Matthew 9:17
Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
New wine is Christ's living truth of His kingdom, revealed in its original beauty, not as a new doctrine but the truth taught from the beginning. It is also His love and the light, grace and power of the Holy Spirit shed abroad in the heart. New bottles are renewed hearts that feel their need of a Saviour and gladly receive, contain and share the truth, while old bottles are those made rigid and brittle by human traditions, lifeless forms and confidence in their own righteousness, as seen especially in the scribes and Pharisees. Fermenting wine poured into old skins bursts them so that wine is lost and both perish, so Christ's truth cannot blend with corrupt principles and old habits, and He therefore passed by the unreceptive leaders to plant it in humble disciples, in Matthew, in the fishermen He called, and in the Samaritan woman. To become a new vessel a person must renounce self and self-righteousness altogether rather than patch the old life, be emptied to be filled with the Spirit, and be renewed into Christ's likeness in unity of love.
Meaning of Wine and Bottles
The new wine is Christ's living kingdom truth, His gospel doctrine of truth and life revealed in its original beauty, and it was not a new doctrine but the truth taught from the beginning. It had seemed new to the Pharisees only because false teaching and attachment to tradition had dulled their desire and understanding. The new wine is also the love of Christ animating with new life, the Holy Spirit by which the love of God is shed abroad in the heart, and the light, grace, divine enlightenment and power of God.
The new bottles are people with new, regenerated hearts who feel their need of a Saviour and are willing to have regeneration of heart with room to contain the gospel. They gladly accept the light God sends, and by grace they are made receptive to receive, contain and preserve the truth. Made new vessels that He can fill, they become His agents for sharing truth with others. Hearts barricaded by prejudice and unbelief could not receive that truth, but receptive hearts were prepared among people who had not enjoyed the same privileges.
The old bottles are people set and rigid in ideas, like dried-up wineskins then used as bottles. They are pictured especially in the scribes, Pharisees and rulers with their decaying system of ceremonies, human traditions, commandments of men, forms without vitality, stereotyped unchangeable doctrines, and confidence in their own righteousness and works. Wedded to forms and ceremonies, very punctilious in observances and very rigorous in following their forms yet destitute of vitality and religious devotion, they walk after traditions and commandments of men so the gospel cannot be placed in their hearts. Filled with envy, covetousness and self-righteousness, and made rigid by old ideas, they were not fit to receive the new lessons of the kingdom. This was the condition of the Jews in Christ's time, especially the scribes and Pharisees, and of the self-righteous of the present day who feel no need of a new heart.
Putting fermenting new wine into brittle old skins makes the skins break so the wine runs out and both perish, showing that the attempt to join living truth to a rigid, decaying system would destroy both the teaching and its container. Corrupt principles governed by old habits cannot blend with and preserve Christ's truth, for as new wine breaks old bottles the heart must be made new before it can receive the truth that sanctifies it. The companion image of new material on an old garment shows the same law, that joining what is new to what is old makes the tear worse. Patching the old garment of character with a new piece does not better its condition, for the old flimsy material breaks away from the new and leaves the rent much larger than before. Righteousness therefore cannot be produced by patching human nature and its established habits.
Why the Old Could Not Receive
The living truth of Christ could not be joined to the rigid, decaying system of ceremonies, human traditions, customs and practices to which the Jewish leaders clung, for like fermenting new wine bursting brittle old skins the attempt would destroy both the teaching and its container. Their confidence in their own righteousness and works, their cherished opinions, self-reliance and desire to earn salvation, left no room for God's gracious truth or for the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. The scribes, Pharisees and rulers were filled with envy, covetousness and self-righteousness, and prejudice and unbelief closed the hearts of those who should have received Him first. The teaching was not in itself new, but the truth taught from the beginning revealed in its original beauty, and it seemed new only because false teaching and attachment to tradition had dulled desire and understanding.
The Jews' expectations of the Messiah left no place for Him, for God works contrary to people's expectations. Those accustomed to old teaching may resist truth even when it is newly revealed, as shown by the saying that one who has drunk old wine prefers the old. Christ was therefore obliged to pass by the scribes and Pharisees and to prepare receptive hearts elsewhere, turning to humble, willing disciples who could become new bottles for the new wine of the kingdom. He prepared such vessels among people without the privileges of Israel's leaders and unguarded by prejudice and unbelief. He found a place for His truth in the Samaritan woman though she was a sinner, and He made vessels of Matthew the publican and of the fishermen He called, into whom He could pour it.
Even the converted disciples could not yet fully grasp the spiritual truth, because their understanding was still limited and shaped by Jewish teaching. Their instruction stressed that pure, holy hearts are necessary for membership in His heavenly kingdom. The same need for new vessels applies when God works in the present. The crown is in Christ's hands, but many lose it because they have not run the race.
Becoming New Vessels Today
To become a new vessel a person must be emptied of self and renounce self in order to receive the new life of Christ's love, for cherished opinions, self-reliance and the desire to earn salvation leave no room for His truth. The new wine of light and the power of God's grace and divine enlightenment cannot come except to those made receptive by surrendering self-sufficiency, self-importance, self-esteem, self-righteousness and self-complacency, since the old self-complacent spirit governed by old principles and habits cannot contain and preserve this new work and cannot blend with Christ. Yielding one's own plans and will to God lets Christ make the heart new and manifest His character in it as the Holy Spirit fills the emptied vessel.
Genuine repentance and conversion do not patch the old self-righteous life, for joining what is new to what is old only makes the tear worse and righteousness cannot be produced by patching human nature and its established habits. Patching the old garment of character with a new piece does not better its condition, because the flimsy old material breaks away from the new and leaves the rent much larger than before. The only safe way is to discard the old garment altogether and procure one entirely new, letting self be broken and learning the meekness of Christ while receiving the mind, spirit and will of God, so that hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong are changed and reformation takes place. A patchwork character made up mostly of self with a little of Christ will not be accepted, for at first there may seem to be some of self and some of Christ, but soon it becomes all of self and none of Christ as the root of selfishness grows deeper and deeper till its branches bear objectionable fruit and connection with Christ becomes so frail as to be utterly worthless.
Christ's people become preserving new bottles into which He can pour His new wine without breaking them when all Pharisaism and self-righteousness is expelled from the heart. Then the mold of Christ is upon each member, and one Spirit animates all hearts, regenerating and renewing them in the image of Christ and fashioning all hearts alike. Then the church is one in the unity of the Spirit with peace, love, mercy and benevolence as abiding principles, and God makes known the mystery hidden for ages, Christ in you the hope of glory, preached with warning and teaching in all wisdom to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
When men and women hunger after knowledge for the purpose of blessing their fellow men, God prepares new bottles for new wine by blessing them with an expansion and development of the higher faculties. Thus they become deep thinkers able to go forward in self-education far beyond what colleges give and beyond surface knowledge of truth and Bible doctrine in order to receive and communicate greater spiritual truth. Settling satisfied with present knowledge and with what others have reached leaves talents undeveloped and workers scarce. Those who believe God has spoken to them through the testimonies of His Spirit, without quibbling or trifling over them, and who try to practice their teachings, are fit vessels to receive and hold the new wine so that both are preserved.