This write-up is taken from the free book ‘Raising Samuels’ (click on Books menu to download free book). In this book, we differentiate old and new wineskins based on Jesus’ teaching that new wine must only be poured into new wineskins to preserve both (the wine and the wineskin).
Eli was an example of an old wineskin because he had lost all sensitivity to God—he was dull of hearing and his eyesight had become weak. He was not careful to obey the Lord and correct his ways—his sons corrupted the sacred offerings to the Lord and were unruly and vile. Though God sent a man of God to chastise Eli, he remained steadfast to his old ways and did not correct his ways and take control over his affairs in a godly manner.
So God raised Samuel to be a new wineskin. He was raised by the Lord Himself as he ministered to the Lord in the temple. The Lord spoke to Samuel directly and He gave him accurate words so that he was a prophet of the Lord. When the Philistines attacked the Israelites and the Israelites fled from them, the enemy captured the ark of the Lord. Eli fell from his chair and broke his neck indicating that his time was over and he passed away. Thus he could not be restored. Therefore, we learn that old wineskins must become flexible and attend to the affairs of the Lord with diligence, which is only possible if they receive the Lord Jesus Christ (as we are now in the period of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ through Jesus’ sacrifice). They must receive Jesus’ sayings as the bread of life so that they will never be hungry, and believe in Him so they will never be thirsty. – John 6:35
Jesus taught the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15) to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law concluding in verses 5-7: And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
What does Jesus mean by the ninety-nine righteous? —have not all sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God? How then can they be counted as righteous ones, who do not need to repent?
The same parable of the lost sheep reads a little differently in Matthew 18:13-14: And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. Does this mean that the one who wanders is a sinner and the ones who do not wander are righteous? Is the older brother in the parable of the lost son righteous and the younger brother a sinner? What does it mean to be lost and then be found?
It is true that the sheep that wander away become lost. – Matthew 18:12-13. Why do they wander? They wander looking for what they think will make them happy. As we see in the case of the lost son (Luke 15:11-32), he left home and spent his money in wild living. When there was a famine in the land, he began to be in need (he did not have the living waters). As a caretaker of pigs, he was mostly hungry as no-one gave him anything. Finally he came to his senses and returned home to his overjoyed father who said, “Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” – verses 23-24.
The older brother is sad to have his ‘sinner’ younger brother home to a grand welcome and reception because he had wandered away, having taken his inheritance and lost it all in wild living. Why was he not being punished for his misdoing? Why was the fattened sheep being killed for the one who had squandered his property over prostitutes? I toiled many years for you but you have not allowed even a young goat to enjoy with my friends. Has my father lost all sense of right and wrong?
We discussed in “Becoming as Little Children” how God speaks to us in our spirits and He desires that we know Him in our inner person. The younger son, once a sinner, had now come to his senses. This means he had come to an understanding of God speaking to him from within. He suddenly became alive in his spirit and recognized his Father who loved him and took good care of him. It is only when he went away from all the good things that he realized all that was his.
The older brother though righteous, was only outwardly so. He did not yet know his Father, the way the younger brother had come to know him. He was still worldly with his thoughts being about enjoyment and pleasure and eating and celebrating life without any understanding of the heart of his Father. The Father is thrilled that his younger son knows him. He is not concerned about the losses he incurred but he is happy about the riches he gained through knowing what was his. The Father is a picture of our heavenly Father and the younger son is us before we are saved.
The older brother though he had been faithful to his father (outwardly righteous) was faithless as he did not have faith in his Father or know him. He too was like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day whom Jesus upbraided for merely doing religious duties without having any change of heart.
Matthew 23:25
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside are full of greed and self-indulgence.
The older brother should not have wanted to indulge himself with a fattened calf as ‘payment’ for his servitude. He should have known that his Father was a great provider and always gave him the best even though he had not tested it or made an effort to find out.
He was deluded in thinking that his life consisted in the abundance of his possessions – Luke 12:15. His heart was unguarded and he was covetous. Thus he was jealous that his brother was receiving something good even though he did not deserve it. He did not understand that true riches are not those that are seen but those that are unseen – the gratitude in your heart, the bonhomie toward loved ones, the peace you enjoy, the silent trust you gravitate toward, the desire in your heart to please the Father, the kindness you have toward a stranger, the patience you possess in suffering, and the gentleness you have in forbearing the unrighteous (nine fruit of the Spirit) – are true treasures that cannot be esteemed in money value. These are the treasures that Apostle Paul said God had given us in jars of clay. -2 Cor 4:7. His all-surpassing power enables us to not be crushed when we are hard pressed, not despair when perplexed, not feel abandoned when persecuted, not be destroyed when struck down. We experience the suffering and death of Jesus in our bodies so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our bodies. – verse 10.
The older brother was not willing to feel bad for his younger brother who had gone through hardship and toil, hungering and thirsting in a foreign land with no one to care for him. He, on the other hand, had been so blessed living with his Father all those years.
The older brother did not wander but it was only because he was afraid to venture out of ‘safe’ zone. He decided to make do with the status quo and must have been certain that his ‘risk-taking’ brother would not return. So the ninety-nine righteous, who do not need to repent, are those like the older brother, who appear to be right, as they do the right things, but their hearts are not right. Their outward actions are such that, no one can say that they are sinners. Yet they harbor all kinds of evil in their hearts, and do not manifest the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are evil and unkind—so much so that, they hate those born of God, and wrongly believe, that everything of God belongs only to them.
Jesus advocated to the Pharisee to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind to his banquet in order to be blessed. – Luke 14:13-14. Why did He require this of them? When the people who do not know God meet these people, they will take pity on their condition. This will help them feel grateful for what they have been given. God has given them eyes to see, feet to walk, money to buy things with and able bodies to do things that matter to them. So when they see them struggling to do these very things that they took for granted, they will understand how difficult life is for the blind, lame, poor, and crippled.
They will compare themselves with these less privileged and think how unfortunate these are. Then their conscience will convict them about how they are so endowed and yet have refrained from doing any good to any of these people. They will recognize that they too are poor, crippled, lame and blind in reality, though they have never been willing to admit the same. They too are like 1) the poor who experience lack and suffering (not able to help anyone), 2) the crippled who cannot do as God requires of them (not able to do the Word), 3) the lame who cannot go where they need to (not able to walk according to the precepts of the Law), 4) the blind who do not see where they are going (not able to find their way or help others).
Even when they are grateful that they are NOT like these, their conscience will speak to them about how they too are just like these. Because they too cannot see, do not help others, do not walk in the Gospel, and do not do the Gospel, they will recognize that they are blessed unworthily.
Thus at the banquet, they will recognize their need for reform due to their current inability to do ‘spiritual’ things. They will thus hunger and thirst for the living bread. As they seek to be filled, God will satisfy their hunger and fill their hearts with the bread of understanding that will give life to their spirit and they will become alive inside.
When this happens, they will not say like the Pharisee: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ (verses 11-12). Instead they will say, “Thankyou God that you opened my eyes and showed me that I was lacking in many ways. I thank you that you have filled me with good things. Amen.”
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector – Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”