New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 9:17

The Doctor for the Sick

Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Matthew 9:17, in plain English

And you don't put fresh wine in old wineskins, or the skins will burst. New wine needs new containers.

Why it's here

Jesus is making the same point two ways: what He's doing is so new it can't be squeezed into old frameworks.

Who's speaking

Jesus, driving the point home.

Where it sits in the story

This powerful image tells you that following Jesus isn't about adding Him to your old way of life; it's about a whole new way of being.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

New wine (oinos neos) in old wineskins (askoi palaioi) bursts them; both new wine and new wineskins are needed, symbolizing the need for new forms to contain Jesus' new message.

Language and setting

Old wineskins had already stretched to capacity during initial fermentation; new wine's expansion would burst them.

Voice

Jesus, teaching through a wineskin parable.

Significance

This parable reinforces that Jesus' kingdom requires entirely new structures, not mere modification of existing religious institutions.

In context

Matthew 9:15–19

15Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

16No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.

17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

18While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.”

19So Jesus got up and went with him, along with His disciples.

Read all of Matthew 9 — Jesus eats with sinners, forgives the paralyzed, and raises the dead. The religious leaders are horrified; the broken are set free.

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