New Wine in Old Wine-skins: On Christianity and Judaism

Christianity is not a new idea but a continuation of the religion of the Jews, Judaism. The Old Testament, which is literally Jewish history but also a "preparation for the Gospel" (preparatio evangelica), followed by the "manifestation of the Gospel" (demonstratio evangelica) as revealed by Christ and the Apostles. This formulation could be theologically reconciled with the view that Christianity is preordained even before the creation of the world. That Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah is developed directly from the teaching of the Old Testament.

Matthew 9:16 and 17 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wine-skins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wine-skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wine-skins, and both are preserved."

Skin bottles for carrying various fluids were made by killing the chosen animal, cutting off its head and feet, skinning the carcass, sewing up the skin, and sealing off all openings except one, usually the neck. The skin was tanned with special care to minimise unpleasant taste. In time the skin became hard and brittle. If new wine, still fermenting, was put into such an old skin, the buildup of fermenting gases would split the brittle container and ruin both bottle and wine. New wine was placed only in new wine-skins, still pliable and elastic enough to accommodate the pressure.

A piece of unshrunk cloth sewn to old and well-shrunk cloth in order to repair a tear will lead to a bigger tear. New wine in old wine-skins is about the incompatibility of Christianity and Judaism because Jesus is acknowledged as the Messiah who is revealed in the Old Testament in Christianity, Judaism does not.

The illustration is to show us that the new situation introduced by Jesus could not simply be patched onto old Judaism or poured into the old wine-skins of Judaism. New forms would have to accompany the kingdom that Jesus was now inaugurating. To try to domesticate him and incorporate him into the matrix of established Jewish religion and piety would only succeed in ruining and corrupting both Judaism and Jesus’ teaching.

Selie Visa

(The writer can be reached at: selievisa@rediffmail.com)