Title: New Wine and Bottles
Contents
Bible: Mark 2:18-22
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Last week, on the front page of an important Korean daily newspaper, a new multimedia terminal called iPad, newly announced by Apple's Steve Jobs, appeared on the front page of the Korean newspaper. I thought of this while watching the iPad announcement. When it comes to computers in the 1980s, it was IBM. At that time, IBM was synonymous with computers. But IBM is no longer visible, and now we see a computer called Apple's iPad. Through this reality, we can see that only companies that capture new things survive.
If we could sum up the theme of the Gospels we know well in one word, it could be the ‘Kingdom of God’. The content of the kingdom of God is to be renewed. First, the new self, the church is renewed, and then the world is made anew. The kingdom of God is.
The words of Mark 2, which we read, are also talking about new wine, and also about new wineskins. In conclusion, the new wine is Jesus Christ. And we can say that the new bag is ourselves, our church, and the world in which we live that contains that Jesus Christ.
First, the wine bottles must be replaced with new ones. That means I have to change myself first. I change, what should I change? That's my opinion. We have to change to new ideas, not the ones we have from the past. As you can see from Gideon's story, God calls Gideon to destroy the idols in Gideon's father's house. Jesus is the new wine. We are the wineskins of new wine. In order to contain Jesus, we must cut down the idols in us. Idols are anything that God likes more than idols.
Also, in order to put the new wine of Jesus into me, we have to get rid of the frame of thought we had until now. There was a Messiah that the Pharisees and scribes were waiting for. They were waiting for a king like David as a brave general as the Messiah. That is why when the Pharisees and scribes saw Jesus, he was not the Messiah at all. They did not see Jesus, the true Messiah. Because their frame of mind hasn't changed. But should God or Jesus change because of their Messianic image? Should they change their minds? We often think the same way as the Pharisees and scribes.
The church has to be like this, Jesus has to be like that, and God is like this, and we have a framework of thinking for ourselves. There are many times to live without breaking this frame. However, our thoughts do not mean that God, Jesus, or the church must change. From verse 26 below today's text, there is a scene where Jesus' disciples were hungry while on the Sabbath, and they cut ears of wheat and ate it. Then it is said that they did not keep the Sabbath. Then Jesus clearly states, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Please remember clearly the true will of God.
The Pharisees and scribes were people who eagerly waited for the Messiah to come to this earth. However, Jesus, who came as the Messiah, did not put the words of Jesus into them, but gave them to an ignorant fisherman and a tax collector called a swindler. Those who knew God's Word and waited so long for the Messiah did not accept Jesus and tried to change, but Peter, John, Andrew, Matthew, etc. accepted Jesus as the Messiah and tried to be changed through the Word. As Christianity came to Korea, too, the gospel was preached to the lower class more than the upper class, and we can see that the gospel was spread faster.
In 2010, our church's second service time was moved up by 15 minutes. And the male and female members of the congregation have changed a bit. With this change, a certain butler told me that it was a revolution. But it is not a revolution. Anything like that can change. The new skins are not to gather God according to my will, but to change myself according to God's will. A church that is transformed with Jesus, renewed with Jesus, accepted the gospel of Jesus, and has new skins to live according to the will of Jesus, changes, revitalizes, and renews as the days go by.
Nothing is fixed. New wine does not change. It must be remembered that the thing that must change is that the skins containing the new wine must change.
The new wine is Jesus. More specifically, the new wine is the precious blood that flowed from the side of Jesus on the cross. It is the precious blood that cleanses us from sins that are darker than food. The blood of Jesus is the sacrifice.
What we contain is to contain the treasure of sacrifice. The new skin bag does not contain pride or human pride in our vessels, but rather the blood of Jesus, who sacrificed for us. The new skins are those who have received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is poured out on those who are active. The person who hears the word today and vows to change like Jesus receives the Holy Spirit.
Ladies and gentlemen, in 2010, become a new skin bag containing the blood of Jesus, and now, with the blood of Jesus contained within us, become active and active members of our neighbours. I bless you in the name of the Lord.
2010-02-19 15:22:25