No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.

LUKE 5:39KJV
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Luke 5:39 (KJV)

What does Luke 5:39 mean?

Luke 5:39 describes how people who are used to old wine do not immediately want new wine, saying the old is better. This is a way of saying that people often prefer what they are familiar with and may resist something new, even if it could be good.

In this verse, Jesus is speaking to a group that includes religious leaders, using the image of wine to illustrate how people react to change. The context is a discussion about why Jesus and his disciples do not follow the same fasting traditions as others. Jesus is highlighting that those comfortable with old ways (the "old wine") are not quick to accept new ways (the "new wine")—pointing to the difficulty many have in embracing his new teachings.

The Greek behind Luke 5:39

  • ἀρχαῖος (palaios, transliterated as "old"): This word for "old" refers to something aged or longstanding, not just in time but in established custom. It emphasizes the deep-rooted habits or traditions Jesus is referencing.
  • νέος (neos, transliterated as "new"): This word means something recent or fresh. Here, it stands for new practices or teachings that Jesus brings, which feel unfamiliar or even unsettling to those used to the old.
  • χρηστός (chrēstos, transliterated as "better"): This word can mean "good," "useful," or "better." The sense is not just preference but the idea that the old is seen as more agreeable or fitting by those accustomed to it.

Why Luke 5:39 matters

  • Luke 5:39 helps explain why some people, especially the religious leaders of Jesus' day, were slow to accept his message—they saw the old ways as better and were wary of change.
  • This verse connects to the wider passage where Jesus uses several images (like new cloth on old garments and new wine in old wineskins) to show that his message is something new that cannot simply be patched onto old traditions.
  • The verse clears up the idea that resistance to Jesus was not just about doctrine, but about the natural human tendency to stick with what feels familiar, even when something new is offered.

Where else these words appear

“better” Greek G5543 · used in 7 verses

  • Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
  • Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
  • Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

“old” Greek G3820 · used in 15 verses

  • Matthew 9:16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.
  • Mark 2:22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
  • 1 Corinthians 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

“new” Greek G3501 · used in 20 verses

  • Matthew 9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
  • Luke 22:26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.
  • 1 Timothy 5:2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

“drunk” Greek G4095 · used in 66 verses

  • Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
  • Luke 5:33 And 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?
  • John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.