Matthew 9:14-17  The disciples of John the Baptist come to Jesus with a question about fasting. Jesus explained that His disciples were like the attendants of the bridegroom.. at the wedding .. and that they had no need to fast since He was with them.  Fasting is meant for the purpose of drawing closer to God.. to hear from Him and to receive His help. ( See discussion on Matthew 6:16)  There was a time coming, Jesus said, when He would no longer be right there with them.. and then they would mourn and fast. But, for now.. they were celebrating the wedding! It would be inappropriate to fast at a time like that..

The next two verses are harder ( for me)  to understand...  "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. Nor do men put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved." 

The word used here for "patch" actually speaks of completing or to fill up something.  In this case to fill up a hole..  It would be inappropriate to put a new piece of cloth, which would be stiff, onto a soft, well-worn garment.  It would also be inappropriate to put new wine into a used vessel that could not withstand the fermentation process and would burst.  

Jesus was telling them that He was not the same as John the Baptist.. He was not trying to complete what John had done.. He wasn't trying to patch up the Jewish religion..  He was bringing the Kingdom.. and the old ideas.. even the ways of John..  and especially the ways of the Pharisees.. were not enough.  

New Life is what we need.. and there is only One Way to receive it.. through Jesus Christ alone!

Father in heaven, open our understanding to grasp what You want us to learn through this passage.  We don't want to cling to old ways of thinking.. but to be transformed by  the renewing of our minds through the work of the Holy Spirit. We desire the fulness of the reign of Christ Jesus in our lives.  We ask that You come to us "like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth." Flow, Spirit, flow.. set our hearts on fire with the great love of God, to the glory of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!