The analogies that Jesus draws in 9:15-17 look back not only to the controversies of 9:1-14 but also to all of the miracles that he has performed up to this point in the narrative. These mighty deeds must now be reevaluated not only in the shadow of the cross but also in terms of the power of the cross to overturn the world. Jesus and those who follow him are agents of eschatological transformation through whom the power of the new order “bursts” through the old, with each healing serving as a sign and enactment of a broader confrontation with everything that opposes the impending kingdom.
Is there hope beyond the conflict? Jesus concludes his response to John’s disciples with the promise that when new wine is put into fresh wineskins both are “preserved.” While it is apparent that the statement about “preserving” applies grammatically to the new wine and the new wineskins, it is possible that the statement applies logically to the old wineskins in some manner as well. After all, even if the scribes as a group are representative of the old order, Jesus can still proclaim that, “every scribe who has been made a disciple for the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things” (Matt 13:52). This suggests that the relationship between the old and the new is not defined entirely by conflict, a point consistent with the person and mission of Jesus himself, who came not to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them (5:17).
