Don Fredenburg
Jim Tucker
H.E. 'Hub' Bowen
Mike Coble
Ron Bowen3/16/2018
"When a person sews a patch over a hole on an old coat,
he never uses a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If he does, the patch
will {shrink and} pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. Also,
people never pour new wine into old wine bags. Why? Because the old bags will
break. The wine will spill, and the wine bags will be ruined. But people always
pour new wine into new wine bags. Then the wine and the wine bags will continue
to be good."
— Matthew 9:16-17
KEY THOUGHT: None of us likes to give up something familiar or comfortable. This is even more true when this "something" has been the controlling point for our view of reality, morality, and religion. So we have a tendency to plug in something we like in a new experience or religion into our old religious context and make it fit. Jesus' point here is that what he brings cannot be made to fit in the old order and old forms of religion with which they were familiar. No, to do that would be destructive to both the old and the new. What Jesus brings is new, fresh, and transformational. It will rip apart anything that tries to force it into another way of doing, perceiving and experiencing. The Kingdom Family is God's way of doing life, not just another religion to be thrown into the world mix of faiths.
TODAY'S PRAYER: Father, you are the One and True God. I come to you today asking you to strengthen my resolve and deepen my commitment to live according to your will, revealed by Jesus. I confess to you that I find it easy to rationalize away the bite in some of Jesus' words and simply combine his teaching with what I already believe. Through your Spirit, I pray that you will help me see your truth in Jesus, and not just my prejudices. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
TODAY'S VERSE IN CONTEXT: When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew. Matthew was sitting at his place for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, "Follow me." Then Matthew stood up and followed Jesus. Jesus ate dinner at Matthew's house. Many tax collectors and other bad people came and ate with Jesus and his followers. The Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with these people. The Pharisees asked Jesus' followers, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other bad people?" Jesus heard the Pharisees say this. So, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Healthy people don't need a doctor. It is the sick people that need a doctor. I will tell you something. Go and learn what it means: 'I don't want animal sacrifices; I want you to show kindness to people.' I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners." Then the followers of John came to Jesus. They said to Jesus, "We and the Pharisees fast often. But your followers don't fast. Why?" Jesus answered, "{When there is a wedding,} the friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will leave them. The friends are sad when the bridegroom leaves. Then they will fast. "When a person sews a patch over a hole on an old coat, he never uses a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If he does, the patch will {shrink and} pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. Also, people never pour new wine into old wine bags. Why? Because the old bags will break. The wine will spill, and the wine bags will be ruined. But people always pour new wine into new wine bags. Then the wine and the wine bags will continue to be good."
Matthew 9:9-17
What Jesus Did is a one-year devotional guide through the gospels, using one short passage each day and following the Gospel in consecutive order. Each devotional consists of a passage, reflection and a prayer which opens the day's scripture and shows how it challenges you to live for Jesus.
What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware.
Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.
