Hey Everyone,
I put this reflection up on today's Bible verses and I also put a piece on YouTube.
The reflection today is around the phrase 'new wine in old bottles' - so this is Jesus in Saint Luke's Gospel.
My audio / reading is on my site here: Daily Bible Verses | A Discussion On Fasting | New Wine In Old Bottles | King James Audio Bible KJV | Pray The Gospels – Listen To the Bible! | King James Audio Bible | KJV | King James Version
The KJV Bible text and my reflection go like this:
33 ¶ And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?
34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?
35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
36 ¶ And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.
37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days toward the start of his ministry. This was a time of preparation, while Jesus was tempted by Satan. Matthew’s Gospel account most fully expresses the time of fasting as one in which Jesus declares his assumed humanity to be in accord with his Father’s will, oriented toward God’s saving purpose. Fasting is an aspect of many historical religions. We are asked to fast at particular times, and as we do, in our physical hunger, we may discover a closer relationship with God, even when our fasting can be mentally challenging.
Now, though, as Jesus teaches his disciples, living with the disciples and inculcating them within a whole praxis geared toward their evangelical mission to come, Jesus does not require that the disciples fast. The disciples are free to eat and drink just as they please. We may quite understand that the disciples’ time with Jesus is a time of great celebration. Each day must have seemed like a feast day!
Christ’s declaration of himself as the bridegroom clearly identifies him as God the Son, just as God the Father in the Old Testament identified Himself as the bridegroom of the people of Israel. Jesus’ time incarnate on Earth is the wedding feast, through which all humanity is enabled to be reconciled with God. Jesus declares his true identity, as at the heart of Scripture.
There is respect for the old ways, however. Jesus has come to inaugurate a new age, but the Jewish people remain dearly loved by God, even when they cannot recognize Jesus as God the Son. God does not renege on His Covenant so easily. Jesus understands. When a man is accustomed to old wine, he will not straight away desire the new. Where there is conflict, and how there has been terrible conflict, we must respect a man’s right to look to his customary ways and say the old is better.
...
Additionally, here is the YouTube I put up, which is a meditation on the Priestly Prayer of Jesus, with a relaxing background track. I hope you like:
I put this reflection up on today's Bible verses and I also put a piece on YouTube.
The reflection today is around the phrase 'new wine in old bottles' - so this is Jesus in Saint Luke's Gospel.
My audio / reading is on my site here: Daily Bible Verses | A Discussion On Fasting | New Wine In Old Bottles | King James Audio Bible KJV | Pray The Gospels – Listen To the Bible! | King James Audio Bible | KJV | King James Version
The KJV Bible text and my reflection go like this:
33 ¶ And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?
34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?
35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
36 ¶ And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.
37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days toward the start of his ministry. This was a time of preparation, while Jesus was tempted by Satan. Matthew’s Gospel account most fully expresses the time of fasting as one in which Jesus declares his assumed humanity to be in accord with his Father’s will, oriented toward God’s saving purpose. Fasting is an aspect of many historical religions. We are asked to fast at particular times, and as we do, in our physical hunger, we may discover a closer relationship with God, even when our fasting can be mentally challenging.
Now, though, as Jesus teaches his disciples, living with the disciples and inculcating them within a whole praxis geared toward their evangelical mission to come, Jesus does not require that the disciples fast. The disciples are free to eat and drink just as they please. We may quite understand that the disciples’ time with Jesus is a time of great celebration. Each day must have seemed like a feast day!
Christ’s declaration of himself as the bridegroom clearly identifies him as God the Son, just as God the Father in the Old Testament identified Himself as the bridegroom of the people of Israel. Jesus’ time incarnate on Earth is the wedding feast, through which all humanity is enabled to be reconciled with God. Jesus declares his true identity, as at the heart of Scripture.
There is respect for the old ways, however. Jesus has come to inaugurate a new age, but the Jewish people remain dearly loved by God, even when they cannot recognize Jesus as God the Son. God does not renege on His Covenant so easily. Jesus understands. When a man is accustomed to old wine, he will not straight away desire the new. Where there is conflict, and how there has been terrible conflict, we must respect a man’s right to look to his customary ways and say the old is better.
...
Additionally, here is the YouTube I put up, which is a meditation on the Priestly Prayer of Jesus, with a relaxing background track. I hope you like: