New Wineskins

Luke 5:27-39

As Jesus continued to preach from town to town and gained more followers he found himself continually in conflict with other religious leaders. The Pharisees were those who strictly upheld the law of the Old Testament and called into question why Jesus was eating with sinners and why they were not fasting and observing other rituals. Jesus essentially answers that he is doing something new and it cannot be put together with the old ways but must stand on its own.

No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says 'the old is good.' Luke 5:37-39

Jesus is arguing that that can be no integration or blending between the old ways and his teachings. The new wine must be put into new wineskins: the new teachings demand new ways of living. The image that the old wineskins would burst if they held the new wine is also striking. The new ways of Jesus are so powerful that the old behaviors demanded by the old ways will not stand; hence no more fasting, eating and drinking with sinners, etc.

The ways of Jesus were scandalous for the Pharisees and a direct challenge to their authority. They could not allow Jesus' teachings and new ways to be seen as legitimate and maintain their own authority. It is from here that the Pharisees and other religious leaders begin to look for ways to destroy Jesus.

Do you prefer the old or new wine? Do you find yourself most comfortable sticking with what you know or are you open to new possibilities God might be calling you to? Since it has been 2,000 years, are Jesus' new ways now old or are the ways of Jesus continually emerging?

This scripture is rich and full of possible meanings and applications. One possible application would be to argue against a blended form of worship--either be traditional or contemporary, but not both.
Another perhaps more challenging application would seem to caution against trying to change an existing congregation, but instead perhaps starting new churches is better.
What do you see?