And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” 36 And he also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. 37 Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. 38 Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. 39 [And] no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.”
After Jesus called Levi the tax collector to “Follow me,” Levi gave a banquet for him which was also attended by the Pharisees and their scribes (Lk. 5:27-32). Jewish tax/toll collectors were despised because they were seen as collaborating with the Romans. Some of the banquet guests said to Jesus, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink (v. 33).” The Pharisees tried to prove that Jesus was a false prophet (Lk. 7:39) because the prophets fasted and he and his disciples did not. In OT tradition the Messianic age was sometimes compared to God’s union with his people (Hos. 2:21; Is. 62:5), i.e. a wedding feast. In response, Jesus compared himself to a bridegroom. God is united with His people through Jesus.
The implication that the Messianic age had arrived would have not been missed by the Pharisees. The statement, “When the bridegroom is taken away from them (v. 35),” refers to the early Christian Church. Jesus further explained that the new age had arrived by comparing the old and the new. Verse 39 could be interpreted two ways; It is difficult for people to change their ways and accept that the Messianic age has arrived, or the old, the Law and the Prophets, contain God’s will and is therefore good.
Almighty God, it is difficult for us to change our comfortable
ways, but entry into your kingdom demands that we do. Out of your abundance of love grant us the
grace to pray deeply so that our lives may be conformed to your will. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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