I've heard sermons on this passage before. There is obviously a lot of room for interpretation here. Jesus is speaking quite figuratively as is evident in the context, because the train of thought flowing through his teaching at this moment as well as the situation he is in would otherwise not merit a discussion on wine-making. So what is Jesus getting at here?
I know the word 'paradigm' has been overused when it comes to the church-- pastors are asked what their paradigm for ministry is, church boards wrestle with paradigms while hammering out their vision and mission statements. But paradigm is the no doubt the thing that Jesus is up against here. The gospel of Luke-- and maybe all four gospels in general-- chronicle the Savior's battle to change the spiritual paradigm in the minds of everyone he meets.
Never does Jesus meet up with someone but he is immediately about the work of challenging their point of view. Even so, I do not perceive Jesus as being overly confrontational. He is amazingly gentle in his approach to changing minds. He is not a salesman, and even while he is continually casting a new vision for the Kingdom of God, he is not remotely close to a CEO or any contemporary leader I know. Yet, he is pushing the envelope all the time.
Consider the simple exchanges leading up to this scene. Luke 5 begins with the story of Jesus teaching from the bow of Peter's fishing boat. After he finishes his sermon, he challenges them to take up the same nets that have been frustrating them all night. After no fish for however many hours, their nets and boats are full to overflowing. It would be an understatement to say that this was NOT what these humble fishermen expected from a Rabbi--even one that was taking a particular interest in them.
Next, Jesus cleanses a leper. An untouchable touched by compassion rather than the fear and prejudice he was used to from others.
Then, Jesus forgives a man's sins. Blasphemy is the only word the religious leaders have for such an audacious claim.
And the last prelude to the Wine & Wineskin sermon is a feast with the local Union of Tax Collectors. An appalling display of broken boundaries and disregard of social order.
Now, having had every one of their spiritual sensibilities violated, their sense of social order upended, and now with their prejudices running at fever-level, they approach Jesus with the typically understated question about fasting. Just as an aside, we should note that people who are appalled at our behavior don't necessarily approach us with the obvious questions. If a religious person challenges your style of music, there's a good chance they're actually appalled at a lot more, and not necessarily with good reason.
Back to the wineskin discussion, it seems that given the whole feel and flow of this chapter and Jesus' ministry in general, that this very symbolic discussion is somehow a summary of Jesus' experience with mankind over the past several pericopes. After all, doesn't the limitation of old wineskins rather perfectly describe what's been going on in Luke's fifth chapter. It's the paradigm-bursting ferment of new ideas and revolutionary thinking that Jesus is dishing out. And none of it is particularly challenging intellectually. It just cuts across the gut instinct of his listeners. It rubs every prejudice the wrong way.
Now, I have met people who love the new. All the time, they are about the radically cutting-edge. Yet, I don't get this feel from Jesus here at all. Rather, he is uncovering an anciently old principle of unconditional love and letting it blaze a forest-fire of destruction across the verdent hills of pharisaic prejudice, which it turns out is alive and well in everyone's heart, not just the pedigreed preachers.
So, one final thought. Maybe the new wineskins are simply the young, or the spiritually young-at-heart. Since as we age we all naturally tend to settle into the rigormortus of our personal religious routine; and since it is the very nature of life to seek and finally arrive at and therby to treasure (and shelter) our long sought-after religious convictions, perhaps Jesus needs a new generation every... well... every generation, in order to rebirth the good news in a fresh way that challenges the status quo of the faithful; that knocks agressively on the doors of our hearts; that confronts the... yes... the paradigms of life.
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