New Wine in New Bottles

As Jesus prepares to organize His kingdom upon the earth, he gives an interesting parable. He said, "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved" (Matthew 9:17). As an old alcoholic, I should be able to understand an analogy like this, but initially I was perplexed.

The context is unclear in the King James Version, but thankfully we have the Joseph Smith Translation to clarify. It says,

"Then said the Pharisees unto him, Why will ye not receive us with our baptism, seeing we keep the whole law?

"But Jesus said unto them, Ye keep not the law. If ye had kept the law, ye would have received me, for I am he who gave the law.

"I receive not you with your baptism, because it profiteth you nothing.

"For when that which is new is come, the old is ready to be put away" (JST, Matthew 9:18-21).

The scribes and Pharisees think they have a fullness of the gospel, and if there are any changes to me made (which they probably would not accept anyway), a few tweaks here and there would fix everything, right? But Jesus is saying, "No, it's time for the old to be put away. It's time to start over with a new, fresh beginning.

The reason I didn't understand this parable was not for lack of experience. But I drank all my wine (and other alcoholic beverages) straight from a glass or plastic bottle. In ancient times, a flask was made of rawhide or leather. A new leather bottle would stretch as the alcohol fermented. But an old, stretched bottle, previously used and stretched to the max, would burst as the new wine was poured into the bottle and the alcohol began to ferment.

We have an example from the Old Testament as the Gibeonites make a league with the Israelites. They pretend they have come from a long journey, and as evidence, they say, "And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey" (Joshua 9:13).

So when Jesus chose His apostles in the Meridian of Time, He could have chosen the best scholars, scribes, and Pharisees, who were versed in the law. Instead, He chose humble fishermen, and even a despised publican, a tax collector, to be His apostles. He wanted new, fresh bottles, untainted with false precepts. The Pharisees are asking Jesus why He would even associate with publicans and sinners, let alone choose them to be His disciples (see Matthew 9:11).

Modern Restoration

After the Great Apostasy it was necessary once again to begin with "new bottles." Again, Jesus could have gone to the clergy and chosen His servants and apostles from the best theologians. But He didn't. He began with a 14-year old farm boy, who made a decision to ask God which church he should join.

A young boy with a third-grade education would be the chosen vessel, as Prophet of the Restoration. His name would be had "for good and for evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues" (Joseph Smith History 1:33). That was an amazing, unbelievable prophecy for someone totally unheard of with the credentials (or lack thereof) young Joseph possessed. 

If you try to pour new doctrine into an old vessel, the result could be disastrous.

With brand new doctrine, like a personalized Father and Son with tangible, physical, glorified bodies, demonstrating the "end from the beginning," (Abraham 2:8) your world could get rocked in a hurry, and your bottle could burst.

Joseph was then tried, persecuted, educated from Deity, refined, polished, and stretched to the utmost. He was filled until he received a fullness. And we can be forever grateful it was so.

Isn't the process the same for all of us?