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Why fasting? (Mk 2:18-22, Mt 9:14-17)
(the incorrect view of fasting)
“Why not your disciples fast?” This is the question raised by the disciples of John the Baptist. (Matt 9:14) This is undoubtedly a religious practice to them. The Pharisees do. The disciples of John do. To them it is natural to fast, just like the Muslims that fast during the Ramadan month. So, the disciples of Jesus should do the same, or they will be disobeying the requirement of Jewish tradition. See, they are putting the same standard or religious demand on Jesus’ disciples.
A lot of places in the Bible talk about fasting, its effectiveness and instructions. However, it is interesting to note that ‘fasting’ is not found in the Pentateuch, not even in the Book of Leviticus that records all kinds of rituals and offerings. “Fasting” is first found in Judges 20:26 that records the defeat of the Israelites by their brothers Benjamin. They “wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.” They then enquired God whether they should fight back against their brothers. The second place that mentions fasting is I Samuel 7:6, where the Prophet and Judge Samuel gathered the Israelites in Mizpeh and prayed for them before the Lord because they worshipped the idols. They “fasted on that day, and said there, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.” One of the most impressive times of fasting is recorded in Esther 4:16 when the whole Jewish race is encountering the danger of being annihilated. Persian Queen Esther responded to her cousin’s urgent demand by calling Mordecai (who took her as his daughter to nurture her) to gather all the Jews in Shushan (the capital of Persia) and “fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day.” She was about to see the king without his advanced permission, and ask for the change of the king’s order.
The above three cases in O.T. mentioned that fasting occurred in some special occasions in which the people of Israel fasted and wept before the Lord. If we compare Mark 2:19 (‘Can the children of the bridechamber fast’) with Matt 9:15 (‘Can the children of the bridechamber mourn’), we shall find that fasting and mourning are linked together in Jesus’ word. This is aptly reflected in the three cases cited in the O.T. So, is fasting a demand to meet certain religious requirement or a need for some particular event? This is precisely what Jesus is challenging the religious people. Instead of fulfilling a religious demand, Jesus is asking the question: what is the actual purpose of fasting?
Before we answer this question, we might first explore: what is the motive behind the Pharisees’ fasting. If we compare ‘fasting’ with ‘eating’ (Mark 2:15-17), we shall discover the same motive for the Pharisees: to show to others how pious they are, only with totally different effects. They do not eat with publicans and sinners. They have no association with the lowest of the grass-roots at all, or their religious status would be debased. Fasting has the opposite “effect”--to heighten their religious status. And they simply think that every religious person should share the same feeling. That’s why they wonder so much why Jesus and his disciples behave otherwise.
See how Jesus denounces them in Matthew 23—“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”. 7 times he repeated the same hard tone! (Matt 23: 13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29) Here are his comments for their hypocrisy: “all their works they do for to be seen of men” (Matt 23:5); “even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” (Matt 23:28) In his Sermon of the Mount, Jesus corrected the erroneous concept about fasting: “when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” (Matt 6:16-18)
Now, Jesus challenges them with another question: “Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?” (v19) Fasting instead of eating in a celebration event is of course inappropriate, just like joyful dancing instead of mourning in a funeral service is unimaginable. There is a time when it is necessary for fasting to be held, that is when the bridegroom is taken away. Jesus is of course talking about his death. So, Jesus is teaching them to focus back on the necessity of those religious practices. This is not a new concept. Only that the scribes and the Pharisees have traditionally distorted the spirit of the religious deeds and turned them into inhumane rituals and rules.
Old garment and old wine bottles refer to the requirements under the Old Testament law of Moses. Old cloth and old wine refer to the corresponding behavior as stated under the Old Testament laws. The religious requirements under the O.T. laws should only be carried out in the O.T. period, such as the worship rituals and offerings as instructed in the Book of Leviticus. Jesus’ coming is accompanied by the New Testament law of grace and truth: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). The Pharisees in Jesus’ times (New Testament period) still insisted on abiding by the law of Moses in order to be claimed as righteous in God’s eyes. They are doomed to fail. Paul said in Romans 10:31-32, “But Israel, which followed after the law of
righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.” And even the Jews nowadays still stick to such unpromising principle and pursue God’s righteousness by virtue of rigid religious acts. Paul explained very clearly the concept of “righteousness through faith” in Romans 3. In Rom 3:21-28, Paul said, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested…which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe…Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness…By what law? Of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” This is the concept of new cloth sewn in new garment and new wine put in new bottle.
As regards eating and fasting, it is interesting to note that some radical thinking of the Muslim religion contains rules to prohibit the Muslims from eating with Christians at the same table, since they think that by so doing, they are cultivating a close relationship with them. The Muslims also have the same mind of pursuing self-righteousness by fasting in Ramadan month. They have the same problem as the Jews nowadays.
(the correct view of fasting)
For our own application, fasting can bring our minds closer to God in that we learn to get rid of our physical desire of eating during fasting (Jesus’ first test in the wilderness). It serves to help us focus more on divine matters rather than worldly desires. Nevertheless, it is a wrong concept if we feel that by fasting we can be more religious or sacred. This is no difference from the thinking of the Pharisees.
Fasting can also express our urgent desire for a prayer request to be answered. The three examples of Israelites’ fasting in the beginning of this article demonstrate their urgent request before God. In fasting prayer, fasting can increase our trust in God and help us understand more of His will. Through fasting prayer, we also aspire to move God’s heart to respond to our urgent prayer request.