Too Big or Too Small?

In the passage we looked at tonight, Mark 2:18-3:19, some of the Pharisees challenge Jesus three times about his interpretation of the law. Jesus responds with a parable:

No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.

If the patch of cloth or the new wine represents Jesus, and the garment or the wineskins represent the a human relationship with God (as individuals or as a church), then Jesus was telling the Pharisees that he did not intend to fit into the mold of their teaching.

I found it interesting Jesus used two almost contradictory images to illustrate his point. Just as the patch of cloth will shrink and become too small for its purpose, Jesus is too small to satisfy some religious expectations. But just as the wine will expand and burst the wineskins, Jesus is far too big to fit into other religious expectations.

For us today, that should still hold true. Jesus is not willing to be molded into what we want him to be. Our preconceptions, our expectations, and our religious rituals don't control him. He will either be too small to help us, or too big for us to approach. But if we come to Jesus, leaving our agenda behind, and experience him, he has promised to satisfy us.

As for you, how can you keep your focus on doing good and holding firm to the gospel, while being flexible in your approach to Jesus?