New wine in old wineskins
The lesson was on parables in general. Matching verses to parable titles of course – how deep. To add that depth, I randomly chose a dozen for closer examination. Well almost randomly – This one was on purpose. In my several study Bibles, they explained the physical meaning but ignored the spiritual.
I decided to walk into class with this information and only this information. We breezed – not quickly, but fairly easily through the parables and then slammed into this one.
Physical meaning can be easily explained although I had to explain it, they easily got it. They got the old/new cloth, but we are Baptists and the wine skins are a bit outdated for city kids.
What does it mean spiritually? They thought, they winced. They were uncomfortable with not knowing. Some of them had study Bibles that were no more helpful than mine. I showed them mine. “These are no help,” they determined. They thought some more . . .
Is it ok to not understand everything about God’s word at once ore even ever? Well yes. But as teenagers, they don’t want to struggle with material, any material. They want answers and they want them now. They don’t want any mysteries. They don’t want to ponder.
Since then, we’ve revisited this parable and their understanding has increased. Who was Jesus talking to, who was He talking about? The more we study, the more they know about the times, the Pharisees, the wants and desires of the people. They’ve asked better questions. They are getting closer to understanding what Jesus was getting at.
