Mari Ikeda

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The New Life We Live By Being United With Jesus (Mark 2:18-22)

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” 19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. 21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

A. Jesus is our bridegroom

1. Jesus is the bridegroom (18-19, Isaiah 54:5, 62:5)

Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband— the Lord Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.

Isaiah 62:5 As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.

2. The bridegroom sacrifices his life for his bride (20)

B. The new life does not go together with the old life (21-22, 2 Corinthians 5:17)

21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 

Summary

Jesus was God, our Lord and our bridegroom, who came to this earth in order to make us His partner. We can assume from the marriage analogies used in the Old Testament how much God loves us. Our life after we get to know God’s love through Jesus and decide to live with Him does not got together with our previous life in which we did not know Him. We have only two options. We either live by our own strength or live by relying on Jesus.

For Discussion

1) How do you reflect on that Jesus is your bridegroom?
2) What does it mean that you become a new wineskin? Why can you not remain an old wineskin?