Matthew 9:21

No man also seweth. See on Luke 5:36. In this extended metaphor, or brief parable, Christ points out the folly of attempting to patch the old mantle of Judaism with the new fabric of His teachings.

Piece. Rather, “a patch.” Jesus’ teachings were not simply a patch to be applied to the worn-out Jewish religious system.

New. Gr. agnaphos, “uncarded,” hence, “new,” here meaning “unbleached,” or “unshrunk.”

An old garment. Here Judaism is compared to a worn-out cloak, one that has become useless and is on the point of being discarded. The original spirit of the Jewish religion had long since been lost by the majority of those who adhered to it, and in its place there had grown up a system of forms. By the use of this figure Christ endeavored to make clear to the disciples of John the Baptist the futility of trying to interweave the good news of the kingdom of heaven with the worn-out observances of Jewish tradition.

Made worse. That is, when the garment first becomes wet after the application of the patch. What is intended to improve the old mantle only serves to make its defects more evident.