Luke 5 37

Luke 5:37 kjv

And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.

Luke 5:37 nkjv

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.

Luke 5:37 niv

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.

Luke 5:37 esv

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.

Luke 5:37 nlt

"And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins.

Luke 5 verses

Luke 5 37 meaning

Luke 5:37 teaches that the radical, expanding truth and power of the new covenant, introduced by Christ, cannot be contained by the rigid, outdated structures and legalistic traditions of the old covenant or human-made religious systems. To attempt this would lead to the destruction of both—the new revelation would be corrupted or lost, and the old system would be irrevocably broken in its futile attempt to accommodate it. It underscores the necessity of internal transformation and new ways for the new spiritual reality.

Luke 5 37 Context

Luke chapter 5 opens with Jesus calling His first disciples, including Peter and Levi (Matthew), highlighting His authority and drawing people to follow Him. Immediately following this, He engages with the Pharisees and scribes who question His actions, particularly His eating with tax collectors and sinners. The specific questioning leading to verse 37 concerns why Jesus' disciples do not fast as frequently or strictly as the disciples of John the Baptist or the Pharisees (Luke 5:33). Jesus responds with three parables: the bridegroom's companions (5:34-35), the new patch on an old garment (5:36), and new wine in old wineskins (5:37-38). This verse specifically highlights the radical incompatibility of the "new wine"—Christ's gospel of grace, forgiveness, and new life—with the rigid, external-focused legalism of the Old Covenant system and the human traditions that had developed around it. Historically, wineskins were made from animal hides. New skins were flexible and could expand with the fermentation of new wine. Old, used skins were brittle and inelastic; new wine would burst them.

Luke 5 37 Word analysis

• And no one: Establishes a universal, undeniable principle, not merely an observation specific to Jesus or His disciples. It implies an inherent incompatibility that applies to all.
• puts: Indicates an active, intentional act of placing or containing.
• new wine: (Greek: oinos neos, οἶνος νέος). This refers to freshly pressed grape juice that is still fermenting. During fermentation, gases are produced, causing expansion and pressure. Symbolically, this represents:
  • The radical new message of Jesus, the Gospel.
  • The Holy Spirit and the new spiritual life in Christ.
  • The era of God's Kingdom, marked by grace, joy, and inward transformation.
  • The vibrant, dynamic, and expanding nature of the New Covenant.
• into old wineskins: (Greek: askous palaious, ἀσκοὺς παλαιούς). These are animal skins that have previously held wine, dried, and become rigid and inflexible. They symbolize:
  • The Old Covenant system with its emphasis on external laws, rituals, and rigid traditions.
  • The legalistic interpretations and traditions of the Pharisees.
  • Human religious structures that resist change and spiritual dynamism.
  • An unprepared heart clinging to old ways of thinking or performing religion.
• Otherwise: Indicates the inevitable consequence of violating this natural law.
• the new wine will burst the skins: (Greek: rhēssei, ῥήσσει, meaning to break violently, tear apart). This highlights the destructive outcome. The new, powerful truth cannot be confined; it will break out, signifying a breakdown of the old structure.
• and will be spilled: (Greek: ekkytēsetai, ἐκχυθήσεται, meaning to be poured out, wasted). This emphasizes the loss of the precious new truth or blessing, which cannot be contained or properly utilized in the wrong vessel.
• and the skins will be destroyed: (Greek: apōlountai, ἀπολοῦνται, meaning to be utterly ruined, rendered useless). Both elements suffer loss. The old religious forms and structures become utterly useless or are shattered by their inability to contain the new.

Words-group analysis

• new wine into old wineskins: This phrase epitomizes the core message: an inherent incompatibility between a dynamic, expansive new reality and a rigid, static, and worn-out framework. It underscores that radical newness demands a radical new vessel.
• will burst... and will be spilled... and the skins will be destroyed: This sequence describes a twofold destruction. Not only is the new precious "wine" lost and wasted because its container breaks, but the container itself (the "skins") is also ruined and rendered unusable. This illustrates that attempting to force a new spiritual reality into an outdated or resistant system leads to ruin for both the spiritual truth and the failing system. It's a lose-lose scenario.

Luke 5 37 Bonus section

This parable directly challenges the prevailing religious thought of Jesus' time, which heavily emphasized adherence to established laws and traditions. It subtly implies that the religious leaders, with their rigid interpretations and self-justifying practices, were the "old wineskins" unable to receive the expansive, life-giving truth of Christ. The parables of the patch and the wineskins, along with the subsequent statement about preferring old wine, highlight the profound resistance of many to Christ's paradigm shift, as they were comfortable and accustomed to the old ways. This parable ultimately stresses that salvation and new life in Christ are not merely an addition or an amendment to human effort or old covenants, but a fundamental transformation that requires a completely new posture and reception.

Luke 5 37 Commentary

Luke 5:37 is a potent parable emphasizing the incompatibility of the Gospel with old, rigid religious systems and mindsets. Jesus' message of radical grace, inward transformation, and Spirit-empowered life ("new wine") cannot be contained by the legalistic rituals, external traditions, and self-righteousness ("old wineskins") characteristic of Pharisaic Judaism or any similar human-made religious structure. Forcing the dynamic new truth into such an inflexible framework would cause both the truth and the system to be utterly ruined. The new way demands a new vessel—a new heart, a new mind, and a new understanding, prepared to expand and be transformed by Christ's teachings and the indwelling Holy Spirit. It calls for an embracing of the revolutionary nature of the New Covenant rather than an attempt to merely tack it onto the obsolete.

• Examples:
  • Attempting to practice Christian freedom as an excuse for license, rather than a spiritual fruit (Gal 5:13).
  • Applying rigid Old Testament dietary laws or ceremonial rituals directly to the New Covenant church (Acts 15).
  • Prioritizing human traditions or denominational rules over the living Word and Spirit of God (Mk 7:8-9).