Gospel of Mark Bible Part 14: Of Wine & Wineskins [Bible Study]

Bible Study Title: New Wine, New Wineskins – The New Covenant Life

Scripture Focus: Mark 2:22

Opening Prayer

Ask God to help you understand the blessings of the New Covenant, to treasure the gospel as He gave it, and to reject any distortion of His truth.

Introduction

Jesus used a simple but powerful illustration: new wine must be put into new wineskins. He was teaching that His message and the blessings of the New Covenant could not be contained within the framework of the Old Covenant. His gospel was not a patch on Judaism—it was a completely new way of life in relationship with God.

Bible Reading

Read Mark 2:22 along with Hebrews 10:10-12 and John 7:37-39.

Section 1 – The Meaning of the Illustration

• New wine: The New Covenant with blessings like complete forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

• New wineskins: The structure God gave for the New Covenant—His church, His commands, and His apostolic teaching (Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 11:2).

• The Old Covenant was not designed to contain these blessings (Colossians 2:11-13; Hebrews 9:9-11).

Discussion Questions:

1. Why couldn’t the Old Covenant contain the blessings of the New?

2. How do baptism and the indwelling Holy Spirit illustrate the “new” ways God works in His people?

Section 2 – Misusing the Wine and Wineskins

Jesus warned against:

1. Putting new wine into old wineskins – forcing the gospel into Old Testament practices (e.g., separate priesthood, infant baptism based on circumcision).

2. Putting Jesus’ wine into man-made wineskins – repackaging His gospel to fit modern trends or church traditions not found in Scripture.

3. Putting our own wine into Jesus’ wineskins – trying to add new doctrines, lifestyles, or “updated” revelations to the biblical structure.

4. Putting our own wine into our own wineskins – creating entirely new religions or belief systems outside God’s Word.

Discussion Questions:

1. What dangers do you see in “repackaging” the gospel?

2. Can you think of examples today where the church is pressured to fit into man-made wineskins?

Section 3 – The Importance of God’s Original Design

• Parents are responsible to disciple their children in God’s Word (Ephesians 6:4; Proverbs 22:6; 2 Timothy 3:14-15).

• God’s structure for His church includes accountability, sound teaching, and faithful leadership—not entertainment or social agendas (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Jude 3).

• True blessings come when we keep the gospel and the church in the form God gave them.

  
  

Reflection: How might we unintentionally drift from God’s structure in our own ministry or family life?

Section 4 – The Call to Walk the Ancient Paths

• Jeremiah 6:16 – God calls us to seek the “ancient paths” where the good way is and walk in it.

• God rejects sacrifices and offerings when they are not joined with obedience (1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6).

• We must treasure the original wine (the gospel) and the original wineskin (the New Covenant structure) as given by Christ and His apostles.

  
  

Discussion Questions:

1. What does “walking in the ancient paths” mean for us today?

2. How can we guard against replacing obedience with religious rituals?

Memory Verse

Mark 2:22 – “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

Closing Challenge

The gospel does not need updating—it needs faithful living and proclaiming. Treasure the blessings Christ has given, preserve them in the way He designed, and resist the temptation to fit them into old systems or man-made structures. Obedience to God’s Word is better than any sacrifice we could offer.

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