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14 Then the disciples of John came to Jesus saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus said to them, “Can the groomsmen mourn while the groom is with them? There will come a day when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth onto an old cloak, for when it shrinks it will pull away from the cloak, and there will be an even worse tear. 17 No one pours new wine into old wineskins, for if they do, the wineskins will burst, the wine will be spilled, and the wineskins ruined. Instead they put new wine into new wineskins, so that both will be preserved.” 

  18 While he was saying these things, an official came and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus and his disciples rose and followed the man. 20 Now there was a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years; she came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of his cloak, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned to look at her and said, “Take courage, daughter: your faith has saved you.” The woman was healthy from that hour. 23 When Jesus arrived at the official’s house, he saw an upset crowd along with funeral musicians. 24 He said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead, but asleep,” and the people ridiculed him. 25 When the crowd was put out, Jesus went in and laid his hand on her, and the girl rose. 26 News of this spread throughout that whole land.

Comments

In verses 14-17, Jesus explains the inappropriateness of fasting while he is present by comparing it to mourning at a wedding. (In the OT, God’s saving action in the world was sometimes compared to the joy of a wedding feast, e.g. Isaiah 61-62.) Piety that does not fit the situation is like an unshrunk piece of cloth patched onto an old garment, or new wine poured into old wineskins. (In the ancient world, wine was stored in leather sacks called wineskins. New wine releases gas as it continues to ferment. If it were put in old wineskins, it would burst the leather that had become brittle with age.)

The twin stories in 18-26 mirror the leper story in 8.1-4. They again involve Jesus healing people it was taboo to touch or be touched by: a woman with a hemorrhage (Lev 15.25-27) and a corpse (Lev 22.4).