Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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.
16. No man ] Rather, but no man. The particle (but) is omitted in E. V.; it marks a turn in the argument which is indicated still more clearly in Luke (Luk 5:36), “And (but) He spake also a parable unto them.” The words of Jesus here take a wider range. He says in effect to John’s disciples: “Your question implies ignorance of my teaching. My doctrine is not merely a reformed Judaism like the teaching of John and Pharisaism, it is a new life to which such questions as these concerning ceremonial fasting are quite alien.”
new ] Literally, uncarded, raw. The old garment is Judaism. Christianity is not to be pieced on to Judaism to fill up its deficiencies. This would make the rent the divisions of Judaism still more serious. The word translated “rent” is used of the “schisms” in the Corinthian Church, 1Co 1:10, and has so passed into ecclesiastical language; it is the English “schism.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mat 9:16
A piece of new cloth unto an old garment.
Christ the great Innovator
The boldness with which Christ asserted the novelty of Christianity. His was not the apologetic, half-hearted tone, so common amongst those who have some thing fresh to tell the world.
I. In what respect was the gospel of Jesus new?
1. In its idea of God. Jesus was the first to teach effectively the Fatherhood of God. The legal idea of God fell into desuetude. The old Jewish view of God was as an exactor; the new God of Jesus was a giver.
2. Along with the new idea of God came naturally a new conception of the kingdom of God; rather than law, it was viewed as love.
3. These thoughts were accompanied by a new way of life, the typical feature of which was neglect of fasting, which meant a conscience freed from legal scrupulosity.
II. The courage of Jesus was not less conspicuous than his originality in thought and conduct.
1. As He believed, so He spoke publicly, habitually.
2. He was equally unreserved in His action.
3. He was fearless in defence of His conduct when assailed.
4. The gloomy foreboding was not a mistaken one. The Bridegroom was taken from the sorrowing society. The duty arising out of these facts. To glorify Christ as the Maker of the new world. How is this to be done?
I. By recognizing to the full extent the service rendered, by forming to ourselves a broad, comprehensive idea of the vast change introduced into the world by the action of our Saviour.
2. By becoming ourselves children of the new era, appreciating and using to the fall the liberty of a Christian man. (A. B. Bruce, D. D.)
Religious patchwork
It is wrong-
I. In ritual.
II. In theology.
III. Is human character.
1. Disfigurement-agreeth not.
2. Injury the rent is made worse. (U. R. Thomas.)
The parable of the new piece of cloth
By an old garment I understand is meant a mans own righteousness. It may be so compared.
1. Because it is old as Adam.
2. Because it is worn out.
3. It was once a new, good garment.
4. It needs mending.
But why is righteousness compared to a garment?
1. Because it is to cover nakedness.
2. Because it covers the shame of mankind.
3. Because of the usefulness of it.
4. In respect of ornament.
5. Because it tends to keep a man warm in winter.
6. It preserves from thorns and briars. (B. Keach.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 16. No man putteth a piece of new cloth] . No man putteth a patch of unscoured cloth upon an old garment. This is the most literal translation I can give of this verse, to convey its meaning to those who cannot consult the original. is that cloth which has not been scoured, or which has not passed under the hand of the fuller, who is called in Greek: and signifies a piece put on, or what we commonly term a patch.
It – taketh from the garment] Instead of closing up the rent, it makes a larger, by tearing away with it the whole breadth of the cloth over which it was laid; – it taketh its fulness or whole breadth from the garment; this I am persuaded is the meaning of the original, well expressed by the Latin, or Itala of the C. BEZAE, Tollit enim plenitudo ejus de vestimento. “It takes away its fulness from the garment.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
No man putteth a piece of new cloth,…. These words are, by Lu 5:36 called a “parable”, as are those in the following verse; and both are commonly interpreted of the unreasonableness and danger of putting young disciples upon severe exercises of religion, as fasting, c: and it is true, that young converts are to be tenderly dealt with, as they are by Father, Son, and Spirit, as the disciples were by Christ, and the first Christians were by the apostles: and some things in these parables may seem to agree as that these austerities should be represented as “new”, and as burdensome and troublesome, and the disciples as weak, and easily staggered: but then there are others that will not bear; as that the disciples should be compared to “old garments, and old bottles”; when they were “young” converts, and men “renewed” by the Spirit and grace of God, and had on the beautiful robe of Christ’s righteousness; and that such severe exercises, under the notion of religion, should be signified by “new wine”, which generally designs something pleasant and agreeable: nor were the disciples unable to bear such severities, who very probably had been trained up in them, and been used to them before their conversion; and could now as well have bore them as John’s disciples, or the Pharisees, had they been proper and necessary; but the true reason why they were not required of them, was not their weakness, or danger of falling off, and perishing, of which there were none; but because it was unsuitable to their present situation, the bridegroom being with them. But our Lord, in this parable of putting “a piece of new”, or “undressed cloth”, such as has never passed through the fuller’s hands, and so unfit to mend with,
unto an old garment, refers not only to the fastings of the Pharisees, but to their other traditions of the elders, which they held; as such that respected their eating, drinking, and conversing with other persons mentioned in the context, and which observances they joined with their moral performances; on account of which, they looked upon themselves as very righteous persons, and all others as sinners: and to expose their folly, Christ delivers this parable. Wherefore, by “the old garment”, I apprehend, is meant their moral and legal righteousness, or their obedience to the moral and ceremonial laws, which was very imperfect, as well as impure, and might be rightly called “filthy rags”; or be compared to an old worn out garment, filthy and loathsome, torn, and full of holes, which cannot keep a person warm, nor screen him from the weather, and so old that it cannot be mended. And by the “piece of new cloth”, or “garment”, put unto it, or sewed upon it, are intended the traditions of the elders, these men were so fond of, concerning eating, and drinking, and fasting, and hundreds of other things, very idle and trifling, and which were new and upstart notions. Now, by putting, or sewing the new cloth to their old garment, is designed, their joining their observance of these traditions to their other duties of religion, to make up a justifying righteousness before God; but in vain, and to no purpose. Their old garment of their own works, in obedience to the laws of God, moral and ceremonial, was full bad enough of itself; but became abundantly worse, by joining this new piece of men’s own devising to it;
for that which is put in to fill it up, taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse: their new obedience to the traditions of men, making void the law of God, instead of mending, marred their righteousness, and left them in a worse condition than it found them: and besides, as it is in Luke, “the piece that was taken out of the new, agreeth not with the old”; there being no more likeness between the observance of the commandments of men, and obedience to the laws of God, than there is between a piece of new undressed cloth, that has never been washed and worn, and an old worn out garment. Much such a foolish part do those men under the Gospel dispensation act, who join the righteousness of Christ, or a part of it, with their own, in order to make up a justifying righteousness before God; for Christ’s righteousness is the only justifying righteousness; it is whole and perfect, and needs nothing to be added to it, nor can it be parted, any more than his seamless coat was; nor a piece taken out of it: nor is there any justification by works, either in whole or in part; the old garment of man’s righteousness must be thrown away, in point of justification; it cannot be mended in such a manner; and if any attempts are made in this way, the rent becomes worse: such persons, instead of being justified, are in a worse condition; for they not only set up, and exalt their own righteousness, which is criminal, but disparage the righteousness of Christ as imperfect, by joining it to their’s; and whilst they fancy themselves in a good state, are in a most miserable one; harlots and publicans being nearer the kingdom of heaven than these, and enter into it before them; self-righteous persons are more hardly, and with greater difficulty convinced, than such sinners. Moreover, nothing is more disagreeable than such a patch work; Christ’s righteousness and a man’s own bear no likeness to one another; and such a patched garment must ill become the character and dignity of a saint, a child of God, an heir of heaven.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Undressed cloth ( ). An unfulled, raw piece of woollen cloth that will shrink when wet and tear a bigger hole than ever.
A worse rent ( ). Our word “schism.” The “patch” (, filling up) thus does more harm than good.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
New [] . From aj, not, and gnaptw, to card or comb wool; hence to dress or full cloth. Therefore Rev. renders more correctly undressed cloth, which would shrink when wet, and tear loose from the old piece. Wyc. renders rude. Jesus thus pictures the combination of the old forms of piety peculiar to John and his disciples with the new religious life emanating from himself, as the patching of an old garment with a piece of unfulled cloth, which would stretch and tear loose from the old fabric and make a worse rent than before.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
PARABLE OF THE GARMENT AND BOTTLES
V. 16, 17
1) “No man putteth a piece of new cloth,” (oudeis de epiballei epiblema hrakous agnaphou) “No one puts a patch of new cloth;” This was spoken regarding a specific, to be segregate, or separated difference, between the worship and service of the law and the church.
2) “Unto an old garment,” (epi himatio paloio) “Upon an old garment,” one that is threadbare, one that is not strong enough to hold the new that is fastened or sewed to it. This defends the old as well as the new, but shows that the two do not mix.
3) “For that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment,” (airei gar to pleroma autou apo tou himatiou) “Because it’ (the new patch) takes away the fullness from the garment, or shrinks the garment in size, and tears the old garment to worse shreds.
4) “And the rent is made worse.” (kai cheiron schisma ginetai) “And a worse rent or torn place comes to be,” rending the garment less fit for use. Jesus does not disparage or condemn, either the fasting of the law, or of John, but specifically shows that His disciples would be hypocritical to fast while He was with them, establishing a new order of worship and service.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
16. And no man putteth a piece of fresh cloth. He supports the preceding statement by two comparisons, one of which is taken from garments, and the other from vessels of wine Those who think that he compares worn-out garments and decayed bottles to the Pharisees, and new wine and fresh cloth to the doctrine of the gospel, have no probability on their side. The comparison is beautifully adapted to the matter in hand, if we explain it as referring to the weak and tender disciples of Christ, and to a discipline more strict than they were able to bear. Nor is it of any consequence that the idea of being old does not agree with scholars who were only commencing: for, when Christ compares his disciples to old bottles and torn garments, he does not mean that they were wasted by long use, but that they were weak and wanted strength. The amount of the statement is, that all must not be compelled indiscriminately to live in the same manner, for there is a diversity of natural character, and all things are not suitable to all; and particularly, we ought to spare the weak, that they may not be broken by violence, or crushed by the weight of the burden. Our Lord speaks according to the custom of the country, when he uses the word bottles instead of tuns or casks (525)
(525) “ Au reste, le mot Grec dont use l’Evangeliste signifie proprement des vaisseaux faits de cuir, desquels on usoit pour mettre le vin: comme au- jourdhui nous avons des muids ou des pipes.” — “Besides, the Greek word, which the Evangelist employs, literally signifies vessels made of leather,which were used for containing wine: as in the present day we have hogsheads or butts ”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(16) No man putteth a piece of new cloth.There is a closer connection between the three similitudes than at first sight appears. The wedding-feast suggested the idea of the wedding-garment, and of the wine which belonged to its joy. We may even go a step further, and believe that the very dress of those who sat at meat in Matthews house, coming as they did from the lower and less decently-habited classes, made the illustration all the more palpable and vivid. How could those worn garments be made meet for wedding-guests? Would it be enough to sew on a patch of new cloth where the old was wearing into holes? Not so He answers here; not so He answers again when He implicitly makes the king who gives the feast the giver also of the garment (Mat. 22:2);
New clothi.e., cloth that has not passed through the fullers handsnew and undressed, in its freshest and strongest state. Such a patch sewn upon a weak part of the old cloak would, on the first strain, tear the cloth near it.
The rent is made worse.Better, there comes a worse rent. St. Luke adds another reason, the piece put in agrees not with the old.
The meaning of the parable in its direct application lies very near the surface. The garment is that which is outward, the life and conversation of the man, which show his character. The old garment is the common life of sinful men, such as Matthew and his guests; the new garment is the life of holiness, the religious life in its completeness; fasting, as one element of that life, is the patch of new cloth which agrees not with the old, and leads to a greater evil, a worse rent in the life than before. No one would so deal with the literal garment. Yet this was what the Pharisees and the disciples of John were wishing to do with the half-converted publicans. This, we may add, is what the Church of Christ has too often done in her work as the converter of the nations. Sacramental ordinances or monastic vows, or Puritan formul, or Quaker conventionalities, have been engrafted on lives that were radically barbarous, or heathen, or worldly, and the contrast has been glaring, and the rent made worse. The more excellent way, which our Lord pursued, and which it is our wisdom to pursue, is to take the old garment, and to transform it, as by a renewing power from within, thread by thread, till old things are passed away, and all things are become new.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. Piece of new cloth Symbol of the spirit and mode of the new dispensation. Old garment The Old Testament institutions and John’s dispensation. Rent is made worse The new patch, undressed by the fuller, and moist, will shrink and rend the old worn garment’s cloth. The sentiment is clear, by translation of the symbols. There is a contrariety between the old, stern dispensation of Moses and Elias, (the latter antityped in John,) and the new dispensation of peace and salvation. Our serene joy, fastened upon your gloomy dispensation, would be like a new patch on an old garment, unsightly and marring. The same point is illustrated by additional symbols in the following verses.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And no man puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for then that which should fill it up takes from the garment, and a worse tear is made.”
By His illustrations here Jesus now declares that it is not a time for supplementing the old ideas and trying to repair them. The inference is that what is needed is new clothing and new wine. The old is not to be supplemented by the new, but the new must replace the old. It is a clear indication that in Jesus has come a new age. The prophets had prophesied until John (Mat 11:13). But now a greater than John was here. We are reminded by this illustration of God’s promises to reclothe His people (see the parallel idea in Mat 22:11-12 and compare Zec 3:4-5 and the idea in Eze 16:10-14 with 59-63). For giving them new wine to drink see Isa 25:6 and compare Joh 2:1-11.
But the new is to replace the old because the old is not what it should be. The new Israel that will replace the old (Mat 21:43) will return to the truths of its founding fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Mat 8:11). It is what is cast out that is the old (Mat 8:12). We can compare how in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus has not produced a new Law, but has brought out the true meaning of the original. The Law that is rejected is not the true Law, but the misinterpreted Law. The true Law is enhanced and glorified.
The Old Testament prophets had looked forward to this new age. They had looked for God to establish His Kingly Rule. This idea had been part of Isaiah’s inaugural call (Isa 6:1), and a central feature of his ministry (Isa 52:7). And He would do it through the Coming One (Isa 7:14; Isa 9:6-7; Isa 11:1-4).
In context the application of these words is as a defence against fasting. It is saying that we should not take old ideas, (in context the ideas about fasting), and try to improve them by mixing them with the new. That would be like using unshrunk cloth with which to mend the old. That would be ridiculous. When the garment was laundered the unshrunk cloth would shrink and the old cloth would be even further torn. Instead of the new patch filling the hole, it would make the hole bigger. Thus to put together the ideas of the old ragged ways and the new unspoiled ways would be incompatible. They do not match. With Jesus everything has begun anew.
This suggests that He saw fasting as being mainly for the old dispensation, but not for the new. The old world fasted because they waited in penitence for God to act. But now God was acting and fasting was a thing of the past. Now was the time for rejoicing.
However, the words also contain within them the general idea that what Jesus Himself has come to bring is new. ‘The Kingly Rule of Heaven has drawn near’. So now is to be a time of rejoicing and everything must be looked at in its light. The old had past, and the new has come (compare 2Co 5:17). Two examples of this appear in the Old Testament. The first is in Ezekiel 16 where Israel, having been splendidly clothed by God was defiled because of her idolatrous practises. But God promised that in the end He would put all right. Their fortunes would be restored. The second is in Zec 4:3-5 where Joshua the High Priest, the representative of Israel, was clothed in new clothing as an illustration of acceptance by God. From these we may gather that Jesus had also come to reclothe His people with pure clothing (compare Mat 22:11-12; Rev 19:8).
The extraordinary significance of this statement must not be overlooked. Jesus is clearly declaring that in His coming as the Bridegroom at this time a whole new way of thinking and living has been introduced. He is the introducer of a new age that is even at this time bursting in on the world, for being a bridegroom indicates that a marriage is about to take place, introduced by the Messianic Banquet which the disciples are already enjoying. So all this is not far in the future, it is resulting because Jesus is here. That is why they are not fasting. The acceptable year of the Lord has arrived. And their repentance and forgiveness in the new age into which they have now entered will lead to lives of joy as they walk in company with first the earthly and then the heavenly (risen) Bridegroom. Thus fasting will be unnecessary except in exceptional circumstances, in the brief period before final victory. Everything is different and old ways must be forgotten.
And this is because Jesus is introducing new clothing. This gains new meaning in the light of Jesus’ idea elsewhere, which He Himself may have had in mind, for the man who seeks to enter the heavenly wedding without having a proper wedding garment on will be cast out (Mat 22:11-12 compare Rev 19:8; Rev 3:5; Rev 3:18). Those who would enter His presence must be clothed with the righteousness that He provides. There must be no partially patched up clothes for them.
It will be noted that the illustration here is different from that in Luk 5:36, for Luke speaks there of taking the new cloth from a new garment, which heightens the folly, as it destroys the new garment as well. It is clear that Jesus used the same illustration a number of times, varying it slightly when He wanted to make a different point, and that Matthew and Mark have used one example, and Luke another. In Luke ‘and He spoke also a parable to them’ may be seen as suggesting that it is Luke or his source who have brought the ideas together there. But the fact that these saying are connected in all three synoptics, while at the same time being slightly different from each other, might point to the tradition as a whole as having done the bringing together. Alternately it may be that the unshrunk cloth is simply a slight abbreviation of the slightly longer illustration which emphasises the major point, with Luke giving us Jesus’ full words. Matthew and Mark may thus simply be giving an abbreviation of them. A piece from a new garment would in fact be unshrunk cloth.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Further parabolic sayings:
v. 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.
v. 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. Just as Christ had emphasized the fitness of things in His apology for the disciples, He here insists upon proper congruity in religion, especially in external forms. To put a patch of unsecured, new and strong, cloth upon an old garment will usually result in disaster, since the patch, being stronger, will tear out at the edges, thus making the rent worse. The piety of the Pharisees, the religion of works which they flaunted before the eyes of the people, on the one hand, and the doctrine of Jesus, the preaching of the free grace of God through His blood, on the other, will never agree. If one insists on wearing his old garment of self-righteousness and works, and then believes it possible to cover an occasional revealing sin with the Gospel, he will find but poor comfort. His heart is still bound up in the old garment, and his miserable subterfuge will only make the incongruity appear the more glaring. It is just as foolish to keep new wine, grape-juice in the early stage of fermentation, in old skins that have lost their elasticity. The result is disastrous: The skins burst, the wine is spilled. But new skins and new wine are perfectly suited to each other. The sweet Gospel of the forgiveness of sins by the mercy of God does not fit into carnal, Pharisaic hearts. If the Gospel is preached to those that believe in works only, its richness is squandered. Such hearts cannot understand or keep it; they only take offense at the preaching of the Gospel, and are lost in spite of the Gospel. Only meek and lowly, believing hearts will accept the Gospel just as it reads, and will be kept by the power of God unto salvation.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 9:16-17 . No one puts a patch consisting of cloth that has not been fulled upon an old robe, for that which is meant to fill up the rent (the patch put on to mend the old garment) tears off from the (old rotten) cloak , when it gets damp or happens to be spread out, or stretched, or such like. That does not refer to the piece of unfulled cloth (Euth. Zigabenus, Grotius, de Wette, Bleek), but to the old garment, is suggested by the idea involved in ( id quo res impletur , Fritzsche, ad Rom. II. p. 469). is not to be supplied after , but the idea is: makes a rent . Comp. Rev 22:19 , and especially Winer, p. 552 [E. T. 757]. The point of the comparison lies in the fact that such a proceeding is not only unsuitable , but a positive hindrance to the end in view . “The old forms of piety amid which John and his disciples still move are not suited to the new religious life emanating from me. To try to embody the latter in the former, is to proceed in a manner as much calculated to defeat its purpose as when one tries to patch an old garment with a piece of unfulled cloth, which, instead of mending it, as it is intended to do, only makes the rent greater than ever; or as when one seeks to fill old bottles with new wine, and ends in losing wine and bottles together. The new life needs new forms.” The Catholics, following Chrysostom and Theophylact, and by way of finding something in favour of fastings, have erroneously explained the old garment and old bottles as referring to the disciples , from whom, as “adhuc infirmes et veteri adsuetis homini” (Jansen), it was, as yet, too much to expect the severer mode of life for which, on the contrary (Mat 9:17 ), they would have to be previously prepared by the operation of the Holy Spirit. This is directly opposed to the meaning of Jesus’ words, and not in accordance with the development of the apostolic church (Col 2:20 ff.), by which fasting, as legal penance, was necessarily included among the , however much it may have been valued and observed as the spontaneous outcome of an inward necessity (Act 13:2 f., Mat 14:23 ; 2Co 6:5 ; 2Co 11:27 ). Neander suggests the utterly irrelevant view, that “it is impossible to renovate from without the old nature of man” (the old garment) through fasting and prayers (which correspond to the new patch).
Leathern bottles , for the most part of goats’ skins (Hom. Il. iii. 247, Od. vi. 78, ix. 196, v. 265) with the rough side inward, in which it was and still is the practice (Niebuhr, I. p. 212) in the East to keep and carry about wine. Comp. Jdt 10:6 ; Rosenmller, Morgenl . on Jos 9:5 .
] Future , the consequence of what has just been described by the verbs in the present tense. On , even after negative clauses, see note on 2Co 11:16 .
REMARK.
According to Luk 5:33 , it was not John’s disciples, but the Pharisees , who put the question to Jesus about fasting. This difference is interpreted partly in favour of Luke (Schleiermacher, Neander, Bleek), partly of Matthew (de Wette, Holtzmann, Keim), while Strauss rejects both. For my part, I decide for Matthew; first, because his simpler narrative bears no traces of another hand (which, however, can scarcely be said of that of Luke); and then, because the whole answer of Jesus, so mild (indeed touching, Mat 9:15 ) in its character, indicates that those who put the question can hardly have been the Pharisees , to whom He had just spoken in a very different tone. Mar 2:18 ff., again (which Ewald holds to be the more original), certainly does not represent the pure version of the matter as regards the questioners, who, according to his account, are the disciples of John and the Pharisees, an incongruity, however, which owes its origin to the question itself.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
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.
Ver. 16. No man putteth a piece, &c. ] Austerities of religion are not to be pressed upon new beginners. God would not carry the people to Canaan through the Philistines’ country (though it were the nearest way) for discouraging them at first setting out. Our Saviour spake as the disciples could hear, Mar 4:33 . Discretion is to be used, and Christ’s lambs handled with all tenderness.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
16. ] Our Lord in these two parables contrasts the old and the new, the legal and evangelic dispensations, with regard to the point on which He was questioned. The idea of the wedding seems to run through them: the preparation of the robe, the pouring of the new wine, are connected by this as their leading idea to one another and to the preceding verses.
The old system of prescribed fasts for fasting’s sake must not be patched with the new and sound piece; the complete and beautiful whole of Gospel light and liberty must not be engrafted as a mere addition on the worn out system of ceremonies. For the , the completeness of it, the new patch, by its weight and its strength pulls away the neighbouring weak and loose threads by which it holds to the old garment, and a worse rent is made. Stier notices the prophetic import of this parable: in how sad a degree the has been fulfilled in the history of the Church, by the attempts to patch the new, the Evangelic state, upon the old worn out ceremonial system. ‘Would,’ he adds, ‘that we could say in the interpretation, as in the parable, No man doeth this! ’ The robe must be all new , all consistent: old things, old types, old ceremonies, old burdens, sacrifices, priests, sabbaths, and holy days, all are passed away: behold all things are become new.
. . ] a worse rent takes place: not, as E. V., ‘ the rent is made worse ’ ( . . ., or . . .,) a worse rent, because the old, original rent was included within the circumference of the , whereas this is outside it.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 9:16-17 . The substitution of . for , in the close of Mat 9:15 , implicitly suggested a principle which is now explicitly stated in parabolic form: the great law of congruity ; practice must conform to mood; the spirit must determine the form. These sayings, apparently simple, are somewhat abstruse. They must have been over the head of the average Christian of the apostolic age, and Luke’s version shows that they were diversely interpreted. Common to both is the idea that it is bootless to mix heterogeneous things, old and new in religion. This cuts two ways. It defends the old as well as the new; the fasting of John’s disciples as well as the non-fasting of Christ’s. Jesus did not concern Himself about Pharisaic practice, but He was concerned to defend His own disciples without disparagement of John, and also to prevent John’s way and the respect in which he was justly held from creating a prejudice against Himself. The double application of the principle was therefore present to His mind.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mat 9:16 , . No one putteth a patch of an unfulled, raw piece of cloth ( from ) on an old garment. , the filling, the patch which fills; of it, i.e. , the old garment, not of the unfulled cloth (Euthy., Grotius, De W., etc.). , taketh from = tears itself away by contraction when wetted, taking a part of the old garment along with it. , and so a worse rent takes place. This looks in the direction of an apology for John and his disciples (so Weiss) = they and we are in sympathy in the main, but let them not assimilate their practice to ours; better remain as they are; imitation would only spoil a good type of piety. What is to be done with the unfulled cloth is not indicated, but it goes without saying. Let it remain by itself, be fulled, and then turned into a good new garment.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
No man = No one.
new cloth = new flannel: i.e. undressed or unfulled. In this condition it is less supple and will tear away.
unto = on or upon. Greek. epi.
that which is put in, &c. = the insertion: i.e. the patch put on.
taketh = teareth away.
the rent is made worse = a worse rent takes place.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
16.] Our Lord in these two parables contrasts the old and the new, the legal and evangelic dispensations, with regard to the point on which He was questioned. The idea of the wedding seems to run through them: the preparation of the robe, the pouring of the new wine, are connected by this as their leading idea to one another and to the preceding verses.
The old system of prescribed fasts for fastings sake must not be patched with the new and sound piece; the complete and beautiful whole of Gospel light and liberty must not be engrafted as a mere addition on the worn out system of ceremonies. For the , the completeness of it, the new patch, by its weight and its strength pulls away the neighbouring weak and loose threads by which it holds to the old garment, and a worse rent is made. Stier notices the prophetic import of this parable: in how sad a degree the has been fulfilled in the history of the Church, by the attempts to patch the new, the Evangelic state, upon the old worn out ceremonial system. Would, he adds, that we could say in the interpretation, as in the parable, No man doeth this! The robe must be all new, all consistent: old things, old types, old ceremonies, old burdens, sacrifices, priests, sabbaths, and holy days, all are passed away: behold all things are become new.
. .] a worse rent takes place: not, as E. V., the rent is made worse (. . .,-or . . .,) a worse rent, because the old, original rent was included within the circumference of the , whereas this is outside it.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 9:16. , no one) Our Lord chose, as His disciples, men who were unlearned, fresh and simple, and imbued with no peculiar discipline.-See ch. Mat 15:2; cf. Gnomon on Luk 7:20. The old raiment was the doctrine of the Pharisees; the new, that of Christ.-, taketh away) both itself and more.-, his) The word is here in the masculine gender.[419]- , the rent becomes worse) Therefore, there was before some rent. A ragged garment, altogether ragged, is intended.
[419] Rosenmller more naturally refers to , pannus impexus a vestimento vetustate contrito aliquid aufert Beng. seems to take with , as the portion put in by him to fill up the rent.-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mat 9:16-19
THE OLD and THE NEW
Mat 9:16-19
16, 17 And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment.-No one “seweth” a new piece of cloth, rough from the weaver, “undressed,” unshrunken, upon an old garment; if it should be done the new would shrink and would rend the garment. The new piece would shrink the first time it got wet and would tear the rent still wider; the same would occur should “new wine” be put into “old wineskins.” The new wine would ferment and expand and would burst the “old wineskins,” which had very little strength and no elasticity. Some think that Jesus here taught by these two illustrations that it would be absurd to patch the old Jewish law with the new gospel of Christ; or that it would not do to put the new gospel into old Jewish law; others think that it was not a question of the proper relation between the gospel and the Jewish law, but it was the propriety of fasting on certain occasions. The argument seems to be that Jesus showed the absurdity of his disciples fasting, as a sign of mourning, while he was with them; this would vindicate his disciples in not following the custom of the Pharisees to fast and impress the lesson that the value of fasting was only when proper occasions demanded it.
[Skins were used for bottles in the days of Jesus. When they were new, and new wine was put into them, they would stretch when the wine fermented and would not burst. When they became old they would burst from the fermentation of the wine. Jesus evidently intended to teach that his disciples were correct in not following the traditions of the Pharisees in fasting.]
18, 19 While he spake these things unto them.-We have here a record of two miracles which interlocked-the second occurring during the stages of the first; they serve to illustrate the great number and frequency of Jesus’ miracles. A record of these miracles is found also in Mark (Mar 5:22-43) and in Luke (Luk 8:41-56). The record given by Matthew is most brief, as he omitted many of the incidents recorded by Mark and Luke; Mark’s record seems to be the fullest and most in detail. Mark and Luke place the raising of Jairus’ daughter immediately after the cure of the Gadarene demoniac; but they do not say that it took place just as Jesus landed on the western side of the Sea of Galilee. Matthew seems to make the miracle occur immediately after the feast in his house. “There came a ruler,” Mark and Luke say, “one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name.” This ruler came and “worshipped him” that is, he bowed down before him as an expression of profound respect; he fell at the feet of Jesus and besought him saying, “My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.” Mark uses a term which denotes “my dear little daughter,” while Luke records it, “for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.” Matthew omits the message from the house (Luk 8:49) and states the case briefly she is just dead; the father had left her dying, and he thought perhaps that she was dead by the time he came to Jesus. At his earnest request Jesus arose and followed him; his disciples accompanied him, but an interference occurred as they were on the way to Jairus’ house.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
new cloth: or, raw, or unwrought cloth
for: Gen 33:14, Psa 125:3, Isa 40:11, Joh 16:12, 1Co 3:1, 1Co 3:2, 1Co 13:13
Reciprocal: Lev 19:19 – mingled Deu 22:9 – shalt not sow 2Ki 5:19 – he said Mar 2:21 – new Luk 5:36 – No man 1Co 1:10 – divisions 2Co 5:17 – old
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6-17
I have made one paragraph of the two verses because they are on the same subject, and whatever comments I wish to make will have a common application to both verses. But I shall first explain the literal meaning of the terms used, after which I shall offer my comments on the application. When fabric is old it is shrunk, and also weakened with age and easily torn. If a hole in it is repaired with new and unshrunk cloth, it will pull loose in shrinking and tear the old cloth. Bottles were made of the skins of animals, being closed tightly around the mouth somewhat like a leathern pouch. While these pouches are new they are moist and capable of expanding without bursting. New wine has to expand as it ferments, and if it is put into old pouches that have become dry, the expansion of the liquid will burst these vessels. The usual explanation of these illustrations is that it represents the folly of trying to mix the new religion that Jesus was introducing with the old one that Moses gave to the people of God. I do not believe that is the purpose of the illustrations and will give the reasons for my statement.
It would be an abrupt change of subject from anything that had been said for several chapters. Nothing in the conversation between Jesus and the audience would call for the injection of a highly figurative argument concerning the comparative merits of the Old and New Testaments. On the other hand, the importance of the work of John and Christ, and of the truth that the first was to be replaced by the second, would justify some further teaching from Jesus on it. If the old garment and old bottles represent the old law, on which and into which the new law should not be put, then what constitutes the old cloth and old wine that is to be attached to it? I believe the whole point is simply a lesson on the subject of appropriateness. The disciples of John could fittingly mourn because he had been taken from them. Jesus was still with his disciples and they could not appropriately mourn. It will be well to recall the words of Solomon in Ecc 3:4, “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 9:16. Two illustrations follow, naturally associated with a wedding feast
No one putteth a patch of undressed, or, unfulled cloth upon an old garment. The patch of cloth that would shrink, placed on a worn garment, would tear the weaker fibre; and a worse rent takes place, since the new rent is all round the patch that covered the old one. What is antiquated cannot be patched up with what is fresh. The worn out system of fasting for fastings sake cannot be patched up with a piece from the new, fresh, complete gospel. It is often attempted. Many special applications may be made, but care must be taken that nothing directly appointed by God be deemed antiquated.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Mat 9:16-17. No man putteth a piece of new cloth, &c. Our Lord, having assigned one reason why he did not enjoin his disciples to fast, namely, because it was not a proper time for it, now proceeds to give another. They were not ripe, or prepared for it, nor could have borne such severe injunctions. As if he had said, Nor do I now think it fit to lay such rigorous commands upon them, but rather to accommodate their trials to their strength; even as when a man is repairing clothes, he will not sew a piece of new cloth on an old garment, but rather chooses what is a little worn, for otherwise it will be found that the new, which is put in, being stronger than the other, taketh from the garment, and the rent is increased. The original words, , properly signify, cloth that has not passed through the fullers hands, and which is consequently much harsher than what has been washed and worn; and therefore, yielding less than that, will tear away the edges to which it is sewed.
Neither do men put new wine into old bottles Namely, bottles made of leather, then commonly used, as they are still in some countries. Else the bottles break Such bottles, chiefly made of goats skins, when old, were not easily distended, and consequently would burst by the fermentation of new wine. But they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved Thus our Lord would suit the doctrine he inculcated on his disciples, and the duties which he enjoined them, to their circumstances, and kindly proportion their work to their strength, with a tender regard to their weakness, till, by degrees, they should be fitted for more difficult and humbling services. And from his example, says Dr. Doddridge, and the whole genius of his gospel, let us learn to make all proper allowances to those about us, that we may teach them, and train them up as they are able to bear it; not crushing them under any unnecessary load, nor denying them any indulgence which true friendship will permit us to grant them; lest the good ways of God should be misrepresented, disgraced, and abandoned, through our imprudent, though well-meaning severity: a caution to be peculiarly observed in our conduct toward young persons.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:16 No man putteth a piece of {g} 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.
(g) Raw, which was never processed by the fuller.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The meaning of the second illustration is clear enough (Mat 9:16). The third may need some comment (Mat 9:17). Old wine containers made out of animal skins eventually became hard and brittle. New wine that continued to expand as it fermented would burst the inflexible old wineskins. New wineskins were still elastic enough to stretch with the expanding new wine.
The point of these two illustrations was that Jesus could not patch or pour His new ministry into old Judaism. The Greek word translated "old" (Mat 9:16-17) is palaios and means not only old but worn out by use. Judaism had become inflexible due to the accumulation of centuries of non-biblical traditions. Jesus was going to bring in a kingdom that did not fit the preconceptions of most of His contemporaries. They misunderstood and misapplied the Old Testament, and particularly the messianic and kingdom prophecies. Jesus’ ministry did not fit into the traditional ideas of Judaism. Moreover it was wrong to expect that His disciples would fit into these molds. Jesus used two different Greek words for "new" in Mat 9:17. Neos means recent in time, and kainos means a new kind. The messianic kingdom would be new both in time and in kind.
In the second and third illustrations, which advance the revelation of the first, the old cloth and wineskins perish. Jesus’ kingdom would terminate Judaism that had served its purpose.
John the Baptist belonged to the old order. His disciples, therefore, should have left him and joined the Groom. Unless they did they would not participate in the kingdom (cf. Act 19:1-7).
"In his characteristic style Matthew here hints that another new age will be brought in if the kingdom comes or not. This may be the first intimation of the church age in Matthew’s Gospel." [Note: Toussaint, Behold the . . ., p. 132.]
The point of this incident in Matthew’s story seems to be that disciples of Jesus need to recognize that following Him will involve new methods of serving God. The old Jewish forms passed away with the coming of Jesus, and His disciples now serve under a new covenant with new structures and styles of ministry, compared to the old order.