kata ta biblia: When “new wine” is not “new wine” Acts 2 vs. Luke 5
The commentator says something to the effect of “The astute reader will notice that Jesus used these very same words back in Luke 5:33-39.” Thats the passage about “new wine” needing to go into “new wineskins.” The commentator says that it is a deliberate allusion by Luke to say that they are filled with the “new wine” of the gospel. I thought: “Wow, thats cool. Thatd be a great point.” But upon closer inspection, I noticed that they are not the same words in Greek The word in Acts 2:13 is γλεῦκος while in Luke 5, two words are used: ὁ οἶνος ὁ νέος. Both are translated as “new wine” in many English translations. Neat symbolism, but its not truly in the text.
What do you make of Acts 2:13 vs Luke 5:33-39?
One Comment
I would first agree with the author at kata ta biblia. The commentator got it wrong in trying to link the symbolism of the “new wine” of the gospel in Luke 5:33-39 to the “sweet wine” of Acts 2:13. The reason being that in Acts 2, Dr. Luke is showing the ridicule of the people and their disbelief at what they are witnessing in Acts 2:13. Jesus’ words in Luke 5 is a parable to describe that he is not here to fix the old covenant but to usher in the new covenant with better promises and better rewards.
However I would make one caution. A biblical author might use two different words to refer to the same thing. That’s why we need to look at the context of the statement to see exactly how the author is using a particular word. The context here in Acts 2:13 vs. Luke 5:33-39 clearly shows that Luke was not thinking of the same things; the fact that Luke uses two different words only adds to that fact.
An interesting side note on “new wine.” The Greek word in Acts 2:13, gleukos, is only used in this verse out of the whole NT. Ho oinos is a more common word for “wine” in the NT. This adds to the fact that Luke wasn’t thinking of the same thing.