![]() And after they been repeatedly washed, the cloth shrinks. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. That’s the background for Yeshua’s first two parables: Here’s the first one: No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Then, after He returned to the right hand of His Father, it would be appropriate for His disciples to fast – but not while He was with them. However, Yeshua also knew that things would change. Fasting while all these great things were happening was as inappropriate as guests fasting at a wedding. With such momentous things happening and radical changes on the way, it was not a time for practicing religion as usual. So, why would His disciples fast, which is more in keeping with sadness and mourning – when Immanuel, God With Us, was with them, revealing God to them, teaching them extraordinary things, doing many great miracles and proclaiming the true message of hope and salvation and eternal life? It was a great thing, an amazing, wonderful, awesome thing – an exceedingly joyous thing. He understood that the Son of God becoming a man and living among us was a thing of extraordinary importance. With His arrival, a new age of the world was starting. He understood that His arrival was momentous – the culmination of 4,000 years of divine preparation. He understood He was in the process of creating a radically new community of the sons and daughters of God made up of the faithful remnant of Israel and the peoples of the nations who would join us. Yeshua understood He was in the process of making a New Covenant – a new and better relationship between God and people – because of His divine and human natures, His sinless life, His death, His resurrection and ascension and the giving of His Spirit. He understood His mission: to proclaim the Good News about Himself to reveal God in a greater way than God had ever been revealed before to die a sacrificial death, and then rise from death – so human beings could be reconciled to God. He understood the significance of His life and ministry. Yeshua knew who He was: the Son of God, Immanuel – God With Us, the Seed of the Woman, the Messiah, the Lord, the Savior. But the time will come when the groom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. Yeshua answered, “How can the guests of the groom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. Why wouldn’t they fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees who were so dedicated to practicing their faith? Were they less dedicated? People also knew that Yeshua and His disciples were serious about practicing Judaism. It was common knowledge that fasting was part of the religious practices of the Pharisees and John’s disciples. John’s disciples probably fasted weekly as well. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”īased on the Lord’s words, it’s reasonable to think that some of the Pharisees fasted once a week, and some even twice a week. ![]() The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. In another parable, Yeshua said this: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ![]() ![]() Even though the Jewish people were only required to fast on Yom Kippur, John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fasted much more often. His disciples were also very serious about practicing their religion. ![]() John was very dedicated to practicing his faith. He called the nation to repent so we would be ready for the Messiah when He arrived. John the Baptist was the first prophet in 400 years. They were very dedicated to practicing their religion. Some people came and asked Yeshua, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but Yours are not?” I’m using Mark 2.įirst, the background for the parables: Mark 2:18: Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. They’re found in Mark 2, also Matthew 9 and Luke 5. The first two parables: Don’t use new cloth to patch an old garment and don’t put new wine into old wineskins. Messiah taught in parables to make the truth clear to those who were willing to hear and obscure to those who lacked genuine spiritual interest. Why did He teach in parables? Several reasons:Ī parable is a story that is easy to understand which is used to explain things that are harder to understand, especially spiritual truths. The Lord Yeshua is known for teaching in parables. Lord willing, we’ll be going through them in order as they appear in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. This new year we’re starting a series on the parables of the Messiah. Podcast: Play in new window | Download (12.3MB) ![]()
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