Wine and Wineskins

Jesus tells a parable here using two different illustrations - garments and wineskins. Luke's emphasis in this parable is on the newness of the Kingdom that Jesus is bringing. In these verses, the word "new" (kainos) appears 7 times. Whereas in Mark's account, the emphasis with the patching of garments and the filling of wineskins was on the fact that the old is not helped in any way (Mark even says that the old tear will be made worse) - Luke chooses to emphasize that the new is torn and ruined.

Jesus is making it clear that the newness of the Kingdom cannot be simply poured into the vessel of the Pharisees religion. These are not two garments that can simply be patched together. The one who lives as a true citizen of the Kingdom (as Jesus has been doing) will not be a good Pharisee. And the one who holds to the legalism and adds to the law of God in the way that the Pharisees have done - they will not be able to handle the Kingdom. We have seen this principle play out in the previous clashes with the Pharisees. If you are unable to draw near to the leper, you won't understand the Kingdom of God. If you try to pour the Kingdom into a vessel that does not allow for the forgiveness of sins, it's not going to work. If you are more worried about making up rules that you are living under Jesus' kingly rule, these two things just can't fit together. Both will be torn.

Are there things that you are trying to mesh with the Kingdom of God that are just incompatible? Every attempt to syncretize Christianity with something else has perverted the gospel (and really hasn't actually held to the tenets of the other either). Are you trying to live by two competing ideologies at the same time? These Kingdoms are clashing. Not running on parallel tracks.