Jesus
said to them, “Can the groomsmen fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they can’t fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then will they fast in that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, or else the patch shrinks and the new tears away from the old, and a worse hole is made. No one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine pours out, and the skins will be destroyed; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins.”
Mark 2:19-22
Mark 2 [18.] John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and asked him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”
Mark 2 [19.] Jesus said to them, “Can the groomsmen fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they can’t fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then will they fast in that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, or else the patch shrinks and the new tears away from the old, and a worse hole is made. No one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine pours out, and the skins will be destroyed; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins.”
Mark 2 [23.] He was going on the Sabbath day through the grain fields, and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of grain.
Meaning:
Asked why His disciples did not fast (Mark 2:18), Jesus responds with three short pictures: a wedding, a patched garment, and wineskins. Together they explain that His coming is a time of celebration and that the new life He brings cannot simply be added onto old ways.
- The Bridegroom Is Here:
"Can the groomsmen fast while the bridegroom is with them?": A Jewish wedding was a week-long celebration. No one would fast during it; it was a time to feast. Jesus calls Himself the bridegroom, an image the Old Testament often used for God and His people. His presence with the disciples was cause for joy, not mourning. Scripture looks ahead to the final celebration: "the marriage of the Lamb has come" (Revelation 19:7).
- The Bridegroom Taken Away:
"But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them": This is the first hint in Mark’s Gospel of Jesus’ coming death. The phrase "taken away" suggests a violent removal. After His death, His followers would fast, longing for His return.
- New Cloth and Old Garments:
"No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment": A new patch on an old, shrunken garment will pull away when washed and make the tear worse. Jesus did not come merely to patch up old religious systems. What He brings is something new.
- New Wine in Fresh Wineskins:
"They put new wine into fresh wineskins": New wine still ferments and expands. Old, brittle wineskins would burst. The life Jesus gives needs new hearts to hold it. God promised through Ezekiel, "I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you" (Ezekiel 36:26).
The Significance for Believers
- Joy in Christ’s Presence:
Following Jesus is first of all a relationship of joy with the Bridegroom. Our spiritual practices should flow from that joy and from longing for His return.
- A New Creation:
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus does not simply improve our old life; He makes us new.
- Open to His Work:
Old habits of thought can resist what God is doing. Like fresh wineskins, we are called to be renewed and flexible in His hands (Romans 12:2).
Cross-References:
Revelation 19:7: "Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready." The joy of the Bridegroom’s presence will be complete at the marriage of the Lamb.
Ezekiel 36:26: "I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." God promised the new heart that can hold the new wine of His Spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new." Jesus brings a completely new life.
Romans 12:2: "Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God." The new life is lived out through a renewed mind.
Conclusion: Mark 2:19-22 explains why Jesus’ disciples did not fast while He was with them: the Bridegroom had come, and His presence brought joy. Through the pictures of new cloth and new wine, Jesus teaches that He brings something entirely new that cannot be squeezed into old forms. He invites us to receive the new life and new heart that only He can give.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible