As we learned when we studied the book of Zechariah, the Lord gives a specific commandment to the Jews about fasting only on the Day of Atonement. However, a person might choose to fast for various other reasons, such as while praying for God's guidance, or before entering a battle or other life-threatening situation (such as Esther did when going before the king without being summoned by him, an offense punishable by death), or while mourning the loss of a loved one, or while repenting of sin as a sign of sorrow. There's nothing wrong with fasts performed in the right spirit. There are proper occasions for fasting, but as we will learn today, a proper occasion is not while Jesus is on the earth in the flesh.
"Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, 'How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but Yours are not?'" (Mark 2:18) The insinuation is that the disciples are unrighteous for not fasting and Jesus is unrighteous for not ordering them to fast. These busybodies are saying something like, "John the Baptist is a great evangelist, and he and his disciples fast. The Pharisees are great teachers, and they and their disciples fast. You have made Yourself out to be someone greater than John or the Pharisees, yet we don't see You or Your disciples fasting. How can we believe You're the Son of God if You don't honor God by fasting?"
Fasting has its place. For example, we found Jesus fasting in the desert before beginning His ministry. But there are a lot of wrong reasons to fast, such as the one found in Matthew 6:16 when Jesus accuses some of His countrymen of being hypocritical in their fasts. They are doing it only to be observed and praised by others. Others do it because they feel sorry for themselves and for all the troubles that have come upon the nation since its defeat by Babylon, as in Zechariah 7:4-7 where the Lord rebukes the people for fasting in self-pity and not in repentance. Still others are putting on a pious act during their fasts while behaving unrighteously toward their fellow man, as Isaiah points out in Isaiah 58:3-5. Today we learn of another improper way to fast, and that is fasting during what should be a time of rejoicing.
"Jesus answered, 'How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? They cannot, so long as they have Him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.'" (Mark 2:19-20) A wedding is a joyous time. The family and friends of the bride and groom come together to celebrate the new family that is being made. Everyone eats and drinks and laughs and dances. Imagine how ungrateful it would appear if the guests refused to enjoy the food and drink on the table in front of them. Imagine how insulting it would be to the bride and groom if the guests turned their noses up at the beautiful and expensive dinner provided for their enjoyment. Jesus is telling His critics that He is the bridegroom, and so long as the bridegroom is in the house, those assembled there should rejoice. It's not a time for fasting. It's a time for making merry. Jesus is saying, "I'm here with you in the flesh. Celebrate with Me! The time for fasting will be later on, when I'm no longer in the world, but the time for rejoicing is now."
To drive the point home, Jesus illustrates it with two parables. "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins." (Mark 2:21-22) The religious leaders have twisted the word of God into a religion of salvation by works, when salvation has always been by faith. Abraham was credited with righteousness by his faith in God, not by his works (Genesis 15:6) and righteousness is still credited based on faith. But the religious leaders of Jesus' day have created a mold into which they attempt to stuff everyone, and it's a mold of burdensome rules and regulations that no man or woman can successfully follow. They are now trying to stuff Jesus into that mold and He simply will not fit. He is teaching salvation by faith and He will not be forced into the Pharisees' mold, nor will He allow His followers to be forced into it. Christ came so that man could have a relationship with his Maker, not to give man more rules to follow.
The Lord Jesus Christ wants to have a relationship with you and me. Concentrating on rules and regulations will only take our focus off Him and put it back on ourselves. Loving the Lord naturally leads to living a life that honors Him, so we are meant to concentrate on building our relationship with Him. The closer we grow to Him, the more we grow away from our old sinful ways of living.
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