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Matthew: From Tax Collector to Apostle
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mourning. Satan desired them to give the impression that they had
been deceived and disappointed. But by faith they were to look to
the sanctuary above where Jesus was ministering for them; they
were to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit and rejoice in the light
of His presence. Yet days of trial would come. When Christ was not
personally with them and they failed to discern the Comforter, then
it would be more fitting for them to fast.
The Scripture describes the fast that God has chosen—“to loose
the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the
oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke”; to “draw out thy
soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul.”
Isaiah 58:6, 10
.
Here is set forth the character of the work of Christ. Whether fasting
in the wilderness or eating with publicans, He was giving His life
for the redemption of the lost. The true spirit of devotion is shown
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in the surrender of self in willing service to God and man.
Continuing His answer to the disciples of John, Jesus spoke a
parable: “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment,
for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is
made.”
Matthew 9:16
, RSV. An attempt to blend the tradition and
superstition of the Pharisees with the devotion of John would only
make more evident the breach between them.
Nor could the principles of Christ’s teaching be united with the
forms of Pharisaism. Christ was to make more distinct the separation
between the old and the new. “Neither is new wine put into old
wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the
skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and
so both are preserved.”
Matthew 9:17
, RSV. Skin bottles used as
vessels to contain new wine, after a time became dry and brittle, and
were then worthless to serve the same purpose again. The Jewish
leaders were fixed in a rut of ceremonies and traditions. Their hearts
had become like dried-up wine skins. Satisfied with a legal religion,
it was impossible for them to become the depositaries of living
truth. They did not desire that a new element should be brought
into their religion. The faith that works by love and purifies the
soul could find no place for union with the religion of the Pharisees,
made up of ceremonies and the injunctions of men. To unite the
teachings of Jesus with the established religion would be vain. The