No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one.
Luke 5:36
When is old over? When is it time for something new?
Read Luke 5:36-37
In Jesus’ day, the old ways were bringing people down. Not because old is bad; but because old doesn’t make something new. The old law had holes in it. Mostly they were holes that the priests caused. They were holes of legalism--follow all the rules to be right with God. They were holes of self-righteous piety--I am better than you because I follow the rules. They were holes of oppression--I will tell you where you are sinful and make you pay for it.
Jesus came to make something new, but He wouldn’t use old ways to do it. He made it clear that His new Kingdom didn’t need patches from the old ways. This wasn’t about the form of religion, the way the priests and people did worship. This was about the heart of religion, the way people would relate to God. Jesus used the illustration of mending tears and filling wineskins to teach where new belongs. Jesus became the new patch for the torn garment and the new wineskin for the new wine.
Who Am I?
I am the one patching new with old. I don’t want to admit it, but I see it. Jesus brought his miraculous new through virgin birth and resurrection to take me through this life with His All-new. I am the one who tries to patch my life with all the old ways and ends up stressed. I am the one who resorts to comfort repairs that will not last. I am the one who tries to fill the holes in my life with whatever I have always used.
Jesus knows where I am using old in the wrong ways. He points it out not to frustrate me, but to help me re-new my spirit, my perspective, and my inner being where His new rethreads my frayed edges. This New Year is a time to ask deliberately what hasn’t worked and why do I keep doing it. It’s an old patch. It’s time for new. And Jesus will bring it in a heartbeat. All we have to do is ask.