Matthew 9:16 – 17 Cloth and Wine Skins; what does it mean? Sometimes when we find Jesus saying something that leaves us with our head twisted to the side like a confused dog, it’s best to try to gather as much information we can surrounding the verses that come across as strange.
So, what does Matthew 9:16-17 Mean anyway?
In this study, we’re going to tackle the point that Jesus was trying to get across in these two strange verses. But also, we’re going to take a good look at who he was speaking to when he said these things, as it makes a big difference as far as the meaning goes.
I’ve seen this question asked a few times before, so I took the opportunity to lay it out here the best as I understand, and provide a Matthew 9:16-17 commentary to help clear the air on these verses. Here they are:
Matthew 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. 17 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.
Well, there they are, the two verses in question. Something that I like to do to get the right context is back up a couple of verses when I come across a verse that I don’t immediately understand.
It’s best to do this to try to understand the situation, but it is also a good practice to avoid a “one-liner theology” problem. So many issues derive from scripture that is taken out of context and turned into its own thing.
And yes, any time I’ve ever come across someone building a house on top of one verse in scripture, more often than not, it’s been taken out of context. So try to keep things into the intended context when it comes to God’s Word.
Anyways, I digress… Let’s practice what I’m preaching here, and back it up to verse 10 and try to gain from understanding the context of these verses.
Matthew 9:
10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Then Jesus follows these verses with the parables of the cloth and wineskins after an interruption from John’s disciples. It’s safe to say he’s answering the Pharisees’ question concerning eating with sinners. And this is how I get there.
The Immediate Truth
Pharisees
If you understood the learning, the training, the hours behind the study, and education that the Pharisees were supposed to embody, you’d realize why what Jesus just told them should go without saying.
Jesus is responding to the Pharisees first of all in these verses (Matthew 9:16 – 17), and reading through any of the four gospels, you can see what kind of people the Pharisees were. Generally speaking, they are shown to be spiritually dead.
The fact that they couldn’t figure out why Jesus was eating with publicans and sinners without having to ask is telling in the first place. These, in my eyes, seem to be un-trainable for lack of a better way to put it.
I guess ‘set in their ways’ might be a better way to put it… We can call these the old garments of cloth, or maybe the old wineskins. Both will do.
They being old wineskins couldn’t contain (or otherwise accept) the teachings (or new wine) of Jesus almost all of the time with very few exceptions. The publicans and sinners (at least as I see it) allowed Jesus to start with fresh mindsets that were unspoiled with the doctrines of the Pharisees.
Trainable from the Ground Up
Publicans and Sinners
The publicans and sinners would be the “new” wineskins or cloth. These are not the “religious” crowd that has heard it all before. The Pharisees would never expect to have seen any one of these folks back at the temple, taking part in the religious ceremonies.
By the time Jesus hit the scene, many of the precepts of the Lord had been replaced by the doctrine of men. As decades came and went, layers of tradition and different clutter caked over and replaced the point of the Mosaic Law. All kinds of additions and fail-safes that the Lord neither asked for nor approved.
Because of this, a division grew between religious people and people who are not. The publicans and sinners weren’t there to hear about religion, but rather to hear straight from the Son of the Living God, though they didn’t realize that at the time.
To them, this was a new wine they were experiencing. They received the Word of Jesus with gladness and did not burst or resist what he was saying.
This difference that Jesus is making takes me back to a supervisory position I held for a while. It was almost better to hire someone with no experience than it was hiring someone with plenty of tenures. The reason being is when you hire someone that has done something a certain way for ten or fifteen years, it’s tough to break them of old ideas to conform to how things operate where they’ve just been hired.
Hiring someone fresh off the street is sometimes preferred. They aren’t tainted with the practices of another place, and they are easier to mold into what the company is looking for in an employee. But to even go anywhere with that, that person needs to be trainable in the first place. You’re not looking for a new wineskin that’s already been sealed, (for a throwback to the topic at hand).
The way I’m looking at this is these would be the “new” wineskins. Easier to teach because they don’t come to the table with preconceived ideas or doctrines. That would mean that the publicans and sinners would contain the new wine Jesus was pouring out, whereas the Pharisees couldn’t contain it. It’s not easy trying to teach someone anything when they think they already know it all.
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The Supernatural Truth of Matthew 9:16 – 17
In many verses of the Bible, there are natural or carnal reasons for the piece of scripture, and there’s a spiritual nature to the same verses. In other words, naturally discerned on the one hand, spiritually discerned on the other.
The supernatural truth couldn’t be realized until Jesus raised from the dead, and sent in his place the Holy Spirit, just as he promised. This is going to put a whole different meaning behind these parables, particularly that of Matthew 9:16 – 17!
Today, we have something people in the dining room that day did not have at the time Jesus said these parables, and that’s all the revelations of the Holy Spirit, given to us through the apostles.
Suppose you look at the parable of the wineskins with a set of spiritual eyes and perceive the old wineskins as being your old man. Unsaved and un-redeemed- spiritually dead. Being spiritually dead, you will never contain things of the spirit because you are carnal, and the carnal mind cannot comprehend the things of the spirit. Romans Chapters 7&8 go through that pretty well.
For a detailed study on Romans 7, read Self vs Spirit. If you have a difficult time distinguishing the will of your spirit against the will of your flesh, that page will help you.
Supernaturally, when we are born again, a spirit is born anew inside us, creating at that moment a new creature. Or to otherwise put it concerning the parable, he creates us as new wineskins. And glory be to the Father, he fills us full of new wine! Here is a verse laying that out for us:
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
I guess you could say old wineskins are passed away, behold, all wineskins become new, see what I’m saying? I think it’s noteworthy to tie this even tighter together with what happened after the believers were filled for the first time with the Holy Spirit. What was the first thing people said that witnessed the believers?
Acts 2:13
Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
Somewhat ironic, huh? What else to fill new wine bottles with but with new wine. Funny they should say that. Sure they were mocking, but in reality, that little verse compliments the parable of the wine bottles.
You can get a lot out of this parable when you place it into a spiritually discerned sense. You can just keep on going, pointing out that the new wine (Holy Spirit) would burst an old wineskin & would not be able to contain him. The Holy Spirit has always been around unsaved people, but not inside as he is to those who have been born again- baptized with the Holy Spirit of the living God.
To Sum it All Up
Physically
Physically speaking, the old wineskins were the Pharisees or people who had religion, yet no relationship with the Father.
The new wineskins were those who had no religion, yet were open to a relationship with the Father through what Jesus had to say.
Spiritually
Spiritually speaking, the old skins could be considered as the old man or the carnal man. This sinful flesh that can’t receive the spiritual matters of the Lord.
The new skins are those who have been born again and are open to receive the Spirit of the Living God as new wine of the Kingdom of the Lord.
John 14:
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
These are great verses to chew on for a while. If you’ve enjoyed this study concerning the cloth and wineskins, please use the share buttons below to share the study.
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God definitely brought me here, because I have really struggled to understand what these verses could truly mean
God bless you, and thank you
Hi there Tinashe,
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! Glad to hear that the page helped you out, and praise the Lord for leading you to sought answers!
Thanks again and God bless!
Good day Brother Brian! Thank you so much for these explanation. You helped me a lot! I am so glad that I’ve found your page. Surely that I’ll share this to my brothers and sisters in Christ here on our church. I am kiel, 16 year’s old. Part of a team on our church. This was our devotion and I was seeking for more information about this parable of Jesus. You’ve enlightened me a lot brother! Thanks!
-from Philippines
Hi there Kiel,
Praise God!
Thank you for your kind words and news of the goings-on in your church. I’m blessed that the message was a blessing to you, and I thank you for sharing it with your local Brothers and Sisters in the Lord. It’s always a pleasure to hear about the Children of God fighting the good fight over there in the Philippines, and also from the world’s future generation!
May the Lord bless you and grant you favor in all that you do in His service in Jesus’ mighty name!
Thank you Soo much. You explained this so we’ll♥️!!
Hi there Shay,
Thank you for your kind words, it means a lot, and it’s all God! Praise the Lord!
May He bless you mightily in Jesus’ precious name.
Hey Brian,
Thanks for this explanation, it makes a lot of sense and I did not receive any red flags nor confusion as sometimes I do when going to other people’s interpretations. I try to rely on the Holy Spirit to help me understand but after the last year and reading this now 3 times with the New Testament I figured its time for “a little help from my friends.” Lol. Thanks for sharing! God Bless you!
Hi there Kari,
Thank you so much for your kind words, and I’m blessed to know that the info helped you out! May the Lord bless you in all your endeavors in Jesus’ mighty name!
I thank you for your explanation of Matthew 9:16 I have spent quite sometime looking for this and I did find many but they were a bit hard to understand or follow and sometime I lost track of the whole subject, but yours was so easy to follow and comprehend. Thanks again for bringing light to this beautiful bible chapter/versicle.
Hi there Jose,
Thank you so much for your comment and kind words, I’m humbled. All of the information that you’ll find here on the STIC website is prayerfully written, and if there’s anything that makes sense at all, it’s all the Father- I’m just the guy sitting here punching keys 🙂
Thank you again, and I’m blessed to know that you were able to grasp these wonderful verses and that the Lord was able to use this page to help you out!
May the Lord bless you in Jesus mighty name!
Thank you so much for your explanation on those verses. I now understand them. God Bless you.
Hi Able,
That’s great to hear! Thank you for letting me know, and for the comment & kind words!
May the Lord bless you in every way in Jesus precious name!
In verse 14 it says “than John’s disciples came to Him” (Jesus) and asked why do we and the Pharisees have to fast? Jesus was referring to his disciples as old wineskins or old cloth. Trying to discipline them more than they can handle will cause bigger problems and all they learned would be lost or ruined. Jesus was not referring to the Pharisees as old rags unable to contain new doctrine or teachings.
If so, is Jesus is saying the pharisees and John followers are better than the disciples to hold the new wine?
Hi Ismael,
I guess it wouldn’t come as a surprise that I disagree. However, Jesus did clearly answer the question posed in verse 14 in verse 15.
I hope that helps, & thank you for your comment! God bless you in Jesus mighty name!
I am presently studying and came across this verse and decided to stop and get better understanding of it. I saw another explanation of the verses but knowing the holy spirit and how HE teaches that was not it. I read yours and have a much better understanding of it. Theirs was about dispensation and grace and law. I will share yours with my group which has pastors in it. Thank you!
Hi Dawn,
Thank you for the kind words, I do appreciate it, & am blessed to know that it helped in your understanding of this strange verse! All praise & glory to the King of Kings!!
Thanks again!
Hi. Thanks for the beautiful sharing here. It’s awesome. But I want you to fight against something I see many Pentecostals getting deep into: this dichotomy between Religious and non Religious. I think this is a way of trying to denigrate the Catholic church who has been a victim of this religion accusation. The very dichotomy is fiercely deceptive. John the Baptist Father n mother were religious, going by your definition, Simeon and Anna in the Temple at the presentation of Jesus in the Temple were religious. Mary and Joseph did what the law commanded for Jesus in the event of the presentation at the temple using a pair of turtle doves or young white pigeons. They were completely religious. These are undoubtedly holy people who practiced true religion and James 1:27 as well as 2Peter 3:14 in these passages averred what true religion is.
It is important to note that Jesus was NOT a Christian. He totally practiced Judaism and in the Temple he observed both the true and false religious behaviors of individuals.
I tell you all this, that the modern trend of blackmailing the Catholic church as “Religious” with criminal connotation is only an age long attempt to legalize the foundations of dissenting churches from the one true church Jesus founded. Would one not fight for Fathers home? Why found other homes? Jesus was disappointed with the turning of His Father’s house into den of thieves and rather than abandoned it to found another house, he instead fought against the criminals and became the first man in recent ancient history to inaugurate a one man violence riot inside the Temple.
There are lots of Christian ministries everywhere as long as anyone rises on the authority of personal revelation claims to open a ministry. There is only One Church. If u think there are guys running the church of Christ down, go back to ur home, the church and do what Christ did in the Temple. The division and idea of sects in Christendom is abysmal disgrace to the grace of Unity and oneness Jesus left His Church with in His famous prayer that “All may be one”. I am catholic and I keep fighting the same pharisaic elements still in the church while I keep wandering why you Pentecostals haven’t come back to claim and join in cleansing father’s enterprise, THE CHURCH.
Hi there,
Know what I do, I go by the Word of God, rather than doctrinal differences and church organizations. Personally, I couldn’t care less about what building anyone decides to go in to worship. The question is, are you saved? Are you cleansed by the blood of the Lamb?
I adhere to the Disciple’s definition of true religion, and it’s only a few sentences long. The rest is all about an every growing relationship with the Lord God Almighty, by virtue of Christ Jesus, through the Spirit of the Living God. The doctrines of men are just that, and I avoid anything that goes crosswise the Word of God. I suggest and promote all to do the same as well.
Thanks for your comment though, and May the Lord bless you and keep you in Jesus mighty name.
Thank you for explaining the scripture from Matthew 9:16-17, which you did very well.
As I prepared to type this message I received the song, “Anoint me with fresh oil, fill me Spirit of God (Rpt) Help me see Thy purpose, understand all Thy ways (Rpt) I want to get closer Lord so much closer Lord to You, To You, To You.
Since I gave my heart to the Lord I receive songs every day and He even gives me new songs with a tune for me to share with others.
Here is one of the songs He once gave me and it has blessed many people.
Where love abides there’s a perfect peace about you. Where love abides there’s joy and laughter there.
Come take My hand I reach out to you in friendship. Just hold on firmly to My outstretched hand.
I’ll always love you and have My eyes upon you, for you’re My precious child and apple of My eye.
I’ll never leave you or ever will forsake you. Just hold on firmly to My outstretched hand.
JUST HOLD ON FIRMLY TO MY OUTSTRETCHED HAND.
I believe that this song has an anointing on it from the Lord and believe that it would bless Fred Sission. I give you permission to use it if you would like to. God bless you always.
Hi there Beryl,
Thank you so much for the compliment, the song, and the brief testimony. I appreciate it! Glad the page was insightful for you, and I hope you feel free to poke around to the other pages as well, and see if there’s anything else that catches your eye.
Powerful lyrics indeed!In fact I hear a bunch of scripture in the mix. Praise the Lord.
Thanks again and God bless you in Jesus name!
Hi Fred,
To answer you question literally, the cloth and the skins represented people. The wine represented the Word of the Lord, and the fulfillment of scripture. We’ve got old and new wine (Old and New Testaments).
Some people tend to not recognize scripture’s fulfillment. Jesus was the embodiment of all kinds of scripture and prophecies being fulfilled in real time. All but a very few understood that before his crucifixion.
The old cloth and wine skins represents those who are not capable of holding the “new wine” or the gospel that Jesus was purveying. More speciffically at the time, he was referring to the Pharisees and Saducees, who were (as Jesus points out to us in several places) those that were so legalistic that they would strain for a gnat but swallow a camel, and avoided dealing with or teaching the weightier matters of the law.
I hope that this answers your question Fred. I think if you re-read this post having these kinds of things in mind, it might be easier to understand. However, I’ll re-evaluate this entire page, and try to see if there’s any way to make changes that might make this an easier thing to understand.
Thanks for your question, and God bless you in Jesus mighty name!
I am now more confused than ever, what does the cloth mean, a person place or thing, the same question about the wine?