Luke 5:39
in Luke 5And no one after drinking old wine wants new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And no man having drunk old wine desireth new; for he saith, The old is good.
KJV
No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
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This verse in Luke 5
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThe old is better - ΧρηϚοτερος - Is more agreeable to the taste or palate. Herodotus, the scholiast on Aristophanes, and Homer, use the word in this sense. See Raphelius. The old wine, among the rabbins, was the wine of three leaves; that is, wine three years old; because, from the time that the vine had produced that wine, it had put forth its leaves three times. See Lightfoot.
This site's exposition
He also told them a parable
on Luke 5:36-39
Two parables make one point: new wine will burst old wineskins stretched by use. New wine is poured into new wineskins, and the new reality Jesus brings needs its own forms.
This site's exposition
The old is better
The saying about old wine closes the answer on fasting. Albert Barnes says old wine grows mild, so one drinking it wants no new wine. Bede applies it to Jews long settled in an old way of life.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
This same thing was likewise expedient on account of the disaccustoming of affection: to designate which He says: And no one drinking the old straightway desires the new. And He gives the reason for this on account of the judgment of the senses, when He …
And no one having drunk old wine, immediately desires new, for he says, "The old is better." This signifies the Jews, to whom, being steeped in the dregs of an old way of life, the precepts of new grace had become tainted. For indeed, being …
It follows, No man also having drank old wine straightway desireth new, for he saith, the old is better. For the Jews, imbued with the taste of their old life, despised the precepts of the new grace, and being defiled with the traditions of their ancestors, were not able to perceive the sweetness of spiritual words.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
No man also having drunk old wine,.... "Wine", though not in the text, is rightly supplied by our translators, as it is by the Syriac and Persic versions: straightway desireth new; new wine: for he saith, the old is better; old wine is more grateful, more generous, and more reviving to the spirits, than new wine is.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
See this passage illustrated in the notes at Mat 9:14-17. Luk 5:39 Having drunk old wine ... - Wine increases its strength and flavor, and its mildness and mellowness, by age, and the old is therefore preferable. They who had tasted such mild and mellow wine would not readily drink the comparatively sour and astringent juice of the grape as it came from the press.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
We should observe in these verses — that men may disagree on the lesser points of religion, while they agree on its weightier matters. We have this brought out in the alleged difference between the disciples of John the Baptist, and the disciples of Christ. The question was put to our Lord, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees — but why do your disciples go on eating and drinking?" We cannot suppose that there was any essential difference between the doctrines held by these two parties of disciples.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
We should observe in these verses — that men may disagree on the lesser points of religion, while they agree on its weightier matters. We have this brought out in the alleged difference between the disciples of John the Baptist, and the disciples of Christ. The question was put to our Lord, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees — but why do your disciples go on eating and drinking?" We cannot suppose that there was any essential difference between the doctrines held by these two parties of disciples. The teaching of John the Baptist was doubtless clear and explicit upon all the main points necessary to salvation. The man who could say of Jesus, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" was not likely to teach his followers anything contrary to the Gospel. His teaching of course, lacked the fullness and perfection of his divine Master's teaching — but it is absurd to suppose that it contradicted it. Nevertheless there were points of practice on which his disciples differed from those of Christ. Agreeing, as they doubtless did, about the necessity of repentance, and faith, and holiness — they disagreed about such matters as fasting, eating, drinking, and manner of public devotion. One in heart, and hope, and aim, as they were about the weightier matters of inward religion — they were not entirely of one mind about secondary outward matters. We must make up our minds to see differences of this kind among Christians, as long as the world stands. We may much regret them — because of the handle they give to an ignorant and prejudiced world. But they will exist. They are one of the many evidences of our fallen condition.
How the passage was read
On Luke 5:27-39On Luke 5:27-39
Levi's feast and the old wine
Levi “made him a great feast in his own house,” and the objection came at the guest list: the Pharisaic table discipline meant an observant associate did not eat with the non-observant, whose food might be untithed and whose vessels unclean, and tax collectors stood furthest outside the circle of trust: the Mishnah rules a house unclean if tax collectors have entered it (Taharot 7:6), and even permits declaring untruths to them under duress, classing them with robbers (Nedarim 3:4). The table Jesus chose was a boundary deliberately crossed: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The fuller table-and-fasting background is in this site's Matthew 9 note.
Luke alone keeps the last saying: “No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.” Spoken at a Jewish table about Jewish devotion, it is a gracious word, not a sneer: Jesus knows exactly why the old ways taste right to those formed by them, even as He announces something new that will not fit the old wineskins.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Taharot 7:6 (tax collectors and the unclean house) · Mishnah Nedarim 3:4 (vows made to tax collectors)
The words behind it
12 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| οὐδεὶς | oudeis | no [one] | G3762 → | 232 times |
| πιὼν | pion | having drunk | G4095 → | 72 times |
| παλαιὸν | palaion | old [wine] | G3820 → | 19 times |
| θέλει | thelei | desires | G2309 → | 208 times |
| νέον, | neon | new, | G3501 → | 24 times |
| λέγει | legei | he says | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| γάρ· | gar | for; | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ὁ | ho | The | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| παλαιὸς | palaios | old | G3820 → | 19 times |
| χρηστός | chrestos | good | G5543 → | |
| ἐστιν.¶ | estin | is. | G1510 → | 2333 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
οὐδεὶςno [one]
oudeisG3762 →232 times
πιὼνhaving drunk
pionG4095 →72 times
παλαιὸνold [wine]
palaionG3820 →19 times
θέλειdesires
theleiG2309 →208 times
νέον,new,
neonG3501 →24 times
λέγειhe says
legeiG3004 →1325 times
γάρ·for;
garG1063 →1039 times
ὁThe
hoG3588 →19766 times
παλαιὸςold
palaiosG3820 →19 times
χρηστόςgood
chrestosG5543 →
ἐστιν.¶is.
estinG1510 →2333 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 6:16This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.…
it leads to
- Isaiah 30:21
And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
- Deuteronomy 32:7
Remember the days of old; consider the years long past. Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will inform you.
- Jeremiah 18:15
Yet My people have forgotten Me. They burn incense to worthless idols that make them stumble in their ways, leaving the ancient roads to walk on rutted bypaths instead of on the highway.
- Matthew 11:28–29
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- Jeremiah 7:23
but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that…
- Isaiah 30:21
Through
Hebrews 11:39These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.
it leads to
- Luke 10:23–24
Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
- Hebrews 11:13
All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the…
- Hebrews 11:2
This is why the ancients were commended.
- Luke 10:23–24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
About Luke
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 5; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.