GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
MARK 2:18-20
A Question About Fasting
18 John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. They came and asked Jesus, “Why is it that John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
There are two kinds of fasting described here and for different reasons, but it’s clear that the Pharisees pretended that they were in agreement. Fasting is going without food during the daylight hours, taking a little nourishment only at night or for breakfast before sunrise, and drinking nothing but water during the day. The idea of fasting is that the discomfort and deprivation causes one to focus attention on a spiritual matter. The Israelites were only commanded to fast on the tenth day of the seventh month (Leviticus 16:29,31; Numbers 29:7). That was the common fast that all of the Jews observed at the same time in autumn for the festival of the Day of Atonement.
The reason that the Pharisees began fasting on other days is lost in the chaotic history following the days of the Maccabees, but by Jesus’ time the Pharisees were fasting to give the impression that they were higher and more spiritual than everybody else. “In addition,” Luther explained, “they made use of distinctive gestures and marks to let it be known when they were fasting, They disfigured their faces, they did not wash or dress up, they wore a sad and gloomy look, and they affected such deep seriousness that people had to talk and sing about it” (LW 21:156).
John’s disciples fasted as an expression of repentance. In that case, the discomfort of fasting would bring on the desire to eat or drink, but the mind says, “No, I will not eat or drink, and just as I can deny my body food, so also I can deny my flesh the other pleasures or desires that tempt me, and keep myself from sinning.” But the mind that thinks this way is deceived, because everything a person does is tainted by sin, even the most righteous, pious, or generous deed.
Also, if I decide to fast, and this causes another man to stumble and fall into sin because he thinks he should fast in order to achieve something, then I have not done a good thing at all. So Paul’s word, “If what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again” (1 Corinthians 8:13), can also stand this way: “If by my fasting I cause my brother to fall into sin, I will never fast again.” For those who truly want to fast (which is not commanded) for a good spiritual reason such as repentance, Jesus said: “When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face so that it will not be obvious to people that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen, and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:17-18).
The Pharisees took every opportunity to confront Jesus, to challenge him, to test him, and to try and trip him up. They even pretended to have a false fellowship with John’s disciples in this case: “We’re all fasting” (though not for the same reasons), “why aren’t you?”
19 Jesus said to them, “The friends of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then on that day they will fast.
Jesus teaches by example, by comparison, and by analogy. When there’s a happy celebration like the groom’s arrival at a wedding, the guests don’t act glum. The groom shows up and they cheer, because in their culture the arrival of the groom meant that the marriage was about to take place and the feast could soon begin.
“Bridegroom” in English is simply the word for the man about to get married or as he is getting married. In Greek the bride is a nymphe and the groom is a nymphios: “girl (getting married)” and “boy (getting married).” It is sometimes proposed that “the friends of the bridegroom” just means “people at a wedding,” But “Aren’t people happy at a wedding?” isn’t the comparison Jesus makes. It’s all about the bridegroom being with the guests, and then about the removal of that bridegroom. That’s the time to fast. When we understand this, we see that right from the beginning, Jesus was warning his disciples about the moment when he would be arrested and crucified. Now they were sitting at the Lord’s feet listening to him, learning from him, and being strengthened in their faith. Surely any of the Old Testament prophets would have been appalled to think that anyone would fast while the Messiah was on the earth, walking through the villages and cities, teaching and healing the people. But here were the Pharisees doing exactly that. Wasn’t this a moment to celebrate? Isaiah had yearned for it: “They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them” (Isaiah 19:22), and “the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven” (Isaiah 33:24). But Isaiah did not get to see the Lord’s miracles or hear him preach (Matthew 13:17).
The fasting of grief and mourning would follow after the crucifixion for a short while, until the third day when Jesus showed himself risen and alive to Mary Magdalene (John 20:14). That fasting (which was grief for the death of Jesus) does not continue today, because Christ is risen and ascended. If we suffer today, we suffer for the sake of the gospel. God may allow trouble to come, but it is to turn us to him, to strengthen our faith, and to toughen us up for even more difficult troubles yet to come. And “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17). And if we feel as if there is nothing more for us to do, if the sentence of death hangs over our heads because of age, disaster or disease, then we can still remember Paul’s encouragement: “This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9).
To summarize: Since Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses, there is no longer any command from God to fast at any time, not even the one time commanded in Leviticus. But while fasting might serve a good purpose for certain Christians, especially with regard to repentance and avoiding certain temptations, it is not required. But while Jesus was present in the world, fasting was almost a denial of his Divinity (especially by the Pharisees and Sadducees). Who would ever refuse an invitation from God when he has invited us to his banquet? Yet for a short time, following his crucifixion, his followers would indeed fast, grieve, and mourn. But since he has risen we no longer have any reason to mourn for Christ in any way. Praise him! Praise God and bless his holy name! The resurrection of Jesus means the resurrection of all who have faith in him, the resurrection to everlasting life. Christ has died; Christ has risen! Christ will come again!
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Mark 2:18-20 Why fast