Being Made New
God abounds in grace. I have long read today’s reading as a commentary on Jesus’ designed for his church. He did not come to reform the old but to make something new. We live under the New Covenant, not the Newly Remodeled Covenant. Many wonderful biblical scholars have taught me the truth of this version. The Pharisees complained that Jesus’ disciples didn’t behave as the disciples of John or the Pharisees. Jesus didn’t behave as any of the teachers or preachers who had come before him. Jesus’ response was to point out that new patches are not added to old work. New wine would cause old skins to explode. New fabric sown onto old would shrink when washed and pull away from its stitches. This perfectly describes why Jesus didn’t waste his time attempting to add a new teaching into an old system.
Matthew Henry; however, took a different view of this passage that I will forever hold onto. He saw the grace Christ poured out upon his disciples. Many times, Jesus spoke and taught more than what he said. I believe this is yet another instance of a time when Jesus’ teaching had more than one meaning. Listen to Matthew Henry’s words. Perhaps his perspective will deepen your understanding of today’s reading. He wrote, “It was a wonder of his grace that, in the discipline under which he trained up his disciples, he considered their frame, and proportioned their services to their strength and standing, and to the circumstances they were in… It was a wonder of his grace that Christ reserved the trials of his disciples for their latter times, when by his grace they were in some good measure better prepared and fitted for them than they were at first… Christ would train up his followers gradually to the discipline of his family; for no man, having drank old wine, will of a sudden, straightway, desire new, or relish it, but will say, The old is better, because he has been used to it, v. 39. The disciples will be tempted to think their old way of living better, till they are by degrees trained up to this way whereunto they are called.”
I will be forever struck by the grace of our God. He has plans for each of us, but He doesn’t throw us into the deep end to see if we will sink or swim. He gradually builds up our strength, our faith, and our character. I struggle with wanting to jump the line and get right to the good part. Unfortunately, I need to go through the process. If I am to be everything God requires me to be in the moment He asks it, I need to do the training now. I need to give my all to the process of becoming the woman He created me to be. Little by little, I am not who I once was. I am wiser. I am stronger. My faith so much stronger and steadfast, but I am not ready to face the future yet. I need today. I need tomorrow. We can do all things that God asks of us when we give our all to Him alone. Wherever you find yourself in your journey, embrace it. Life is a process. We are being made into His image. None of us are perfect reflections yet. If we trust Him for our tomorrow, we must also trust Him for today.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
Henry, M. (1 Mar, 1996). Commentary on Luke 5 by Matthew Henry. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Luk/Luk_005.cfm
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