Matthew 9:14-17

(Matthew 9:14-17)

Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?  And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.  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.  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.

 

Matthew says it was a piece of new cloth, and Luke described it as a new garment. The Jews' garments were made of semaphores. The Bible says in Luke (23:53).『 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. 』. The Bible says in Mark (14: 51-52).『 And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:  And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked. 』

 So it can be seen that the outerwear is linen cloth. And the outer robe was white. White clothes symbolize righteousness. The old clothes worn by the Jews, however, symbolize the law. His righteousness revealed through the law is called old robe. However, the garment of righteousness revealed through Jesus Christ is represented by a white linen cloth.

Nobody takes a piece out of new clothes and attaches it to old clothes. The clothes of righteousness by Jesus Christ cannot be worn unless the old ones are discarded. It means that Israel must abandon the law so that she can wear a new garment of righteousness. Jesus tells the Jews that because you are in the law of old, you cannot wear new clothes of righteousness. Jesus went to the sinners like the publicans and ate with them because they all abandoned their old clothes and wore new clothes. I say that you (the Pharisees) wear old clothes and do not eat together.

The Bible says in Romans (8: 3-4).『 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 』 The requirements of the law are not fulfilled for those who wear old clothes, but the demands of the law are fulfilled for those who wear new clothes. The clothing of righteousness by Christ cannot be combined with the old clothing of the Pharisees.

『No man put new wine into old bottles』 Wine is the word of God. The old wine is the word of God by the law, and the new wine is the word of the blood covenant. Jesus had the last supper with his disciples before he died on the cross.

The Bible says in Luke (22: 15-20). 『And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.  Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. 』

Wine symbolizes blood. Jesus called the new wine the new covenant. The new covenant is not a law, but a salvation through the ransom of Jesus Christ. Jesus was invited to Canaan's wedding feast to turn water into wine. The old wine (law) runs out (after the law is over) and the new wine (covenant) is brought to the marriage feast. The end of the law means that the time is full. The law says until the time of John the Baptist, the Bible says.『new wine must be put into new bottles』. Regarding bottles, many Bible verses speak.

In Acts 9:15 Jesus tells Ananias about the Apostle Paul.『But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 』 The word bowl here is a bottles. The vessel is a worker. The Bible says in 2 Timothy (2:21).『 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. 』,

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians (4:7).『But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.』

『new wine must be put into new bottles』. The new covenant enters into a new man chosen by God. A new man is one who is born again of water and the Holy Spirit. The Bible says in John (3: 3-5).『 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 』 To become a new man, the old man must die. The old man means evil in the heart.

Jesus told people to "deny self." The Bible says in Matthew (16: 24-25).『Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 』 The new man is born again only when the old man dies. To be born again is like a resurrection. When we are alive, we die with Jesus and be resurrected with Jesus. It must be believed that this does not happen when the body dies, but when the body is alive.

The Bible says in Romans (6:4-6).『Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 』

Jesus tells the Pharisees to take off the old-man(the old cloth) and wear the new-man to receive the new covenant. But none of the Pharisees knew the meaning of these words.