New Wineskins

Luke 5:27-39

October 2, 2005
Speaker: Randal Myers

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Morning Lesson

Luke 5:27-39

What do we learn about Jesus in this event?

Jesus is all about acceptance

"After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him..." - Luke 5:27

He accepted anyone who accepted him.

Jesus came to save the lost.

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." - Luke 5:31

Jesus, the great physician, is all about the outcast and those in need.

Jesus initiates celebration

They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking." - Luke 5:33

Jesus came to introduce the new, not patch up the old.

No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. - Luke 5:38

Jesus wanted the Pharisees and others to understand that Christianity wasn't a rehash of the old system.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Evening Reflections

How did Levi respond to Jesus?

Levi responded immediately.

Levi left his former life for a new one.

...and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. - Luke 5:28

For Levi, this meant:

loss of financial security

loss of comfort of the familiar

possible personal ridicule

Levi followed Jesus

As far as we know, he didn't know where he was going or what it would involve.

Levi shared his new life and his new Lord with his friends.

Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. - Luke 5:29

Levi let Jesus re-create him.

He became more than he could ever have imagined

Levi has another name you might be more familiar with: Matthew, who wrote the gospel that bears his name.

Conclusion

Are we willing to become new to accept the new?

Would you like to study this topic further?

Detailed lesson outlines, audio tapes, and compact discs of this lesson are available free of charge from the Highlands church of Christ.

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