Mark 2:22

Mar 2:22 . ῥήξει . Pricaeus ( ad Mat 9:17 ) quotes from Seneca (83 Epist.): “musto dolia ipsa rumpuntur” of course, a fortiori , old skins . καὶ ὁ οἶνος , etc.: and the wine is lost, also the skins. ἀλλὰ , etc.: this final clause, bracketed in W. and H [14] , with the βλητέον , probably inserted from Lk., gives very pithy expression to the principle taught by the parable: but new wine into new skins! As to the bearing of both parables as justifying both John and Jesus, vide notes on Mt., ad loc.

[14] Westcott and Hort.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22. new] Men do not pour new, or unfermented, wine into old and worn wine-skins. “My disciples,” our Lord seems to say, “are not yet strong. They have not yet been baptized into the Spirit. They need tenderness and consideration. They could no more endure severe new doctrine than an old robe could the insertion of a piece of new cloth which had never passed through the hands of the fuller.” In training His disciples our Lord never took the old wine from them till they were capable of relishing the new. In Romans 14 we have the best practical commentary on His words.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it came to pass,.... The Vulgate Latin adds, "again"; and so Beza says it was read in one of his copies:

that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day, and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn, and to rub them, and get the grain out of them, and eat them; See Gill on Mat 12:1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

Ver. 22. {See Trapp on "Mat 9:17"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

"Bottles" in this verse is better rendered literally wine-skins (askouv). And no man putteth new wine (oinon neon) into old wineskins; else the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine perisheth, and the skins; but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins (askouv). The sense is this: New wine, in the process of fermentation, will burst old bottles made of wine-skins not strong enough to resist the strength of the fermenting fluid; so that there is a twofold loss both that of the bottles and that of the wine. And therefore new wine must be poured into bottles made of fresh wine-skins, which, by reason of their strength and toughness, shall be able to resist the fermenting energy of the new wine. And by these very apt illustrations our Lord teaches us that it is a vain thing to attempt to mingle together the spiritual freedom of the gospel with the old ceremonies of the Law. To attempt to engraft the living spiritual energy of the gospel upon the old legal ceremonial now about to pass away, would be as fatal a thing as to piece an old garment with new material, or to put new wine into old wineskins. There is here, therefore, a valuable lesson for the Christian Church, namely, to treat new converts with gentleness and consideration.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

marred (Greek - ἀπόλλυμι)."

(See Scofield "Joh 3:16")

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Connecting Statement:

Jesus begins to tell another parable. This one is about putting new wine into old wineskins rather than into new wineskins. (See: Parables)

new wine

"grape juice." This refers to wine that has not fermented yet. If grapes are unknown in your area, use the general term for fruit juice.

old wineskins

This refers to wineskins that have been used many times.

wineskins

These were bags made out of animal skins. They could also be called "wine bags" or "skin bags."

the wine will burst the skins

New wine expands as it ferments, so it would cause old, brittle wineskins to tear open.

will be lost

"will be ruined"

fresh wineskins

"new wineskins" or "new wine bags." This refers to wineskins that have never been used.

translationWords

wine

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

22. The text is much confused, but the reading which is best attested, and best explains variations, is ῥήξει ὁ οἶνος τοὺς ἀσκοὺς καὶ ὁ οἶνος ἀπόλλυται καὶ οἱ ἀσκοί. This text is supported throughout by [342][343] joined in different details by other witnesses. After καινούς many witnesses add βλητέον (from Lk.); [344][345] omit. A few add καὶ ἀμφότεροι συντηροῦνται (from Mt.).

[342] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[343] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mar 1:1 to Mar 10:15; Mar 10:30 to Mar 15:1; Mar 15:20 to Mar 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[344] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[345] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

22. καὶ οὐδεὶς βάλλει. This second parable (1) puts the lesson that a new system needs a new form more strongly, and (2) carries it further. (1) The ἐπίβλημα is only a piece of the new system, the οἶνος νέος is the whole of it. The new piece is wasted and the old garment is made worse, but the new wine and the old skins perish utterly. (2) In Mt. and Lk. certainly, and probably in Mk, although [403] a b ff i omit, the right method is pointed out. Here again, Mt. and Lk. agree against Mk. They both say that the wine is spilled, while Mk merely says that it perishes as well as the skins; instead of abbreviating Mk (Mar 1:32) they both expand him. Hawkins, Hor. Syn.2 p. 210; Burkitt, Gosp. Hist. p. 42. Βάλλει illustrates the tendency of words to become weaker in meaning; not “throws,” but simply “puts,” as in Mar 7:33. Joh 13:5 is parallel; cf. Mat 9:2; Joh 20:25; Joh 20:27; Jas 3:3.

[403] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

οἶνον νέον. Wine recently made, in which fermentation might still continue. Quemadmodum musto dolia ipsa rumpuntur, et omne quod in imo jacet in summam partem vis caloris ejectat (Seneca, Ep. lxxxiii. 14).

ἀσκοὺς παλαιούς. Old skins, already stretched to the utmost and perhaps patched; of. Psa 119:83; Job 13:28; and esp. Jos 9:4-5; Jos 9:13.

ἀλλὰ οἶνον νέον κ.τ.λ. See crit. note. Another instance of Mk’s rough brevity; see on Mar 1:27. Only in this passage is it worth while to mark in translation the difference between νέος and καινός: But new wine into fresh wine-skins. Vulg. ignores it in all three Gospels; vinum novum in utres novos. Papyri do not observe it.

We have now had four instances of Christ’s parabolic teaching; Fishers of men, the Bridegroom, the Garment and the Patch, the Wine and the Wine-skins (Mar 1:17, Mar 2:19; Mar 2:21-22), all very brief. The last two form a pair, like the Mustard-seed land the Leaven, the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, the Unwise Builder and the Unwise King; cf. Mat 13:44-46. See Hort, Judaistic Christianity, pp. 22f.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22. καὶ οὐδεὶς βάλλει οἶνον νεὸν εἰς ἀσκοὺς παλαιούς εἰ δὲ μή, π̔ήξει ὁ οἶνος τοὺς ἀσκούς, καὶ ὁ οἶνος ἀπόλλυται καὶ οἱ ἀσκοί—and no one puts new wine into old skins; else the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is destroyed, and the skins.

ῥήξει instead of ῥήσσει, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BCDL 33, mss. of Lat. Vet. Vulg. Omit ὁ νεὸς after ὁ οἶνος, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BC* DL 13, 69, 242, 258, 301, mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Memph. Pesh. etc. ἀπόλλυται καὶ οἱ ἀσκοί, instead of ἐκχεῖται, καὶ οἱ ἀσκοί ἀπολοῦνται, after ὁ οἶνος, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. BL. Memph. Omit the clause ἀλλὰ … βλητέον Tisch. (Treg. WH.) D mss. of Lat. Vet. Omit βλητέον only (Treg.) WH. RV. א* B. The omission is more in Mk.’s manner, and it looks as if the clause was borrowed from Lk., where it is undoubted.

The substitution of skins for bottles, AV., is necessary to make the parable tell its story. The skins rot with age, and the new wine, as it ferments, bursts them.

These analogies, among the homeliest and aptest used by our Lord, are a further answer to the question why his disciples do not fast. For this is evidently the part of the question which it is intended that he should answer, not why the disciples of John do fast.1 Nor is it simply a repetition of the preceding, showing the incongruity of fasting at this time under another figure.2 But it generalizes, showing the incongruity of the class of things with which fasting belongs with the new life of Christianity. The general teaching is that the new teachings and the old forms do not belong together. But this is expressed in the two parables in different ways. In the first, it is the unfitness of piecing out the old religion with the new, like a new patch on an old garment. In the second, it is the unwisdom of putting the new religion into the old forms. The whole is an anticipation of St. Paul’s teaching that Christianity is not a mere extension of Judaism, and that Jewish laws are not binding upon Christians. Dr. Morison sees in the figures employed by Jesus only an expression of the incongruity of fasting at a time better adapted to feasting. But this would be simply a repetition of the preceding teaching contained in the figure of the wedding, and not so apt an expression of it either. The principle of this interpretation is a good one, that it is well to seek in each parable the single point of comparison, and there stop. Here the single idea is that of incongruity. But surely the figure of the wedding has brought out not simply the idea of incongruity, but the special unfitness of this particular act. And it is no violation, therefore, of the rule of interpretation to make these other comparisons not merely suggest the general idea of incongruity, but show also the special incongruity involved. In the figure of the wedding, it is the incongruity of fasting and joy that is pointed out; in these figures, it is the incongruity of new and old. The old religion attempted to regulate conduct by rules and forms, the new by principles and motives, and these are foreign, the one to the other. It is not fasting to which objection is taken, but fasting according to rule, instead of its inherent principle. As a piece of legalism, or asceticism, in which fasting per se becomes of moral obligation, it is incongruous with the free spirit of Christianity.

ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THE SABBATH

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.