If one were to fuse together the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the “new garment,” which can never be harmonized with “Judaism,” the “old garment”—and in doing so create and proclaim a “mixed gospel,” then that is a false gospel, a counterfeit gospel!

If one were to fuse together the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the “new garment,” which can never be harmonized with “Judaism,” the “old garment”—and in doing so create and proclaim a “mixed gospel,” then that is a false gospel, a counterfeit gospel!

 

 

 

 

 

 

“He also told them a parable: ‘No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new one, and the piece from the new will not match the old’” (Luke 5:36).

 

 

 

While meditating on the words, I desire to receive the instruction given through this passage.

 

(1)   Today, as I read and meditated on Luke 5:36–39, I thought it would be good to divide the meditation into two parts. So today, I will meditate only on Luke 5:36, and tomorrow, Friday, I plan to meditate on verses 37–39.

 

(a)    After reading today’s meditation text, Luke 5:36, I first looked to see whether the same teaching appears in Matthew and Mark. It does: (Mt..9:16) “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made.”  (Mark 2:21 ) “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.”  After comparing these three passages together, I meditate on Jesus’ parable in two ways:

 

(i)               First, Jesus says that no one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment (Lk. 5:36a; Mt. 9:16a; Mk. 2:21a).

 

·        Here, the “new garment” represents the Gospel of Christ, and the “old garment” refers to Judaism, which had misunderstood and misapplied the Law. This illustrates that Judaism and the Gospel of Christ cannot be combined (Hochma).

 

-        When I think about the Judaizers who followed Judaism, I am reminded again of Philippians 3:2a: “Beware of the dogs.”  The apostle Paul warns the believers in the Philippian church to watch out for “the dogs.” But who were these “dogs”?  In the first century, dogs were vicious, wandered around the streets as they pleased, rummaging through garbage heaps for food. Because of this, people considered them filthy animals. Thus, the Jews of that time viewed Gentiles as dogs—unclean creatures with whom they would not associate.  This is why in the story of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), the apostle John includes this note: “For Jews do not associate with Samaritans” (Jn. 4:9). 

 

-        First-century Jews, believing they were God’s chosen people, looked down on Gentiles and did not even treat them as human beings. The Talmud says that among the three prayers traditional Jewish men prayed each morning, the first was: “God, I thank You that I was born not a Gentile but a Jew.”  Does this not sound similar to the Pharisee’s prayer in Luke 18:11?  “God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.”  But Paul was not calling Gentiles “dogs.” Rather, when he told the Philippian believers to beware of the “dogs” (Phil. 3:2), he had the Jews—specifically the Judaizers—in mind.

 

n  Who, then, were these Judaizers?  They were one of the groups that vehemently attacked the Gospel in its early days.  They insisted that for Gentiles to be justified, they must observe Old Testament rituals (especially circumcision).  Paul declared their teaching and their false gospel to be heresy, even pronouncing a curse upon them (Galatians).  The problem, however, was that within the churches, these Judaizers were widely regarded as true believers—such was the case in the churches of Galatia (Gal. 2:12).  But in reality, they undermined the clarity of the Gospel, corrupted it severely, and confused Gentile believers.  Summarizing the cause of the confusion: Paul taught that a person (1) first believes in Christ, (2) is then immediately justified before God, and (3) afterward prepares to obey God’s Law.  But the Judaizers taught that a person (1) believes in Christ, (2) then strives to keep the Law as best as possible, and (3) after that is justified (J. Gresham Machen).

 

#    The difference may appear small, but in reality, it is enormous.  Paul taught that salvation comes solely by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, whereas the Judaizers taught that salvation is achieved by human effort in keeping the Law.  The true Gospel Paul preached focuses on what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross (grace).  The false gospel of the Judaizers focuses on what sinful people do (merit).  In short: Paul: salvation by God’s grace.  Judaizers: salvation by human works.  Paul called these Judaizers “dogs” because they wandered about greedily, posing as teachers for the sake of material gain (Phil. 3:19).  Thus, Paul warned the Philippian believers to be on guard against these false teachers who proclaimed a corrupt gospel.

 

(ii)             Second, Jesus says that if one tears a piece from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment, not only will the new garment be ruined and the patch fail to match the old garment (Lk. 5:36b), but the new patch will also pull on the old garment and tear it even more (Mk. 2:21b; Mt. 9:16b).

·        I meditate on this in three parts. If a piece is torn from a new garment and used to patch an old garment, then…

 

-        The new garment becomes unusable (Lk. 5:36).

 

n  If one attempts to mix the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the “new garment”—with Judaism—the “old garment”—to create a “mixed gospel,” that becomes a fake gospel, a false gospel!

 

-        The piece torn from the new garment does not match the old garment.

 

n  How could the Gospel of Jesus Christ (“the new garment”) possibly match with Judaism (“the old garment”)?  It cannot, and it must never be made to do so.  Then what is happening?  How is it that pastors today are mixing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with Judaism and preaching a “different gospel”?  Look at Paul’s words to the Galatian believers: “There is no other gospel. But there are some who are throwing you into confusion and trying to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:7).  “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned… If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (vv. 8–9)  And what is going on in the church of Corinth?  Paul writes: “If someone comes and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.”

 

-        The new patch pulls on the old garment and tears it even more.

 

n  A new garment that has never been washed will shrink when washed. If a patch from such a garment is applied to an old one, then when the garment is washed, the shrinking new patch will pull on the old cloth and tear it even more (Internet).

n  This teaches that if the Gospel of Jesus Christ is grafted onto the old religious system of Judaism, the Jewish rituals—like an old garment—cannot withstand the new Gospel and will collapse. In other words, the Pharisees’ teachings demanded much fasting and ascetic practices, but such practices do not harmonize with Jesus’ new Gospel.  The more one compares the new teachings of Jesus with the old teachings of the Pharisees, the more the Pharisees’ teachings are exposed as isolated and deteriorating.  Therefore, Jesus teaches that His new instruction, the Gospel of grace, and the truth of life cannot be combined, even in the smallest detail, with the formalistic, Pharisaic old legalism (Lenski).  Only a new value system and new forms are suitable for the new truth (Hochma).