On Sunday, December 17, 2023 I (Pastor Tommy) preached a sermon on Matthew 9:14-17 which you can listen to here. This week, one of our pastors lovingly confronted me regarding some peculiarities in how I approached teaching the passage. In particular, the verse in question was verse 16:
Matthew 9:16
No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. (ESV)
In brief summary, this passage features a conversation between Jesus and the disciples of John who contend with Jesus and his disciples over their lack of fasting. Jesus responds with a correction to reveal that his ministry and the Gospel will not fit the religious expectations of that day.
In my sermon I argued that verse 16 above refers to the flexibility of Christ– that if he were not gracious enough to condescend and teach like He did with the disciples of John (and the Pharisees verses 10-13, and the scribes in verses 1-7) then He would have not been able to patch the rips and tears in people's misunderstandings about God and how to have a relationship with Him. Therefore, Jesus “shrunk” Himself to meet people where they were at, literally leaving Heaven and “shrinking” into the form of humanity to be with us in our sinfulness and deliver us the Good News. In the humble form of humanity, humans could look and see the face of Jesus when we would otherwise not be able to (Exodus 33:20).
I then argued that we, as His followers, ought to be willing to “shrink” and be flexible to meet people where they are at just like He did. To not maintain superiority even when we’re right or have a more firm grasp on truth or understand more fully our freedom in Christ… or else our lack of “shrinking” humility further tears our weaker brothers (Romans 14:13-23) or those who have no faith at all.
While the pastors agree that nothing I said was unbiblical, I failed to emphasize the main thrust of the passage as a whole in my interpretation of this verse. A more intuitive interpretation of verse 16 is simply pointing to the incompatibility between Jesus and His Gospel, and the “old” covenant under the law. The illustration then does not articulate what should be done (shrink the cloth first before patching), but that Jesus didn’t come to patch anything up at all– he came to bring something completely new: a new covenant, illustrated by new wine (verse 17).
We ought to hold this in tension with Matthew 5:17-20 and the fact that Christianity is not Judaism 2.0— it is the completed relationship of faith which God had originally intended for His people Israel, made possible by Christ. What I preached on Sunday was technically right. But as your shepherd who is responsible for your spiritual nourishment and who will have to give account to God for my preaching and teaching, I have no satisfaction in being “technically right.”
It is of utmost importance that MERCYhouse receives sound and accurate Biblical teaching– it’s what Elders are charged with ensuring (Titus 2:1)! This is because the Word of God is precious (Psalm 119:72), it is nourishing (Psalm 19:7) and it is a firm foundation for us to build our lives upon (Matthew 7:24-27). But God’s Word is most precious, most nourishing and the firmest foundation when we understand it as God intended.
I am thankful that MERCYhouse has elders who are not afraid to correct teaching, and who love our church enough to have hard conversations in order to sharpen iron with iron. Thank you all for your patience as I grow as a Bible teacher.
In Christ, the Word of God,
Pastor Tommy