Jesus Parable of New Patch Old Garment

Every three months, I teach the junior high school class at my local congregation. As I began this three month period, I was asked to teach on Jesus's parables. Of course, Jesus used parables to teach lessons. However, I quickly saw that there are more to them then meets the eye. I decided to begin a series on Jesus's parables. The first parable I want to look at is Matthew 9:16.

This parable is only one verse long. Matthew 9:16, " "But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results." This is only one verse. Some do not even consider it a parable. However, it is a story that holds a much greater meaning. Is that not the definition of a parable?

How are we like old garments? When we are baptized then we put away our old selves. We are buried with Christ in baptism. Romans 6:4 "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." At that moment then our sins are washed away. Luke 3:3 "And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;"Our old selves are to become like an old garment.

Can you put a patch on an old garment? Today, we are used to buying clothes that are pre-shrunk. However, at this time they did not have that luxury. They would buy clothing and deal with it shrinking through time. If you put a patch of new cloth on a garment that was already shrunk then the patch would shrink over time. This would cause the patch to pull away from the older clothing.

Just like this, we cannot just put a patch over our old selves. When we are baptized there must be a fundamental realization. We are no longer the same person we were before. Before our baptism, we lived as sinners. We were not aware of God's plan for our lives. We were not aware of Jesus's dying for our salvation. Upon learning and obeying these things then we must make some changes in our lives.

We must change the way we see the world. As sinners, we looked at the world through a sinner's eyes. We saw not what we could do for the world but what the world could do for us. We did not think of our actions as being either moral or immoral. We thought only about whether they were legal or illegal by human laws. Hopefully, you at least thought along those lines. We must begin to see the world through the eyes that God will supply to us.

We must begin to change our thoughts. Every word that proceeds out of our mouth shows the world what is in our hearts. Jas 1:26 "If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless." Once we begin to change our thoughts then our actions will follow.

We must change the things that we focus on. As we begin to think more about higher things and less about worldly things then our focus will begin to change. We will focus more on how God wants us to act. Our associations will change. Our habits will change. How we spend our time will change. We will not want to frequent strip clubs anymore. We will not want to come out of the bar falling down on our faces. 

As our focus changes then so will our actions. As we focus more on God then we will see our old actions that were sinful. We will begin to no longer enjoy these actions. Their value will be diminished for us. We will start to see the value in Godly activities. We will cultivate more friends that also see the value in Godly activities. Once we reach this point then we will start to build the habits necessary to lead a Godly life. 

Are you trying to put a new patch on an old garment? It does not matter how long you have been a Christian. As you look at your life, was there a point of true change. Was there a point where you completely turned away from sin and embraced God? Did you do the things necessary (i.e. worship, study the bible, change your associations, etc.) to change your focus? Or have you been moving through life just trying to put new patches on an old garment?