14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?15 And Jesus said unto them…16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment; for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles and both are preserved.
- The Power of Alliances
Alliances can quicken or kill, depending on what they are. Sometimes God initiates alliances (Acts 8:29) or warns against them (Acts 13:1-3; Revelation 2:20; Genesis 12:1; 13:14-15), because He sees the end to which they would or could lead. That is the drama we are about to watch.
- Baked by John, Lost with the Pharisees
For a very long time, the Pharisees and Sadducees had been snatching at Jesus, inducing Him to join either of their prominent religious leagues. Once, they had even demanded to know which of the ‘frontline’ theological ‘schools’ He belonged to. Then Jesus had managed to answer Himself out of their crafty nets (Matthew 21:23-27). It would appear that, with time, they wised up to the process and sought other ways through their new allies, the disciples of John the Baptist. They aimed to get to Jesus through John, the great preacher to whose baptism Jesus had submitted Himself, and some fickle disciples of John were going to be their blind tools.
In the text above, those disciples of John, apparently in the spirit of the popular Pharisees, proudly said to Jesus: “We and the Pharisees fast often…” (Good News). They had aligned with the Pharisees, with those clever enemies of Jesus. In the subtle spirit of the arrogant Pharisees, they cleverly blackmailed everyone outside their religious league as a spiritual inferior. They and the Pharisees fasted together; they reasoned together; they did many things together, and that, proudly very “often.” What was there to worry, it was a religious alliance, after all! And who dared to say that fasting was devilish, that spiritual collaboration was stupid, or that Pharisees, who plainly called upon the name of the Lord, were Gentiles?
- Discerning the Seasons
From the beginning, John the Baptist had publicly announced to the hearing of everyone that, despite of the honourable status accorded him by prophecy and by society, he was a Passing Dispensation. He plainly told them that Another was coming, whose forerunner he merely was.
Some of those who heard Prophet John make that announcement quickly and wisely reviewed their alliances. Soon as they had received that prophetic notice, two of John’s disciples began to follow Jesus, which meant that they left John. One of them was Andrew, who soon introduced his brother Peter to the Ministry of Jesus. The other is believed to have been John, the writer of the Gospel of John, who would not usually name himself in his writings (John 1:34-42).
Without grudge, Pastor John the Baptist had essentially prepared them for Another Minister, another Dispensation, another Ministry. On their part, those disciples responded appropriately, sailing away with the wind of the season, unpopular though it seemed then. They had heard their master well. They were not going to align with the beckoning attractions of the time and expire with the glamorous but doomed Pharisees.
When you patch a piece of new cloth to an old garment, the new patch stands out with a zealous and youthful newness. It is admirably conspicuous, like a lone star in a dark night. But that glory hardly endures. It lasts only for a while; for as long or as short as the waning garment endures. When the patron-garment eventually is ruined with age, the bright patch disappears with it, and is buried with it.
- The Tragedy of Jonathan
Prince Jonathan the son of King Saul had become aware that his father was a Passing Dispensation; that David, that rough and rustic youth, was the New Move whom God was about to unleash upon the land (1 Samuel 20:15). Conscious as he was of the times and seasons of God, he went to war on the side of Saul, perhaps out of a sense of patriotism; perhaps out of filial obligation. He was never to return. He ended ‘patriotically’ in that battle with the rejected king. Hearing is one thing; obeying can sometimes be tough.
- Pentecost or a Lamentation?
O Lord God, pull me out from every doomed alliance. Help me to be sensitive and follow the new move. Let me not expire out of relevance and/ or into oblivion with the old wineskin. Amen.
The preacher, I bless THE LORD For your life and God’s amazing gift to you. This your post is a picture perfect. Being INTENTIONAL with The Holy Ghost helps me to be in tune with HIM, and it allows me to be sober and HIS Faithfulness keeps me glued into HIM.
Thank you for this insight Sir ????.May we never be unfortunate to follow popularity and prestige of any sort, instead of our Lord
Ĺòrd, deliver me fŕom every ‘snare of my life in Jesus name, amen!
Tayo
Blessings Preacher. It’s powerful and timely. Where is the cloud moving too? We definitely don’t want to remain where God use to be. We go with the cloud.
May God the ALMIGHTY BLESS thePreacher with more REVELATION of the word inJMN! As there are still many in alliance with the Pharisees even with so much Evangelism & Preaching of the GOOD NEWS, I PRAY that the LIGHT of God the ALMIGHTY will SHINE into their SOULS & be DELIVERED inJMN! May those of us who KNOW the TRUTH & BELIEVE be INDEED SAVED & STAND till the end inJMN! John 8:32,36.