Daily Writing

Wednesday, 16 April 2025

Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Nor they cast new wine into old skins. And if otherwise, they burst the skins, and the wine – it is outpoured, and the skins – they are destroyed. But they cast new wine into new skins, and both – they are preserved” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus noted that people don’t put unfulled cloth on a new garment. If they did, when the cloth shrank, it would pull away from the garment, making things worse. Making a similar analogy, Jesus next says, “Nor they cast new wine into old skins.”

Here, the word oinos, wine, is introduced. It is a primary word, but it is believed that it is derived from the Hebrew word yayin, also signifying wine. The word can be used in a literal sense, but it can also be used metaphorically, as in the wine of wrath or passion.

In the Bible, wine symbolizes the merging together of cultural expressions into a result. The thing that ought to happen can happen, symbolized by wine. As such, it represents our reasoning and that which can change our minds.

Another new word is the noun askos, skin. It refers to a leather or skin used for holding something. It is derived from the verb askeó, to train or exercise. But that is derived from skeuos, a vessel for containing things. This root, skeuos, can be used when referring to a person, such as 1 Thessalonians 4 and elsewhere –

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel [skeuos] in sanctification and honor, ⁵ not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

Jesus next says, “And if otherwise, they burst the skins, and the wine.”

If new wine, which is unfermented, is placed into old skins that have already been stretched, when the wine ferments and expands, the skin will not be able to handle the pressure. It has already reached its limits of stretching. It would be like going to a gas station and putting more air into an already-filled tire. The result will be a flat tire. Jesus notes this, saying, “it is outpoured, and the skins – they are destroyed.”

Here is another new word, ekcheo, to pour out. This can be literal, as in pouring out a bowl. It can be violent, like when Judas’ innards gushed out when he fell after hanging himself in Acts 1:18. It can also be figurative, as when the Spirit is poured out on believers or when God pours out His love upon His people.

Jesus notes that when someone follows this incorrect process, the wine and the skins are both ruined. Thus, the remedy is seen in His next words, “But they cast new wine into new skins, and both – they are preserved.”

One final new word is seen here, suntéreó. It comes from two words signifying “with” and a watch as in guarding when you keep something close by. Thus, it means to keep closely together. In this case, it speaks of the preservation of the skins and the wine.

What Jesus is referring to with these two examples is based on the surrounding context. The disciples of John came to Jesus asking why His disciples didn’t fast. Jesus explained that He was the bridegroom and as long as He was with His disciples, there would be no fasting at such a joyous time. Only when He was taken from them would they mourn.

The point of Jesus’ words is the difference between the two economies, or dispensations that were being expressed, the law and grace. The new wine is the new dispensation of grace to come. The old wine was the dispensation of the law. If one were to introduce the new concept into the old, it would not work because the two were incompatible. Only if one put the new wine, the new cultural expression, in the new wineskin would the mind be changed.

Being John’s disciples (also the Pharisees), they were conducting their affairs under the dispensation of the Law. Jesus was preparing His disciples not for more law but for grace. But the two are incompatible. If you try to put grace in a person stuck under law observance, the grace would be ruined. Only when you have a person who understands grace and lives under grace will there be proper doctrine.

Life application: Understanding the analogy being made in Jesus’ words, it doesn’t mean that the disciples of John were not saved by grace. After John’s death, they may have come to follow Christ. Or they may have rejected Him. An example of this is found in Acts –

“And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples ² he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’
So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’
³ And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’
So they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’
⁴ Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’
⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. ⁷ Now the men were about twelve in all.” Acts 19:1-7

The point is crystal clear: John’s baptism was one that occurred under the law and for reconsideration of one’s state under the law. He, however, told the people that when Jesus came, they should believe on Him. Belief is not a work. Jesus did the work. Salvation and the pouring out of the Spirit comes through faith.

The tragedy of law observance by people in the church today is not to be underestimated. Salvation does not come by law observance, it cannot be maintained or strengthened by it either. Rather, those who try to cast the New Testament teachings into their lives while living under the precepts of the law are like wineskins that will burst.

There can be no preservation of either. The law observers have failed to receive the grace of Christ and will be destroyed. Their useless doctrine will be eliminated as well. Trust in Christ, accept His grace and be saved through that. Nothing else will do.

Lord God, we always try to insert ourselves into the salvation equation as if we can somehow merit what has been offered by grace. Forgive us for this! May we rest wholly and completely in the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Surely, nothing else will do. Amen.

Tuesday, 15 April 2025

No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Matthew 9:16

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And none, he puts on a putting on of a tearing unfulled upon an old cloak. For its filling, it lifts from the cloak, and it becomes a worse split” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus equated Himself to a bridegroom and noted that there was a time coming when He would be taken away from those of the bridechamber.

Now, He explains to the disciples of John (and the Pharisees, as noted in Mark) why there is a difference between their habits of fasting and those of His disciples, beginning with, “And none, he puts on a putting on of a tearing unfulled upon an old cloak.”

In this clause, Jesus introduces five new words to Scripture. The first is the verb epiballó. It is derived from epi, on or upon, and balló, to cast, throw, put, etc. In this case, it signifies to put on. The next word is epibléma. It is a noun derived from epiballó. It thus is a “putting on.”

The sense is that there is something (a putting upon) that is put upon something else. Here, it is “a tearing unfulled.” Jesus uses the word rhakos, a tearing. Thus, it signifies a rag or torn-off piece of cloth. It is derived from rhégnumi, to tear, break, burst, etc. One can think of a torn-off piece of a bolt of material.

However, in this case, it is agnaphos, unfulled. The prefix a is a negative particle, which is connected to gnapheus, a fuller. Thus, the meaning is that the cloth is not fulled. As such, it has not gone through the process of shrinking and having its fibers become solid like an older garment will be.

This older garment is described by the word palaios. It signifies something antique. As such, it is something not recent, hence, old or worn out. With this thought presented, Jesus next explains why people don’t do this, saying, “For its filling, it lifts from the cloak.”

Jesus again uses a new word, pléróma. It is a noun signifying repletion or completion. It is that which fills. There is a hole in a garment that needs filling. In this case, the torn-off piece is to become the filling for it. However, in this filling the hole on an older garment with a newer piece of cloth that has not been sufficiently fulled, Jesus tells of the result, saying, “and it becomes a worse split.”

Two more new words are found here. The first is the adjective cheirón. It signifies more evil or aggravated and thus worse. It can refer to a physical, mental, or moral comparison.

Lastly, the word schisma is introduced. One can see the etymological root of our modern words schism and schizophrenia. It signifies a split or a gap.

Taking all of the words as a whole, the translation of the NKJV, which is more of a loose paraphrase, gets the idea across well, “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.”

As for the spiritual meaning of His words, they will be evaluated after the next verse is complete. Jesus will give a second example using different metaphors to restate the thought of this verse. That way, it is less likely His words will be misevaluated later. The repetition while using a different example is intended to avoid that.

Life application: Take time to reread verses 14 and 15 along with verse 16 and try to determine why Jesus has introduced this thought. Consider how many new words have been introduced in this one verse. That alone demonstrates that Jesus is looking for examples that require careful thought.

He is judiciously making a point for the disciples of John (and the Pharisees) to consider. As His words are recorded by Matthew, the intent is for all who read what He says to consider the words and then come to a resolution in their minds and a decision in their lives concerning a particular matter.

Consider the time of Jesus’ words, the people He is addressing, the purpose of His ministry, etc. Consider what you know from your reading of the epistles and think about what they tell us concerning Jesus and what He has done for us.

Lord God, how important it is to take Your word in its proper context and to carefully consider what You are telling us. With improper interpretation, we will have improper doctrine. Help this to not be the case. Give us wisdom in Your word as we treat it carefully and contemplate it with every fiber of our being. Amen.

Monday, 14 April 2025

And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. Matthew 9:15

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And Jesus, He said to them, ‘Not, they can, the sons of the bridechamber, mourn – upon as much the bridegroom, He is with them. They will come, however, days when the bridegroom, He shall be removed from them. And then, they will fast’” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus was questioned by John’s disciples as to why His disciples don’t fast. In response, it next says, “And Jesus, He said to them, ‘Not, they can, the sons of the bridechamber, mourn.’”

Here is a new word, numphón, a bridechamber. It is derived from numphé which signifies a young woman as if veiled, and thus a bride. The word can also signify a daughter-in-law. One can get a sense of the Latin word nupto, to marry, which leads to our word nuptial.

Jesus equates fasting to mourning. This seems to confirm the connection to the fasts mentioned in Zechariah in the previous commentary. This is because the Lord’s word in Zechariah 8 is based on what was said in Zechariah 7 –

Now in the fourth year of King Darius it came to pass that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev, ² when the people sent Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men, to the house of God, to pray before the Lord, ³ and to ask the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?”
⁴ Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, ⁵ “Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me? ⁶ When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? ⁷ Should you not have obeyed the words which the Lord proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?’”

It was either these fasts, or some other fasts of mourning that are being referred to during this conversation. But Jesus corrects the thinking of those who questioned Him, next saying, “upon as much the bridegroom, He is with them.”

It is another new word, numphios, a bridegroom. Jesus equates Himself to a bridegroom without explaining what He means, but the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) would probably come to the minds of those hearing. There, a love song between Solomon and his beloved is recorded in poetic form. It is a book read at the Passover each year, even to this day.

The Jews assumed that the poem was given as an allegory of the love expressed between the Lord and Israel, not understanding that Israel was only a portion of the history of the redemption of mankind. John’s disciples may have pondered His words, wondering what He meant. However, if they made this connection, they would understand that He was equating Himself with God.

John also spoke of Jesus as the bridegroom in John 3:29. His disciples may, therefore, have understood what was being conveyed better than the others who were gathered around them, including the Pharisees.

Regardless of what they thought about His words, Jesus continued, saying, “They will come, however, days when the bridegroom, He shall be removed from them.”

Jesus uses the word apairó, to lift off, and thus to take away. It will only be seen in the comparable accounts in Mark and Luke.

As for His words, Matthew doesn’t explain the meaning, instead sticking to the narrative. But Matthew could look back on what Jesus said and understand that He was speaking of His sacrificial death. The disciples of John probably would have had no idea what He was talking about, but there is no hint that they pressed the matter or questioned further.

That thought may have been overtaken by Jesus’ continued words after this verse. But Matthew would have contemplated what Jesus said after His death and resurrection. Thus, he is providing the account without inserting what he knows, recording it rather as an eyewitness would do.

With that understood, Jesus next says, “And then, they will fast.” Jesus is using the word fast to indicate “mourn” just as He did when He began the words of this verse. In other words, there is a time coming when Jesus would be taken from them, and they would mourn, something that would directly lead to a state of fasting.

Life application: If you have never read the book Song of Songs (also known as the Song of Solomon), it is only eight chapters. It is written in poetic form, and it is a beautiful read, even without understanding what is being conveyed in the back-and-forth words of Solomon and his beloved.

Take time to read it today. If you would like to understand what the poem is referring to, you can go to the Superior Word website or YouTube channel, and there are nineteen sermons that will explain what is being conveyed.

Don’t stop reading your Bible. Don’t stop considering how what the Bible is saying refers to Jesus. Keep looking for Him as you read. It is all about Him and what God is doing through Him to reconcile the world to Himself. It is the greatest love story ever written because it is God’s word that tells us about JESUS!

Lord God, please open our eyes to see wonderful things in Your word. Help us to understand what we are reading and how to connect it to the life and work of Jesus Christ. He said in John 5 that it is all about Him, so help us to see this, O God. Amen.

Sunday, 13 April 2025

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” Matthew 9:14

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Then, they come to Him, the disciples of John, saying, ‘Through what, we and the Pharisees, we fast much. And your disciples, they fast not?’” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus instructed the Pharisees to learn what it means when the Lord spoke through the prophet, saying, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” Next, it says, “Then, they come to Him, the disciples of John.”

This account is restated in Mark 2 and Luke 5. What seems at first contrary to the thought of Jesus being the coming Messiah is that John’s disciples continued with him, despite John having proclaimed that Jesus is the Messiah, as in John 1.

It is true that two of them followed Jesus, including Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother (John 1:35-42), but here it specifically noted that John continued to have disciples. And more, it next says that they were “saying, ‘Through what, we and the Pharisees, we fast much?’”

The expression “through what” is one that asks for an explanation concerning a matter. It is something like, “What is the basis for your actions today?” Also, their question isn’t just that John’s disciples and the Pharisees fasted as a habit, regardless of the day. Rather, Mark’s gospel more specifically records, “The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting” Mark 2:18.

In other words, it appears there was a set day or occasion that precipitated their fasting. Despite this, Jesus was in the house of these taxmen and sinners, reclining and eating. The question by John’s disciples, as well as the Pharisees, as is seen in Mark 2, indicates that they would have expected everyone to fast on this particular day.

For example, it says in Zechariah 8 –

“Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, ¹⁹ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“The fast of the fourth month,
The fast of the fifth,
The fast of the seventh,
And the fast of the tenth,
Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts
For the house of Judah.
Therefore love truth and peace.”’” Zechariah 8:18, 19

There were set days that people fasted, like those mentioned in Zechariah 8. The observant Jews would diligently follow these practices, even if they were not specifically designated in the Law of Moses. Understanding this, their question seems more relevant than it otherwise might.

They are not simply asking why Jesus doesn’t arbitrarily fast but why He is not following the tradition of the people. And more, it wasn’t only Jesus who may have some particular reason because He was proclaimed by John to be the Lamb of God, but they continue with the words, “And your disciples, they fast not?”

There was a reason for not fasting that extended beyond Jesus, even to His disciples. John’s disciples, along with the Pharisees (as noted above) were truly interested in the reason for His departure from the set traditions that they meticulously followed.

Life application: In Acts 11, Peter explained to those who questioned him about going into the house of a Gentile that it was directed by God. In his words, he says –

“Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” Acts 11:16, 17

Likewise in Acts 19, it says –

“And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples ² he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’
So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’
³ And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’
So they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’
⁴ Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’” Acts 19:1-4

The gospels and Acts are showing us the progression of learning that took place in the disciples and then in the early church as well as among the people of Israel. There is a problem, however, that persists to this day. People fail to make the distinction between law and grace. Reading the gospels and Acts and understanding the progression of thought in them is intended to help us understand the difference.

And yet, though these events are clearly laid out for us in Scripture, many people keep falling back on the law, customs, and traditions of Israel. None of those things are binding on people who have believed the gospel.

And yet, because of a partial or faulty understanding of what God in Christ has done, the insidious infection of law observance, in part or in whole, remains a teaching in the church.

How sad it is that we cannot accept grace without reinserting ourselves into the equation, meaning that we have not accepted grace at all! Henceforth, may we rest in what Jesus has done and in that alone.

Lord God, we are so grateful to You for the release from bondage that we possess because of Jesus. Sin no longer has mastery over us because we are no longer under law but under grace. Help us to live with this understanding, being ever grateful for Your goodness to us through the giving of Jesus. Amen.

Saturday, 12 April 2025

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Matthew 9:13

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And having gone, you learn what it is: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call righteous but sinners to reconsideration” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus noted that it is not the strong who need a physician but those who are sick. He continues this thought to the Pharisees, saying, “And having gone, you learn what it is.”

The words are intended to demonstrate that the Pharisees had not properly thought things through. They were the ones who supposedly spent all day studying Scripture and applying it to their lives, but they passed right over a main point when considering the sinners around them.

Thus, in saying these words to them, it is like saying, “You need to beat it, go back to school, and obtain right theology in such matters.” He will next directly cite the Scripture that allows Him and even calls him to sit among the taxmen and sinners, saying, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”

Jesus cites Hosea 6:6. The verses around that verse speak of the rebellious nature of the people. And yet, despite their constant and revolting rebellion against the Lord, He maintained them as a people. The law required sacrifices for sin, but sacrifices without an accompanying turning of the heart mean less than nothing.

If the people thought they could act in an unholy manner throughout the year and yet be forgiven of all of their sins through a formal right of atonement on Yom Kippur without changing their hearts in the process, they were deceived. They could not just nod off sin as if it didn’t matter.

Rather, they needed reconsideration of their ways. Therefore, Jesus tells them this explicitly with the words, “For I came not to call righteous but sinners to reconsideration.”

Sinners who realized they were sinning and reconsidered their ways were just who Jesus came for. Those who felt justified in their conduct before the Lord were of no value to Him. What good is an arrogant, pompous person who walks around condemning others while not reconsidering the state of his own wicked heart before God. The Lord notes this in Isaiah –

“Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.” Isaiah 65:5

The Pharisees lived in accord with the Law of Moses before the people, but their hearts exalted their own greatness before God because what they did was for show, not because they cared about humility and a heartfelt walk before Him. Jesus is essentially saying, “Despite your outward appearances, I didn’t come to call you. I came for those who you think you are better than. They will have tender hearts and acknowledge what You completely ignore.”

Life application: Jesus never told the people to not obey Moses. However, in their obedience of the written code, He expected them to have hearts willing to acknowledge that the written code was given to show them how corrupt they are before God, to highlight their sin, and to ask them to reconsider their ways.

This isn’t a once-a-year thing where they could live like pagans all year and then be forgiven just to allow them to continue to live like pagans. The very notion of the Day of Atonement was, “You are sinners, you need to have this day or you would be swept from My presence.”

Instead, Israel treated it like a get-out-of-the-consequences-of-sin-free card. Unfortunately, this is how people continue to act today. Jews think they are right before God simply because they are Jews. Catholics think they are right before God simply because they were baptized into the Catholic church.

And people who attend churches all around the world think that because they are saved with an eternal salvation, they can do what they want without consequences. Some go so far as to not only think they are without consequences for sin, but that they have a right to claim even more from God, like prosperity and blessing.

What pleases God is not an ignoring of His glory, but an acknowledgment of it, a walk of humility before Him because of it, and a reconsideration of our ways from day to day as we fall short of that infinite glory.

Our broken hearts for the sins we commit are pleasing to God because they acknowledge His greatness through the pain of having offended Him. Let us be humble before Him, knowing that we are saved by grace and praising Him for that unbelievable goodness all our days.

O God, when we compare our lives before You to the glory of who You are, we can really see what grace means. You have extended favor and salvation to people who are so unworthy of it! And yet, You have extended it because of Jesus. Thank You for Your goodness to us in the giving of Jesus. Amen.