After watching Jesus forgive sins —and then seeing Him and His disciples hanging out and feasting with tax collectors and other outcasts—the Pharisees are done. They’ve had enough. So, they confront Him. “Why,” they ask, “don’t your disciples follow the traditions? Why aren’t they fasting like John’s disciples or ours?”
Jesus’ answer probably didn’t help their frustration. He doesn’t dismiss the old ways outright, but He makes it clear: the traditions and practices of the past, while meaningful, just aren’t enough. He didn’t come to tweak the system or give religion a little makeover. He came to do something entirely new.
What Jesus is bringing isn’t a patch job. It’s a whole new way of connecting with God—a new covenant that goes way beyond the limitations of the old one. What’s needed isn’t just reformation. It’s transformation.
That’s the heart of it. Jesus didn’t come just to give us better rules or habits to clean up our lives a bit. He came to give us new life. A whole new way of living and being.
And here’s the thing: the people who struggle the most with this new life? Often, it’s the ones most invested in the old ways—the ones who’ve grown comfortable with the rules, the rituals, the structure. Sometimes religion itself can become the biggest barrier to real relationship with God.