I Think You Need a New Container

Today’s passage is Mark 2:13-22. With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Mark 2:13-14 (NIV)
¹³  Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.
¹⁴  As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

On verses 13-14:  Levi, who is also known as Matthew, made his living as a tax collector.  Many Jews looked down on Jewish tax collectors since they were known for taking money from their own people, giving it to the Roman government and in some cases pocketing some of that money for themselves.  So the word “tax collector” became a derogatory synonym for someone who was a cheat, who couldn’t be trusted and who had sold out to the enemy.

Yet Jesus didn’t let Levi’s occupation or a stereotype stop him from calling Levi.  In today’s culture that is so quick to cancel people out, Levi would be written off as someone you can’t trust.  But Jesus saw potential in people whom others had written off.  Not only would Levi become one of Jesus’ disciples, but God would apparently use Levi and his skills to write the Gospel of Matthew, one of the most important books in the Bible.

When we say yes to Jesus, we’re saying yes to a new life and a new purpose.  So regardless of what others say about you, like Levi, have the courage to answer when Jesus calls.

Mark 2:15 (NIV)
¹⁵  While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

On verse 15:  Levi hosts a party for Jesus at his house, and guess who he invites to the party? Other tax collectors and “sinners”.  The reason the NIV translation puts “sinners” in quotes is because those “sinners” were not any more sinful than you and me.  All of us are sinners and it takes a skewed perspective to think that only certain people are “sinners”, when in fact all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).

Notice that Levi invited those in his circle of influence to meet Jesus.  Usually the people you are best positioned to reach with the gospel are those that you already have a relationship with.   Who are people in your circle of influence who don’t yet know Jesus?  Here’s believing that God has put you in their lives so that you can introduce them to Jesus in some way.

Mark 2:16-17 (NIV)
¹⁶  When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
¹⁷  On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

On verses 16-17:  Jesus gives a powerful response when the Pharisees ask him why he eats with “tax collectors and sinners”.  Jesus is saying that it is “the sick” – i.e. those who acknowledge that they have a problem and need a doctor – who will call upon a doctor, not those who think they are healthy.  Similarly, it is “sinners” – i.e. those who realize they are sinners who need God – who will call on Jesus for help, not those who think they are righteous.

If you don’t think you have a sin problem, you won’t go to Jesus for help.  But those who recognize their need for the Saviour will call on Him.  Jesus comes to those who are humble and hungry for God, not those who are pridefully full of themselves.

Mark 2:18-20 (NIV)
¹⁸  Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
¹⁹  Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them.
²⁰  But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

On verses 18-20:  Before Jesus started his public ministry, two major religious movements in Israel were led by John the Baptist on one hand and the Pharisees on the other.  These two movements offered different approaches to God, but one thing they had in common was that John’s disciples and the Pharisees both fasted.  John the Baptist’s disciples fasted probably at least once a year on the day of atonement pursuant to Leviticus 16.  The Pharisees fasted twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays.

Then Jesus comes onto the scene and his disciples do not fast.  Jesus defends his disciples, saying that while the bridegroom (i.e. Jesus) is still with his guests, that is not the time to be fasting but to be feasting and celebrating, but a time will come when Jesus will be taken from them, and it is at that time that they will fast.

What can we learn from this?  One lesson is this:  there is a time to fast and a time to feast.  Fasting, which is the intentional decision to abstain from food, is a powerful spiritual discipline that can draw us closer to God when done with the right attitude.  Feasting, which is the intentional decision to celebrate the blessings, is also a powerful spiritual discipline that can draw us closer to God when done with the right attitude.  May you have wisdom to know what God wants you to do on each day and in each season.

Mark 2:21-22 (NIV)
²¹  “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.
²²  And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

On verses 21-22:  John’s disciples and the Pharisees were trying to fit something new that they hadn’t seen before into their old preconceived notions of what spirituality should look like.  To use Jesus’ words, they were trying to put new wine into old wineskins.

People today do the same thing.  They have a preconceived idea about what faith and religion are and they try to fit Jesus into it.  For example, some people, upon hearing a little bit about Jesus, will say “All religions are the same.  All religions are really just about trying to do good, trying to be a better person.” But Jesus didn’t come just to tack on his version of the truth to the mosaic of other philosophies and religions that talk about God and the afterlife.  He didn’t come just to change, reform or improve Judaism.  He came to bring a whole new way of thinking, relating, and living for God.  He came to bring you a whole new container.  And to prove that his container is something that would work, Jesus would perform miracle after miracle, the greatest of which was his resurrection from the grave.

So when Jesus says, “don’t try to put new wine into old wineskins”, Jesus is effectively saying, “Don’t try to fit me in your old container of what you think faith should look like.  I won’t fit.  I won’t be contained by it.  I won’t be type-casted.  If you really want to understand me, you need to get a new container.”

Don’t try to fit Jesus into your own preconceived mould.  He won’t fit.  Jesus came to bring a brand new way of living, thinking and relating that requires its own container. 

Jesus, thank You that when others passed me by, You saw me, called me, and chose me to be with You.  Thank You for giving me a purpose.  Thank You for bringing us a whole new way of living, thinking and relating.  May I not box You in or try to put You in a box that can’t fit You.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!