 21. There are questions which having been again and again settled, still from time to time, present themselves for re-solution; errors which having been refuted, and cut up by the roots, re-appear in the next century as fresh and vigorous as ever. Like the fabled monsters of old, from whose dissevered neck the blood
Frederick W. Robertson—Sermons Preached at Brighton

Carried by Four
When our Lord left his retirement he found the crowd around him exceeding great, and it was as motley as it was great; for while here were many sincere believers, there were still more sceptical observers; some were anxious to receive his healing power, others equally desirous to find occasion against him. So in all congregations, however the preacher may be clothed with his Master's spirit and his Master's might, there will be a mixed gathering; there will come together your Pharisees and doctors
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

The Secret of Success.
5th Sunday after Trinity S. Luke v. 5. "We have taken nothing; nevertheless at Thy word, I will let down the net." INTRODUCTION.--S. Peter and the other Apostles had been fishing all night, and had met with no success at all, then Jesus entered into the boat of Simon, and bade him launch out and let down his net. S. Peter did not hesitate. He had met with no success when fishing in the night, nevertheless now, at the word of Christ, he fishes again, and this time the net encloses a great multitude,
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

Christ the Great Physician.
"They that are whole have no need of a physician; but they that are sick. I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Luke v. 31, 32). "For this people's heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them" (Matt. xiii. 15). "He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted" (Luke iv. 18).
Frank G. Allen—Autobiography of Frank G. Allen, Minister of the Gospel

Jesus, Still Lead On.
"Jesu, geh Voran." "They forsook all, and followed him."--Luke 5:11. [7]Ludwig von Zinzendorf transl., Jane Borthwick, 1846, 1854 Jesus, still lead on, Till our rest be won! And although the way be cheerless, We will follow, calm and fearless. Guide us by thy hand To our Fatherland. If the way be drear, If the foe be near, Let not faithless fears o'ertake us, Let not faith and hope forsake us For, through many a foe, To our home we go! When we seek relief From a long-felt grief-- When oppressed
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther

Travelling in Palestine --Roads, Inns, Hospitality, Custom-House Officers, Taxation, Publicans
It was the very busiest road in Palestine, on which the publican Levi Matthew sat at the receipt of "custom," when our Lord called him to the fellowship of the Gospel, and he then made that great feast to which he invited his fellow-publicans, that they also might see and hear Him in Whom he had found life and peace (Luke 5:29). For, it was the only truly international road of all those which passed through Palestine; indeed, it formed one of the great highways of the world's commerce. At the time
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Penitence, as Explained in the Sophistical Jargon of the Schoolmen, Widely Different from the Purity Required by the Gospel. Of Confession and Satisfaction.
1. Errors of the Schoolmen in delivering the doctrine of repentance. 1. Errors in defining it. Four different definitions considered. 2. Absurd division. 3. Vain and puzzling questions. 4. Mode in which they entangle themselves. 2. The false doctrine of the Schoolmen necessary to be refuted. Of contrition. Their view of it examined. 3. True and genuine contrition. 4. Auricular confession. Whether or not of divine authority. Arguments of Canonists and Schoolmen. Allegorical argument founded on Judaism.
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Seventh Appearance of Jesus.
(Sea of Galilee.) ^D John XXI. 1-25. ^d 1 After these things Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and he manifested himself on this wise. 2 There was together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee [see p. 111], and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. [As usual, Peter was the leader.] They say unto him, We also come with thee. They went forth, and entered into the boat;
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Heals a Leper and Creates Much Excitement.
^A Matt.VIII. 2-4; ^B Mark I. 40-45; ^C Luke V. 12-16. ^c 12 And it came to pass, while he was in one of the cities [it was a city of Galilee, but as it was not named, it is idle to conjecture which city it was], behold, ^b there cometh { ^a came} ^b to him a leper [There is much discussion as to what is here meant by leprosy. Two diseases now go by that name; viz., psoriasis and elephantiasis. There are also three varieties of psoriasis, namely, white, black and red. There are also three varieties
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Disciples of Jesus.
In this terrestrial paradise, which the great revolutions of history had till then scarcely touched, there lived a population in perfect harmony with the country itself, active, honest, joyous, and tender-hearted. The Lake of Tiberias is one of the best supplied with fish of any in the world.[1] Very productive fisheries were established, especially at Bethsaida, and at Capernaum, and had produced a certain degree of wealth. These families of fishermen formed a gentle and peaceable society, extending
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Conflict with Evil
The Kingdom of God Will Have to Fight for Its Advance The great objective is the Kingdom of God. In realizing the Reign of God on earth three recalcitrant forces have to be brought into obedience to God's law: the desire for power, the love of property, and unsocial religion. We have studied Christ's thought concerning these in the foregoing chapters. The advance of the Kingdom of God is not simply a process of social education, but a conflict with hostile forces which resist, neutralize, and defy
Walter Rauschenbusch—The Social Principles of Jesus

The Lake of Gennesaret; Or, the Sea of Galilee and Tiberias.
Jordan is measured at one hundred and twenty furlongs, from the lake of Samochonitis to that of Gennesaret. That lake, in the Old Testament, is 'The sea of Chinnereth,' Numbers 34:11, &c. In the Targumists, 'The sea of Genesar'; sometimes, 'of Genesor'; sometimes, 'of Ginosar': it is the same also in the Talmudists, but most frequently 'The sea of Tiberiah.' Both names are used by the evangelists; 'the lake of Gennesaret,' Luke 5:1; 'the sea of Tiberias,' John 21:1; and 'the sea of Galilee,' John
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Peter's Repentance
"And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly" (Luke 22:61, 62). That was the turning-point in the history of Peter. Christ had said to him: "Thou canst not follow me now" (John 13:36). Peter was not in a fit state to follow Christ, because he had not been brought to an end of himself; he did not know himself, and he therefore could not follow
Andrew Murray—Absolute Surrender

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