Matthew 9:17

New wine into old bottles.

Garments and wine skins

By these illustrations our Lord conveyed a lesson on the charm of naturalness and the law of congruity in religion,

1. As old cloth and new cloth are one in being cloth, old wine and new are one in being wine; so the religion before Christ and that which He introduced are essentially one in kind, if not in quality.

2. The effect of the forced junction of the old and new would be injurious to both. (D. Fraser, D. D.)

What is meant by old bottles?

Why is the carnal heart compared to an old bottle

1. Because a bottle is a proper receptacle of liquor, so is the heart of man a proper receptacle of Divine knowledge, grace, joy, etc.

2. Because a bottle of itself is an empty thing, and must be filled; so the heart of man is naturally empty of good.

3. Because a broken bottle cannot hold new wine, nor can an unrenewed heart hold saving peace, joy, etc. (B. Keach.)

Making skin bottles

As soon as the animal (goat) is killed, an opening is made in the skin large enough to introduce the lips, and a man begins to blow between the skin and the flesh until the two are completely separated from each other throughout. The head and feet are then cut off, and the entire body of the animal is drawn out of its skin through the opening at the neck. The hair is sometimes partially removed and the skin tanned. In Persia the skins are saturated with pitch. The opening at the neck is used for filling and emptying the vessel, while the four feet are tied or sewed up. The grape-juice which is to undergo the process of fermentation is put into skins, which are either entirely new or which have been carefully examined and found able to withstand the pressure.