Matthew 9:17 Nor do people put new wine in old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine spills and the wineskins are ruined. No, they pour new wine into freshly prepared wineskins, and in this way both are preserved.”
Mark 2:22 And no one puts new wine in old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine is for freshly prepared wineskins.”
Luke 5:37 Also, no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and be spilled, and the skins too will be ruined. 38 On the contrary, new wine must be put into freshly prepared wineskins. 39 Besides that, after drinking old wine, people don’t want new; because they say, ‘The old is good enough.’”
This statement was made alongside the coat and new patch analogy which could lead you to believe they are the same thing. But maybe Yeshua had another point He wanted to make.
With the coat, there is this concept of covering of a hole and subsequent exposure that occurs, but with the wineskins and wine we see something additional with what is under that cover.
Notice here that there appears to be nothing wrong with the wineskin initially. There are no holes to repair and it seems as though these are just as good as new wineskins.
What exactly are wineskins?
Wineskins are containers traditionally made from the skin of an animal, such as a goat or sheep, that were used to store and transport wine. The skin was tanned and treated to make it airtight and waterproof, and the container was typically sewn together with a strap for carrying.
As the skin dries out, it becomes less flexible. This process of drying out is so subtle and slow it is nearly impossible to tell when it actually occurred. But put it under pressure and all of those weak spots become painfully evident.
What happens when wine is made?
Wine can become pressurized during fermentation. When yeast consumes the sugar in the grape juice, it produces alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2) as byproducts. The CO2 gas produced during fermentation can build up pressure inside a sealed container causing the wine to become pressurized.
Winemakers need to take this pressure into account during the winemaking process to prevent the container from exploding. For this reason, they often use specialized fermentation vessels, such as stainless steel tanks or oak barrels, that are designed to safely contain the pressure.
Any container that is weak will explode under the pressure and the wine will be lost.
Have you been slowly drying out?
When you have an experience that shakes you spiritually, can you contain the pressure that comes? Or do you explode under the pressure?
Keep in mind here that not only is the fleshly container destroyed but the wine is violently lost forever.
Remember that spiritual awakening/recharge you received at that conference or worship service? What happened 3 days later? It likely fizzled, huh?
Why is that?
Because you did not put your flesh on the altar first. You came in with your old flesh hoping to fill it with something new. But as soon as the fermentation (testing or cares of life) came, the vessel exploded and all of that new wine was lost forever.
Why would you not just use a fresh wineskin? The real reason is that we assume the old one is just fine.
Luke 5:39 Besides that, after drinking old wine, people don’t want new; because they say, ‘The old is good enough.’”
But it isn’t.
Think of those things you say:
“Oh, I’ve already dealt with that issue from my past.”
“I don’t operate in that spirit of judgment anymore. I have been set free.”
“I sure could use a fresh infilling of Abba’s Spirit.”
Just because you are convinced you can hold something new doesn’t make it so. (In fact, you're likely better off not receiving the new thing so at least you can still hold the old wine.)
We must destroy the flesh of the old vessel first. Then go buy a new one to hold what He now has for you.
If you’ve ever wondered why it is so hard to adopt the reality Abba has for you, now you know. It’s because you are trying to fill your old self with what you know to be absolute truth but you can’t hold it for long because your old ways are incompatible. The old wineskin will crack.
Put it into a new wineskin and watch how easy it is to turn from your old nature and walk fully in His ways.