Lukas 5:36

5:36 He also told them a parable: ¹  “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews ²  it on an old garment. If he does, he will have torn ³  the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. ⁴ 

Lukas 6:35

6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. ⁵  Then ⁶  your reward will be great, and you will be sons ⁷  of the Most High, ⁸  because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ⁹ 

[5:36]  ¹ sn The term parable in a Semitic context can cover anything from a long story to a brief wisdom saying. Here it is the latter.

[5:36]  ² tn Grk “puts”; but since the means of attachment would normally be sewing, the translation “sews” has been used.

[5:36]  ³ tn Grk “he tears.” The point is that the new garment will be ruined to repair an older, less valuable one.

[5:36]  ⁴ sn The piece from the new will not match the old. The imagery in this saying looks at the fact that what Jesus brings is so new that it cannot simply be combined with the old. To do so would be to destroy what is new and to put together something that does not fit.

[6:35]  ⁵ tn Or “in return.”

[6:35]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the outcome or result. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.

[6:35]  ⁷ sn The character of these actions reflects the grace and kindness of God, bearing witness to a “line of descent” or relationship of the individual to God (sons of the Most High). There is to be a unique kind of ethic at work with disciples. Jesus refers specifically to sons here because in the ancient world sons had special privileges which were rarely accorded to daughters. However, Jesus is most likely addressing both men and women in this context, so women too would receive these same privileges.

[6:35]  ⁸ sn That is, “sons of God.”

[6:35]  ⁹ tn Or “to the ungrateful and immoral.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.