Main Thought
In Mark 2, people confronted Jesus because His disciples didn’t follow the same religious rhythms as the Pharisees or the disciples of John. They were clinging to “old wine” - perspectives, practices, and ways of relating to God that had served a purpose but were never meant to last forever. Jesus revealed that it was time for “new wine.” New wine represents the New Covenant: the eternal agreement through which we relate to God based on the finished work of Jesus, not our performance. This new wine brings new life in God and a new way of living with God.
If we want to receive the new wine God has for us, then we must allow Him to transform us and teach us. The ongoing process of transformation that we experience as Christians over time - our “progressive sanctification” - can take different forms. Sometimes, God even redeems seasons that feel crushing to produce something new and life-giving in us, just as grapes are crushed to produce wine. When we partner with God through dependence, repentance, and intentional spiritual growth, we position ourselves to move with Him.
Main Passages
“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.”
- Mark 2:22, ESV
'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.'
- Psalm 51:10
“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home. And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
- Mark 2:12
Discussion Questions
The New Covenant allows people to relate to God based on Jesus’ finished work instead of personal performance. How should we respond to this truth appropriately internally (attitudes) and/or externally (actions)?
The Pharisees missed what God was doing because they were focused on preserving what was familiar. What distractions or comforts might cause us to miss what God is doing in our lives?
Psalm 51:10 shows David asking God to transform him. How can we partner with God practically for our own spiritual transformation and growth?