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The Patch and the Wineskins is a set of related allegories, occurring in the Gospels of Thomas (Thomas 104 combined with Thomas 47), of Mark (Mark 2:18–22), of Matthew (Matthew 11–17), and of Luke (Luke 5:32–39. In Thomas it has no narrative context, but in all three of the Synoptic Gospels it is given immediately after the recruitment of Levi/Matthew to be an Apostles, and is given as a justification for why Jesus and his followers do not fast, even though those of John the Baptist do.
In terminology that was often used by the gnostics , Jesus is presented as speaking of himself as a bridegroom and his disciples as the wedding guests, arguing that you cannot make wedding guest fast while the bridegroom is with them, only when the bridegroom is taken away. Further justification is then given by arguing that no-one uses part of a new item of clothing to repair an old piece of clothing, because the new will become damaged, and the old will not match the new patch. This is re-inforced by the similar argument that no-one wants to drink new wine immediately after they have tasted wine that has aged; new wine isn't poured into old wineskin because there is a risk of them splitting and so spilling the content; and similarly no-one adds old wine to new wineskin because it would run the risk of ruining the taste.
These similar statements have, together, become considered a famous parable of Jesus. It is usually interpreted to mean that Jesus was proposing a new way of doing things. Many, especially Christians, have interpreted it as Jesus saying he was the start of a new religion separate from Judaism, and from that of John the Baptist. Some Christians have used it to propose new ways of being Christian or even entirely new forms of Christianity. In the early second century Marcion used it to justify his doctrine of Marcionism.
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