New Wine (12.28.25)

Matthew 9:14-17

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 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.”

John 15:5

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

TEN TAKE-HOME THOUGHTS

• A good spiritual practice can become a bad spiritual distraction if it replaces dependence on Jesus.
• A tight grip on yesterday—whether wins or wounds—can keep you from what God wants to do today.
• Jesus didn’t come to be added to your life; He came to transform it by His presence.
• It’s about the wine, not the wineskin—about Christ, not the method that once led you to Him.
• Life is best lived in the present, with an eye on the future, having learned from the past.
• Righteousness is never found in habits, rules, or standards we create—it is found only in Christ.
• Anything that distracts you from abiding in Jesus, no matter how good it once was, must be surrendered.
• Begin and end every day with gratitude.
• Learn from and let go of the past so that you can grow in the future.
• Eliminate everything in your life that distracts you from abiding in Christ.

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Click on the image to download the DiscipleQuest PDF

The DiscipleQuest PDF includes 7 days of verse study prompts. You can use these seven studies to dig deeper into the following verses about the new life:

• 2 Corinthians 5:17
• Colossians 3:9-10
• Galatians 2:20
• John 15:5
• Romans 6:4
• Philippians 4:13
• 1 Peter 2:1-3

Use these questions as journal prompts or as conversation starters with a group of friends or a Bible study group:

1. When you think about your spiritual life right now, where do you sense a tension between what has always worked and what God may be inviting you into now?
2. Is there a habit, practice, mindset, or season from your past that you find yourself clinging to—even if it may no longer be helping you grow closer to Jesus?
3. In Matthew 9:14–15, why does Jesus compare His presence to a wedding celebration rather than a time of fasting or mourning?
4. What point is Jesus making with the images of unshrunk cloth and new wine in old wineskins in verses 16–17?
5. How do these illustrations help explain why the disciples of John and the Pharisees struggled to understand what Jesus was doing?
6. Why do you think it can be difficult for people to recognize when something that was once good has become a distraction?
7. What does this passage reveal about how much Jesus values His presence over religious routines or spiritual performance?
8. How does this teaching challenge the idea that spiritual growth is mainly about adding more discipline rather than receiving new life from Christ?
9. What is one “old wineskin” in your life—something familiar, comfortable, or controlling—that God may be asking you to loosen your grip on?
10. What would it look like this week to prioritize abiding in Jesus rather than relying on methods, habits, or standards that once pointed you to Him?