Parable of New and Old Garments - Luke 5:36

The beloved physician Luke shared how Jesus, “went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but yours eat and drink? And he said unto them, Can you make the children of the bride-chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days”, and in chapter five and verse thirty-six of his book Luke shares how Jesus tells a parable about putting “a piece of a new garment upon an old” where we read:

And he spake also a parable unto them; No man puts a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old.

The verse reads, “And he spake also a parable unto them; No man puts a piece of a new garment upon an old;” Luke began with the words, “and he spake” or “and Jesus uttered, declared and proclaimed” “also a parable unto them” which means “even so and indeed an earthly story with a heavenly meaning to the religious leaders”; “No man” or “not one person” “puts a piece of a new garment” which means “stretches forth, applies or sews a patch made of fresh, recently made, unused and unworn material to cover a tear or hole” “upon an old” or “on an aged, worn and used garment”. Luke shared how Jesus began to tell another earthly story to share a heavenly truth, and He did so by referring to how no person puts a “patch” made of freshly made material upon a tear or hole in a garment of an older one.

The verse goes on to say, “if otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old.” Luke added the words, “if otherwise” which means “lest or unless”, “then both the new makes a rent” or “therefore, wherefore and these things being so the fresh or newly made material produces a tear or hole in the old garment”, “and the piece that was taken out of the new” which means “and the patch that was separated from the freshly or newly made, unused and unworn material” “agrees not with the old” or “is not harmonious, in accord or suitable for the aged, worn and used garment”. Luke shared how Jesus said the “new material used for a patch” would tear a new hole in the “old garment” because they are not “suitable” for each other.

When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn how Jesus used the idea of “patching” a hole or tear in a garment to illustrate a “spiritual” principle. To understand this story, a person should understand they did not have “pre-shrunk” material in those days, and if a person put a “new patch” upon the tear of an “old garment”, when the garment was washed, the “new patch” would shrink and tear another or bigger hole in the original place. In other words, the “new material” would shrink and the garment would remain the same size. The additional “tear” comes because the “two materials” are not “suitable” for one another. Many times this is like people whom God loves. Adding “new” to the “old” is often difficult because they are not in agreement with styles, activities or methods. Jesus will say more about this in the next verse, but for now let it suffice us to know God loves both the “old” and the “new” and His desire is for them to be “unified” and in agreement within His church.

Next time Luke shares how Jesus tells another parable about putting, “new wine into old bottles”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".