^{Psalm 78:2}I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:

Jesus used parables to reveal the principles of the kingdom of heaven, the mysteries that had been hidden for ages and generations. The sayings were dark because they were hidden, not yet brought to light. Jesus was the light that revealed the things that were hidden, and that made him the truth.

The first parable to be considered is the parable of the talents. This parable adds depth to the kingdom of heaven that are foundational. I consider this parable to be a prerequisite to all other discussions.

Parable of the New Wine

^{Luke 5:27}And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. ²⁸And he left all, rose up, and followed him. ²⁹And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. ³⁰But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? ³¹And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. ³²I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. ³³And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? ³⁴And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? ³⁵But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. ³⁶And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. ³⁷And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. ³⁸But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. ³⁹No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.

The scribes and Pharisees did not expect everything they had been taught to be discarded, and that was the root cause of the problem they were having with Jesus.

Jesus made two points with these two parables. With the parable of the new cloth on an old garment, his point was that you cannot fix an old garment with new cloth. The old garment, being worn out, could not be fixed using an additive process. The New Covenant was not to be added to the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was to be discarded. It was supposed to vanish. It was broken and could not be fixed.

With the parable of the New Wine, he was saying that to enjoy the benefits of the new wine, everything had to be new. The old wineskins could not be used. The New Covenant was not to be used in addition to the Old Covenant, but instead of it.

At the end, Jesus made an interesting statement: those who have drunk the old wine would not desire the new wine, at least not right away; that’s what he meant by straightway. None – none – that have drunk the old wine would desire the new wine. It would take time for them make the transition to the New Covenant. 

The real problem is the ones who preach a blended gospel. Those are the ones who begin in faith, then continue by works of the flesh. They say salvation is by faith alone, but then proceed to require adherence to the great commandment of the law, the law of sin and death. In Galatians, Paul claims that they are preaching a different gospel, one that is not even similar. Paul said they are the ones that need to be excommunicated; they are anathema. For further discussion on this, see Bewitched.

I have found this to be the case. Sharing the New Covenant with those who had been indoctrinated in the Old Covenant leads to conflict. People need time to make the transition; they can’t be rushed.  The ones doing the indoctrination, spreading another gospel like the plague, what shall we do with them? On one hand, Paul said at least Jesus is preached. On the other hand, he called them anathema, ostracized.

The parable of the unforgiving servant also adds rich insight into the kingdom of heaven.