The Bridegroom, Come for the Bride

When jesus is questioned concerning the fact that his disciples do not fast, he answers with an illustration about the bridegroom. New wine has to go in new wine skins and if it's put into old wine skins, it will destroy them, and both will be lost. To be a follower of jesus then, is to be a participant in this new age that is dawning in history. The language of the wine skins tearing is very strong language. It suggests something about the way that christ relates to the old order. As he answers controversy after controversy, we see that christ does not fit expectations. He does not fit the limits and the categories that people are working within