What is the Parable of the Feast, the Parable of the Cloth, and the Parable of the Wineskins?

from the old testament

• Fasting is not explicitly prescribed in the Old Testament in the way it was practiced in the New Testament. The question John’s disciples ask, then, is not truly grounded in the Old Testament but reflects an addition to the Mosaic Law. However, Jesus kindly doesn’t correct John’s disciples on their practice of fasting. He ignores that point to explain why His disciples do not need to fast with the arrival of the New Testament.

from the new testament

• These three short “parables” are not usually what one thinks of as parables, being closer to illustrations. However, Matthew calls the second two “parables” while Luke combines the second two into a single “parable.” Together, these illustrations largely provide a single answer to the different practices between John’s disciples and Jesus’ disciples, grounding them in the differences between the Old Testament and New Testament.
• The illustrations of the Parable of the Feast, the Parable of the Cloth, and the Parable of the Wineskins come in response to John’s disciples asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” (Matthew 9:14; cf. Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33). By Jesus’ day, the Jews fasted regularly every Monday and Thursday (we learn the specific days from the extra biblical Didache, though it’s alluded to in Luke 18:12). That was not required in the Law but had become the tradition way the Law was practiced. In this way, fasting represented the Old Testament relationship between the Jews and God.
• Jesus gave the first illustration, that of a wedding feast, to explain the difference. He said, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?” (Matthew 9:15a; cf. Mark 2:19a; Luke 5:34). His point was that no one fasts at a wedding feast. Jesus being on earth with the disciples meant the “bridegroom” was with them. While the Jews fasted to mourn for sin (cf. Matthew 6:16), the disciples were with Jesus, the Savior from sin. Therefore, it was a time of celebration, not fasting.
• However, Jesus continued: “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Matthew 9:15b; cf. Mark 2:19b; Luke 5:35). By adding this, Jesus was hinting at His own death and the fact that with it would come mourning. Then was the proper time for fasting from sadness, not now.
• In the second and third illustrations, Jesus showed that while the New Testament was anticipated in the Old Testament (cf. Jeremiah 31:31–34), it was not an extension of it but a new covenant between humanity and God. Being new meant that the Old Testament rituals and Law were incompatible with the New Covenant, which brought salvation through faith in Jesus, not the Law (cf. Galatians 3:23–25). He explained that trying to make the New and Old Testaments equal or trying to merge them would destroy the purpose and function of both.
• It was like trying to patch an old garment with new cloth (Matthew 9:16; Mark 2:21; Luke 5:36) or like pouring new wine into old wineskins (Matthew 9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37–38). Patching a shrunken garment with an unshrunk new cloth would lead to both the garment and cloth being torn when the new cloth began to shrink. Likewise, the animal skin used to carry wine becomes more brittle with age. Adding new wine, which expands as it ferments, to those old wineskins would cause the loss of both wine and container.

implications for today

Every false religion has ultimately been a works-based religion. Sin caused humans to be self-focused. One result is that we believe we can solve our own problems, even our spiritual ones. Even God’s people can do that. For example, while God gave the Law to help guide the Israelites in their relationship with Him, the Jews quickly perceived it as the means for salvation. That's because they misunderstood what He gave to them. We all have the temptation to trust in rituals, checklists, and religious systems to somehow save us. But they cannot. Only God can.

And God made it possible for us to be saved. He sent Jesus to die the death we deserved and to rise again so we can be forgiven of our sins for all eternity if we will trust in Him. Still, obedience is part of the life we have been called to live. Why? Because that is where true life is found. God's ways are the best ways. The commands He gives us show us His heart and reveal how life goes best. Today, Christians can fall into the same trap of thinking that obeying God's rules or having and following traditions is what brings or maintains our salvation. While the Bible teaches that true belief always produces good works (James 2:14–26), these works do not save anyone (Ephesians 2:8–9). Trying to earn salvation by adding works to what Jesus did is like filling an old wineskin with new wine or trying to patch an old garment with new cloth. In the end, everything is lost.

So what should we do? We need to stop trying to earn what Christ has already freely given and instead rest fully in His grace. We should obey and do good works and practice spiritual disciplines, but not to gain God’s approval. Instead, we are to do these things as grateful responses to the salvation we have already received through Jesus. Rather than trusting in our own efforts, we should trust in Christ alone, allowing the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts and produce a life that reflects genuine faith. This is the life of faith. The goal is not to work for our salvation but to live from the salvation Jesus has already accomplished.