Scarecrow
Member
I don't know how many times I have read the passage:
Matthew 9:17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."
Gill Commentary says this:
"As in the former parable, our Lord exposes the folly of the Scribes and Pharisees, in their zealous attachment to the traditions of the elders; so in this, he gives a reason why he did not call these persons by his Gospel, who were settled upon the old principle of self-righteousness, but sinners, whom he renews by his Spirit and grace: for by "old bottles" are meant, the Scribes and Pharisees."
And the obvious interpretation goes along with:
Matthew 7:6 "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
The way I read this it seems that we should not even waste our time (one type of pearl) trying to expose those stuck in an "old principle of self-righteousness", those who deny the divine nature of Jesus, those who deny the scriptural integrity of polygyny, etc...to the truths we have been given lest they turn on us and attack! Why waste our time trying to explain the Grace and Mercy of God to those stuck in a legalistic mentality? Why waste our time trying to convince someone with the spirit of the anti-christ of the divine nature of Christ? Why waste our time trying to convince a die-hard monogamist of the true intent behind polygyny? The only result seems to be retaliation by the broken wine skins.
It seems to me that if we present the information and they are not Berean in nature we should simply kick the dust off our feet and move on. If God want's them to receive enlightenment they will be receptive the next time they hear the message.
I bring this up because today I had an encounter with an individual that I shared information with in the past and they seemed receptive to the information, yet now when I brought it up to discuss it further they became defensive. It was interesting that the response was for them to go on the "attack" just as Jesus said they would.
Matthew 9:17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."
Gill Commentary says this:
"As in the former parable, our Lord exposes the folly of the Scribes and Pharisees, in their zealous attachment to the traditions of the elders; so in this, he gives a reason why he did not call these persons by his Gospel, who were settled upon the old principle of self-righteousness, but sinners, whom he renews by his Spirit and grace: for by "old bottles" are meant, the Scribes and Pharisees."
And the obvious interpretation goes along with:
Matthew 7:6 "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
The way I read this it seems that we should not even waste our time (one type of pearl) trying to expose those stuck in an "old principle of self-righteousness", those who deny the divine nature of Jesus, those who deny the scriptural integrity of polygyny, etc...to the truths we have been given lest they turn on us and attack! Why waste our time trying to explain the Grace and Mercy of God to those stuck in a legalistic mentality? Why waste our time trying to convince someone with the spirit of the anti-christ of the divine nature of Christ? Why waste our time trying to convince a die-hard monogamist of the true intent behind polygyny? The only result seems to be retaliation by the broken wine skins.
It seems to me that if we present the information and they are not Berean in nature we should simply kick the dust off our feet and move on. If God want's them to receive enlightenment they will be receptive the next time they hear the message.
I bring this up because today I had an encounter with an individual that I shared information with in the past and they seemed receptive to the information, yet now when I brought it up to discuss it further they became defensive. It was interesting that the response was for them to go on the "attack" just as Jesus said they would.