Matthew 9:16-17
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Jesus isn't just saying a patch won't hold; he's highlighting that the "new cloth" is literally unprocessed. It's raw and stiff, not meant to blend with worn fabric. This emphasizes how his radically new life with God doesn't just add to old religious routines, but is fundamentally different, requiring a whole new "garment" to contain it.
No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is responding to the disciples of John the Baptist who have just asked why his disciples don't fast like theirs. He explains that his disciples are not yet ready for such rigor, likening his new message and its followers to new cloth that cannot be patched onto an old garment without causing a worse tear. This parable, along with the one about new wine in old wineskins that follows, emphasizes that his teachings and the new life he brings are fundamentally different from the religious traditions of the day, requiring a completely new approach.
Why would anyone use a patch that's designed to ruin the garment it's supposed to fix? Jesus uses this vivid, everyday example to make a profound point.
Jesus explains that His new life and teachings can't simply be added as a patch to the old religious systems of His day. The key here is 'unshrunk cloth' (literally, undressed or raw cloth).
The Nature of the Patch
This new cloth hasn't been through the 'fulling' process – a way of treating fabric to make it softer and prevent shrinking. Because it's raw and untreated, it's harsher and stronger than the old, worn fabric of the garment.
The Inevitable Outcome
When this unshrunk cloth is sewn onto an old garment, it won't give and stretch like the worn fabric. Instead, when the garment is strained or wet, the raw patch will pull away, taking the old fabric with it. The result? A worse tear, a bigger problem than before.
Jesus is saying His new way – His Gospel – isn't meant to be a mere addition or a small reform to the existing religious structures. Trying to force it onto the old system would be like this destructive patch, ultimately tearing things apart even more.
Jesus doesn't stop with clothing! He immediately follows with another analogy about wine and bottles, driving home the same principle of incompatibility.
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Jesus uses a second, closely related analogy to illustrate His point: 'Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they did, the skins would burst, the wine would spill, and the skins would be ruined.' (Matthew 9:17)
The Danger of Fermentation
Old wineskins, often made of animal hides, become brittle and weak over time. When new wine is put inside, the natural fermentation process causes the wine to expand. The old, rigid skins can't stretch to accommodate this expansion and will inevitably burst.
Preserving Both New and Old
To avoid this disaster, new wine needs new wineskins that are flexible and can expand with the fermentation. This ensures both the wine and the container are preserved.
This parable highlights that Jesus's teachings and the new life He offers are dynamic and transformative. They require a completely new 'container' – a renewed heart and mind, not just a superficial adjustment to old ways of thinking and behaving.
Understand the original words
himation · Greek Noun
In biblical imagery, garments often represent character, status, or the external expression of one's identity. A "garment" in this context signifies the existing religious framework of Judaism, which could not simply be patched by the new reality of the Kingdom.
oinos · Greek Noun
Wine symbolizes vitality, the joy of the Messianic age, and the transformative power of the Spirit. New wine represents the radical, expansive nature of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God that cannot be contained within the rigid structures of legalism.
askos · Greek Noun
Wineskins were animal skins used to hold wine; they symbolize the forms, traditions, or structures that contain religious life. Old skins, having lost their elasticity, represent the inability of the old religious establishment to accommodate the life and movement of the Gospel.
This teaching from Jesus occurs during his early ministry, when his radical new message and approach are first being encountered by traditional Jewish society and its adherents like John the Baptist's followers. The parables about patching garments and new wine in old wineskins highlight the incompatibility of Jesus' 'new life' with the old religious systems.
c. 27-30 AD— this verse
Jesus Begins Public Ministry
Jesus calls his first disciples, including Matthew, and begins teaching and healing. His ministry marks a radical new spiritual reality.
c. 27-30 AD
Jesus Calls Matthew
Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him. Matthew hosts a banquet for Jesus, attended by tax collectors and sinners, which prompts criticism from Pharisees and John's disciples.
c. 27-30 AD
Disciples of John Question Jesus
The disciples of John the Baptist observe Jesus and his disciples and question why they do not fast like John's disciples, leading to Jesus' parables.
This passage explains that the Mosaic Law, like an old garment, served as a temporary guardian until Christ. Adding new elements of the Law to Christ's new covenant righteousness would tear apart the very purpose of both.
Luke 5:37-38This parallel account from Luke adds that 'new wine into old wineskins' would burst them. This emphasizes that the new life and teaching of Christ, with its inherent spiritual power, cannot be contained within the rigid, worn-out religious structures of the past.
Romans 7:6Here, Paul contrasts serving in the 'oldness of the letter' (Judaism) with serving in the 'newness of the Spirit' (Christianity). This directly echoes Jesus' point that the new spiritual reality he brings cannot be grafted onto outdated religious practices without causing destructive separation.
Colossians 2:20-23Paul warns against 'rules' and 'regulations' that focus on outward practices, calling them 'self-imposed worship' and 'harsh treatment of the body.' This reflects Jesus' concern that adding external, un-shrunk cloth (like strict, early fasting rules for new believers) to an old garment (their existing, less disciplined lives) would create a worse tear, not true spiritual transformation.
vincentMatthew 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."
New (ἀγνάφου)From ἀ, not, and γνάπτω, 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…
bensonMatthew 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."
Matthew 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…
Jesus isn't just saying a patch won't hold; he's highlighting that the "new cloth" is literally unprocessed. It's raw and stiff, not meant to blend with worn fabric. This emphasizes how his radically new life with God doesn't just add to old religious routines, but is fundamentally different, requiring a whole new "garment" to contain it.
Jesus is responding to the disciples of John the Baptist who have just asked why his disciples don't fast like theirs. He explains that his disciples are not yet ready for such rigor, likening his new message and its followers to new cloth that cannot be patched onto an old garment without causing a worse tear. This parable, along with the one about new wine in old wineskins that follows, emphasizes that his teachings and the new life he brings are fundamentally different from the religious traditions of the day, requiring a completely new approach.
Jesus is responding to the disciples of John the Baptist who have just asked why his disciples don't fast like theirs. He explains that his disciples are not yet ready for such rigor, likening his new message and its followers to new cloth that cannot be patched onto an old garment without causing a worse tear. This parable, along with the one about new wine in old wineskins that follows, emphasizes that his teachings and the new life he brings are fundamentally different from the religious traditions of the day, requiring a completely new approach.
"No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are d…" — Jesus isn't just saying a patch won't hold; he's highlighting that the "new cloth" is literally unprocessed. It's raw and stiff, not meant to blend with worn fabric. This emphasizes how his radical…
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Last reviewed October 2026
