General Old Vs New Patches and Wine

[benadam1974]

Luke 5 BSB
36 “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will tear the new garment as well, and the patch from the new will not match the old.
37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined.
38 Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.
39 And no one after drinking old wine wants new, for he says, The old is better. ”

The Ryrie Study Bible note on v 37 says:

The point is that the new teaching of the grace of Christ cannot be contained within the old forms of the Law (John 1.17).

Jesus says as much when he says the patches do not match (v.36), i.e., they are not the same. And in v.39 the Pharisees prefer the old because that's all they know, all they're comfortable with. But Jesus says new is always better than old!

Hence, both the immediate and wider context shows that Jesus is talking about Torah, the Law of Moses. For example, note how back in Luke 5.12 - 26 Jesus breaks Jewish purification laws by touching "unclean" people to heal them.
And note how in v.14 he tells the healed to "go to the priest and make the ceremonial offering which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” i.e., to appease Torah-observant Jews.

In Luke 5.27-32 Jesus is shown breaking Jewish food laws by eating with "sinners."
The Expositor's Bible Commentary notes that the "word denotes those people who refuse to follow the Mosaic Law (on Mar. 2.16)."

And in Luke 5.33-34 Jesus is shown breaking Jewish laws pertaining to fasting (see Lev 16:29-31; Zech 8:19).

Furthermore, the wider context, Luke 6.1-11, shows followers of Jesus breaking the Sabbath, cp. Mat 12.5 where Jesus declares "they break the Sabbath yet are innocent"!

The point is that Jesus' mission is not merely to "patch things up" (i.e., repair or rehash Old Covenant laws) but to create a whole New garment (a New Law) which, by definition, is radically different, therefore much better, than the old!

Again, the Expositor's Bible Commentary on Luke 5.37-38.

Jesus' teaching is like fermenting wine that seems to almost have inherent vigor and cannot be contained within an old rigid system.
Later on Jesus will speak of a new covenant (22:20), which is indeed new and not merely an improved extension of the old.

And the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume 2, p 175.

Whatever else discipleship required, it apparently provided significant freedom from punctilious [careful, meticulous] observance of the law.
Fasting (2:18-22), sabbath-observance (2:23-3:6), the distinction between "clean" and "unclean" (7:1-23)….The final norm is no longer the precepts of Moses but the Lord and His words (8:38).

Lastly, Matthew makes the same contrast between the Law of Moses and the new, improved, radically different Law of Messiah.

Matt 5.18 ESV
For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Matt 24:35 ESV
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.