Torah for the Gentiles

Here's an interesting quote:

"The Torah was given in the desert, given with all publicity in a place to which no one had any claim, lest, if it were given in the land of Israel, the Jews might deny to the Gentiles any part of it."

Mekilta on Exodus 19.2

Newman, E I and Spitz, S (eds., 1945).  The Talmudic Anthology.  Berhman House.

New wine and old wineskins

Who hasn't heard of the parable of the cloth and wineskins in Luke 5:36-39?  Usually this parable is distilled like so:  The old wine is the old religious order or Old Covenant and the new wine is the new religious order ushered in by Christ or the New Covenant.

However, most writers ignore the context of the parable set by the question, which elicited the parable in the first place.  In Luke 5:33 Jesus is asked, John the Baptist's disciples and the Pharisees have instituted a new set of fasts over and above the one's required by the Torah, why don't your disciples do the same?

Jesus puts forward two arguments:

1. While the Messiah (Bridegroom) is here, this is a time of celebration, there will be time enough to fast in the days to come when the Messiah is taken away.
2. These new fasts are like new wine.  The old wineskin is the established religious order.  These new fasts will damage the religious framework in place, so it shouldn't be done.  If new fasts are to be instituted then they need a new framework.  Having said that, one wouldn't carry out the new fasts when the established fasts are better.

This is quite a different story then the one traditionally taught.  Usually this parable is used to support the idea of leaving behind the old wineskin, Judaism and the Old Covenant, to embrace the new wineskin, Christianity and the New Covenant.  

Jesus isn't advocating a new religious order, in fact He appears to be endorsing the current one in place.  Thanks to Brad Young for pointing me in the right direction [1].

[1] Young B (1995).  Jesus the Jewish Theologian.  Hendrickson Publishers, MA, USA.  pp 155-160.