There are four “new” things to be noted here in Jesus’ parables of the “new garment” and the “new wineskin.”

“¹⁶No man putteth a piece of new cloth (unprocessed cloth) unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent (tear) is made worse.

¹⁷ Neither do men put new wine into old bottles (wineskins): else the bottles (old wineskins) break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles (old wineskins) perish (are destroyed): but they put new wine into new bottles (wineskins), and both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:16-17)

“And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. (Luke 5:36)

We who today live during “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:2) have Paul as “THE (one) Apostle to (sent) the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13), who says “all Scripture is inspired of God” and for our learning. So, we will now look at the Scripture to decipher the meaning and spiritual truths of the four “new” things in these verses.

First, there are three different Greek words used for “new” and each is significant. As we proceed we will see how they all relate to our ‘rest’ in Christ.

1. The Greek word, agnaphos¹, is used for “new” in the “new cloth,” meaning the cloth is raw cloth, being “unfinished, unprocessed” or “unfulled.” I will explain this word shortly. This raw or “new cloth” of Matt. 9:16 actually refers to cloth that has not been dealt with, worked upon, or processed.
2. The Greek, kainos², is used for “new” as used for the “new garment” and the “new wineskin.” Vines says; new as to its “quality”; “new as to its kind, nature, or essence.” We’ll see its significance later, in detail.
3. The Greek word, neos³, is used for the “new wine.” It means “new in relation to time.” This is “newly created wine,” it has only “recently been made.” We’ll discuss its significance later, in detail.

Now we will look at the “new¹ cloth” of Matt. 9:16 and later the “new² “piece” and the “new² garment” of Luke 5:36 (above) to learn more of what they mean as to our “resting” in the Lord’s Cross-work on our behalf.

Matthew 9:16 No man putteth a piece of new¹ cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent (tear) is made worse.

This first “new” item here above is the piece of “new (raw) cloth” (Matt. 9:16); “Jesus said … No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment...” The word “new” in “new cloth” here is the Greek “agnaphos,” meaning, “cloth that is ‘raw’ or “unfinished, unprocessed, unwhitened, or unfulled.”

(Strong’s, “New” – Grk. 46, agnaphos, ag, -naf-os; from Greek 1…; properly UNFULLED, i.e. (by implication) new (cloth): - new). Unger’s Bible Dictionary: “UNFULLED” is unfinished, unprocessed, unwhitened.”

This “new” unprocessed cloth represents Jesus of Nazareth as the man before His being processed through death, burial, and resurrection (cf. 1Cor 15:3-4).

Noting the account of Jesus’ transfiguration will help us understand this better. Mark 9:3 says

“his (Jesus’) raiment (clothes) became shining, exceeding WHITE as snow; so As No ‘FULLER’ On Earth Can WHITE Them.”  

The means that Jesus in His ascendancy, His raiment or garment would be “whitened.”

The words “as no ‘fuller on earth can white them” here refers to the “fuller.” This refers to the man who processed “new (raw) cloth” to transform it from its raw natural state to become “fulled” or “whitened” cloth, readied for the ‘garment.’ Most of us older folks will recall the Fuller Brush Co. of a generations ago. They had door to door salesman who were referred to as ‘the Fuller Brush Man.’ The word “fuller” refers to... making something clean, pure, or white. Here in Jesus’ parable, the crucified Lord Jesus, then clothes believers in His pure righteousness, making the believers “exceeding white as snow,” while removing the filthiness of ALL our sins by the One sacrifice of Himself (cf. Heb. 10:12).

The interpretation is this… not only did Jesus shed His blood to pay “for the sins of the world,” He also by the cross made His righteousness’ available to be the believer’s whitened “new garment.” Believers are not only justified of their sin-debt … they are also clothed in Christ’s righteousness that permits them to have access to Father God (Rom. 5:1, 8:16).

Note the context of Matt. 9:16 where Jesus speaks of the “new cloth” and “new garment.” In the preceding verses of Matt. 9:9-11 we see that the Pharisees (v10) observed that the Lord Jesus was ‘sitting’ and eating with sinners; tax collectors, called “publicans,” and other “sinners.” All of us believers had seen as sinners. We as sinners were just like them, not qualified to come into the presence of the Lord based on our “righteousness” (cf. Titus 3:5). We needed to be clothed in Christ’s righteousness so that we may ‘sit (rest) in the presence of the Lord.’ So, here in Matt. 9:16 the Lord is telling Israel they needed to be humbled and clothed with the “new garment” of Messiah’s righteousness. Today, under “the gospel of grace,” when one first believes they have thereby “put on” Christ as their “new garment,” of righteousness and they are counted as worthy of the Lord’s presence.

Recall ‘the prodigal son’ who returned to his father was then clothed with his father’s “best robe” (Luke 15:22). The “best robe” qualified him as his father’s ‘son in good standing,’ thus enjoy communion with his father. For us, Christ’s righteousness is that “best robe” to clothe us and qualify us as “the sons of God” (1John 3:1).

Jesus of Nazareth, as “the Son of Man,” was “born of a woman made under the Law” (Gal. 4:4). He was born humanly as the raw “new (unprocessed) cloth.” This represents Jesus in His uncrucified form. Mistakenly, many so-called Christians see only the Jesus of Nazareth of before the cross, who they read of in the four Gospels. So, they try to apply to their lives what Jesus of Nazareth said and did in His earthly ministry toward Israel (cf. Matt. 15:24, Rom. 15:8). This today is the state of the Apostate Modernist Liberal/humanistic/ denominations; e.g. the liberal Episcopal, liberal Presbyterian Church (PCA), the liberal Methodist, the liberal American Baptist Church, the liberal United Church of Christ (Congregational), etc. Seeing Jesus only as a teachers and philosopher, they value the loving things they read of Jesus of Nazareth ministry in the Four Gospels… but they do not value His Cross and they ignore His warning of eternal judgment.

In His ministry to Israel Jesus of Nazareth said; “til heaven and earth pass, not one jot or title of the law would pass away until the all be fulfilled” (para, Matt. 5:18). Jesus strengthened Israel’s Law, adding to it by saying such things as; ‘if a man just looks upon a woman with lust he has already committed adultery in his heart.’ Nobody can keep all the Law. Before the cross, a faithful Israelite could only have his sins covered... not total eradication of his sins, total forgiveness. They needed more than Jesus’s wonderful humanity to instruct them… they needed the work of His cross.

Many mixed-up confused Christians today try to take the words of Jesus of Nazareth’s earthly ministry to Israel, with its Law and works… mixing them with the Pauline grace truth of who Jesus is today as the Crucified, processed, ‘whitened’ “garment” of righteousness. Note here below that such reliance upon the Old fabric of Law-keeping to any degree serves to “tear” the “new garment,” making Christ’s cross of no benefit.

“… No one tears a piece of (processed) cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old one (old garment); otherwise he will both tear the new, and The Piece From The New Will Not Match The Old” (Luke 5:36 AMP)

“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you (thinks you) are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:4)

From the above we see that our “new garment,” made of the fully processed “cloth” of the Christ of the cross is incompatible with the “old garment” of Law religion.

For grace believers, Christ’s righteousness as our “new garment” and His indwelling “law (operating principle) of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” freely given to believers … cancels and negates Religion’s Law and Works of no benefit with regard to our salvation.

Religion’s Law and works requirements actually contradict the “free gift” of our grace relationship that we enjoy during today’s age of “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:2). Grace and works are diametric opposites. Thus, Paul wrote this important, clearly stated verse;

“And if by grace, Then is it No More Of Works (Of The Law): Otherwise Grace Is No More Grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. (Romans 11:6)  

Paul says that we, now as grace believers of today’s “dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:2) are to “Know Him (Jesus of Nazareth) No More” as to what He said and did in His earthly ministry to Israel, who was under the Law.

“Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, Though We Have Known Christ After The Flesh (In His human earthly Ministry), yet now henceforth Know We Him No More.” (2 Corinthians 5:16)

Until His cross, Jesus of Nazareth was the unprocessed “new¹ cloth,” not yet fully processed. But then Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected on the third day (cf. 1Cor 15:3-4), thereby becoming the fully processed, fully whitened “cloth” of our “new² garment” of righteousness, clothing all genuine believers with His righteousness.

It was only by His being lifted up as the serpent on the cross (John 3:14) that He bore our sins and “that we might be made the righteous of God IN Him.” Just as the children of Israel were upon that brazen cross on a pole (cf. Numbers 21:4-9), we as believers are to look to Him not only as our sin-bearer, but also as our righteousness.

“For he (The Father) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; (so) That We Might Be Made The Righteousness Of God (Being Clothed) IN HIM. (2 Cor. 5:21)

Praise God, Jesus has been worked upon, processed at the cross... for us. The processing of Christ has been completed and we now have Him as our new fully “fulled,” whitened, “new garment.” We can now “rest” in His loving care and His righteousness.

“And be found In Him, NOT having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but (rather) that (righteousness) which is through the faith (faithfulness) of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith (alone):” (Phili. 3:9)

We as believers were immediately then placed or set “in Christ,” thus we are “hid” in Christ who unites us with Father God. “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)

From His resurrection onward, Jesus is the finished “new cloth” of our whitened “new garment” of righteousness, in which we are eternally clothed… that we might stand holy and blameless before the Father.

 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath (already) blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places IN CHRIST: ⁴ According as he hath chosen us IN HIM (in Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be Holy And Without Blame Before Him in (His) love:” (Ephesians 1:3-4)