How does Luke 5:36 connect with 2 Corinthians 5:17 about new creation? The Scene in Luke 5 • Luke 5:36—“He also told them a parable: ‘No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.’” • Jesus has just been questioned about fasting; He responds with pictures of old and new to show the incompatibility of life under the old order with life in Him. The Core Truth Shared with 2 Corinthians 5:17 • 2 Corinthians 5:17—“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!” • Both passages stress the same reality: God doesn’t repair the old nature; He replaces it. Salvation is not spiritual patchwork—it is wholesale re-creation. Why a Patch Won’t Work • A new patch shrinks and tears the old garment—symbolizing how grace and law, flesh and Spirit, cannot be fused (Galatians 2:21). • Mixing old and new destroys both: the patch is wasted and the garment ruined, echoing Jesus’ warning that trying to add Him to an unchanged heart results in loss rather than blessing (Mark 7:6-8). New Creation Defined • “New creation” (kainos) means qualitatively new, never existing before—just as a new garment is entirely fresh. • The believer’s identity, desires, and destiny are recreated (Ephesians 4:22-24). Old Has Passed Away • “Old” (archaios) signifies what is worn out, obsolete. In Luke, the old cloth is beyond usefulness; in Paul, the old self is crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6). Practical Implications • Stop stitching old habits onto new life—break with sin patterns instead of managing them (Colossians 3:9-10). • Rely on the Spirit, not self-effort; new wine needs new wineskins (Luke 5:37-38; Galatians 5:16). • Embrace growth: a new garment fits better every day as Christ’s character matures in you (Philippians 1:6). Supporting Scriptures • Ezekiel 36:26—“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.” • John 3:3—“Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” • Titus 3:5—“He saved us… through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” |
    |