Matthew 9:16-17·~1 min
The Patches and the Wineskins
A sewn patch and a poured skin both fail when old and new are forced together. Jesus' images warn that his new work needs forms able to receive it without tearing or bursting.
N16o one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result. 17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Section summaryJesus uses cloth and wineskins to show that new material does not belong inside old containers. A patch tears old cloth, and new wine bursts old skins, so both require what can hold them.
Role in the chapterThese images explain why his work cannot simply be fitted into inherited forms without damage.