“No one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”
With those words, recorded here at the heart of Luke 5 & 6, Jesus is setting the stage for what He’s doing as His ministry begins. Like wine ripening in the leather wineskins, Jesus is going to stretch everyone’s confined expectations to make way for the expansive kingdom that is already breaking into the world in Himself.
In this passage, Jesus will bring the Pharisees to their breaking point, as he wields with increasing boldness, His miracle-working power.
The Cleanser (5:12-16)
- Jesus cleanses by becoming unclean.
- Jesus stretched out his hand and touched the untouchable man full of leprosy.
- He exchanges his cleanliness to take on the man’s uncleanliness.
The Forgiver (5:17-26)
- Jesus forgives by becoming unforgivable.
- The Pharisees will never forgive Jesus for what He did for the paralyzed man.
- This charge of blasphemy will follow Jesus to the cross.
- The paralyzed man was guilty and helpless, but Jesus exchanged places with him.
The Protector (6:1-5)
- Jesus protects by becoming unprotected.
- Jesus’ disciples were under attack for violating the Sabbath. But when Jesus declared himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath, the Pharisees came after him.
- To protect the disciples, Jesus switched places with them and took on the attacks from the Pharisees.
The Restorer (6:6-11)
- Jesus restores by becoming unrestorable.
- After restoring the man’s withered hand, Jesus became unrestorable in the Pharisee’s minds.
Takeaway: Jesus is our substitute in every way
Jesus’ actions in this passage foreshadow the cross…
- The Cleanser who removed the leprosy of our sin, by taking it all upon Himself.
- The Forgiver who made atonement for sin, by becoming sin for us.
- The Protector who stood between us and the accuser and offered His life in our place.
- The Restorer who brought life, by enduring death for us.
For on the cross Jesus died in our place and for our sake, bearing all our sin and shame, and rose again to make us right forever with God. He is our substitute in every way.
