LUKE 5: 33-36
33 And they said to him, Why do John’s disciples fast often, and the Pharisees fast too, but you eat and drink? 34 And he said to them, “Can you hold the wedding feast while the bridegroom is with them?” 35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast. 36 And he told them a parable; because if you do, not only does it break the new, but the patch that is removed does not harmonize with the old.
Reflection:
When Jesus mentions this parable of cutting a piece of a new garment to repair an old one, he damages the new one and also destroys the old one; The first thing we must understand is that it refers to clothing made of wool, because it was washed shrunk because it was new and it damaged the garment more; We cannot compare it to the different types of materials used for modern clothing. In this brief but essential doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ, he used an illustration of everyday life, such as the craftsmanship of clothing, and we must examine it in the context in which it was given.
Jesus comes from sharing in the house of Matthew, while the scribes and Pharisees murmured about him, having been in the house of a tax collector, then he is criticized as a whole by the disciples of John on the subject. fasting; every time Jesus spoke, they were ready to attack him. Legalism and asceticism attacked the teachings of Jesus. Legalism, which is the human effort to be accepted by God through the strict observance of divine law, forgets the spirit of the law, and asceticism isolates itself from contact with our fellow men, resorting to abstinence and thinking that one is more spiritual. acting with this separation.
The doctrine of being part of the kingdom of heaven according to Christ was not based on a strict fulfillment of the works of the law, but the law was the introduction of a better hope to draw closer to God. Jesus Christ teaches the gospel of God, that they believe in his person and in his work, approaching with a humble and repentant heart.
Jesus Christ told the Samaritan woman that the time would come and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:23); we draw near to the Father through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit; This teaching was rejected by the Pharisees and the disciples of John, we cannot go to extremes. The patch with the new dress damages the old one, if the patch is made it must be new with new. That is why the scriptures speak of repentance, it is as if we put on a new garment, because we are clothed with Christ (Romans 13:14), we are clothed with the new nature (Ephesians 4:24).
May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all.
Good advice: read Matthew 9