The Power of the King over FASTING

Introduction: Who likes to talk about a topic that most people have little or no interest in learning about? I feel this way when we come to the topic of FASTING. I don’t hear a lot of buzz within the Christian community about FASTING. I mean I don’t hear people saying things like:

· I FASTED for the first time and wow have I ever been encouraged.

· I FASTED and God gave me breakthrough over a personal sin in my life.

· FASTING has opened a whole new way for me to connect with my God.

· I love FASTING! I can’t live without it.

· First thing I do when I plan my monthly calendar is to plan my FAST days.

· Everybody in my home is excited when FAST day. So much so that they want to invite their friends to FAST with them.

· Why hasn’t someone shared about FASTING sooner with me?

So, how many of us get excited when a preacher talks about FASTING? Especially this close to the lunch hour! Does someone talking about FASTING put you on the edge of your seat? Well, the good news is that I am not the one doing the teaching on FASTING. Here in Matthew 9:14-17, Jesus Christ is doing the teaching. Yes, Jesus is teaching about FASTING.

I. A question about Fasting – 9:14

14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

John’s disciples and the Pharisees wanted to know why Jesus’ disciples weren’t fasting.

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The disciples of John were ascetics and therefore, like the Pharisees, abounded in fasts.” Ascetics were people who practiced a lifestyle characterized by abstinence.

Our text tells is that John’s disciples and the Pharisees, “fast often” (9:14). And because they were into FASTING, they asked Jesus why He and His disciples did not fast. Were they asking for insight, or were they seeking to make a jab?

What is FASTING? It is the absence of food for a day or longer.

Fasting is mentioned over 70 times throughout Scripture. Here are some of the People who fasted:

· Moses fasted 40 days and 40 night – Exodus 34:28

· David fasted – 2 Samuel 1:12

· Elijah fasted for 40 days and 40 night – 1 Kings 19:8

· Ezra the Priest fasted – Ezra 10:6-17

· Esther fasted – Esther 4:15-17

· Daniel fasted – Daniel 10:3

· Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights - Matthew 4:2

· Paul fasted for 3 days – Acts 9:9

· Church Elders in Antioch fasted – Acts 13:1-3

Have you ever FASTED? Gone without food for spiritual reasons? The longest period that I have fasted has been for a day – 24 hours.

I knew a man that extremely obese, and he fasted once for 30 days. His reason was weight loss.

Biblical FASTING is done for spiritual purposes: To strengthen prayer, to seek God’s guidance, to express grief, to seek deliverance and protection, to express repentance and a return to God, to humble oneself before God, to express concern for the work of God, to minister to the needs of others, to overcome temptation, to express love and worship to God (the nivbible.com).

Notice in our text that John’s disciples connected themselves with the Pharisees. I don’t want to be negative here, but the Pharisees FASTED only to be seen by men. We read this earlier in the Gospel of Matthew in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:16). I don’t think I would have used the tag “Pharisee” when I spoke to Jesus. I would have simply asked, why do we fast, and you and your disciples do not fast? But to put myself alongside of the Pharisees, I don’t think I would have done that.

The Pharisees were all external. Spiritual FASTING has to do with the internal – what is happening within the heart.

Next, we see Jesus’ answer to John’s disciples. I would suggest that we try our best to understand what Jesus was saying to the disciples of John. Jesus’ FASTING TRUTH is important for us to grasp.

II. A time will come to FAST – 9:15

15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

The picture Jesus provides is that of wedding. There is a bridegroom, and he is hosting a party. What is Jesus teaching the disciples of John? He says to them,

A. Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? – 9:15a

You don’t FAST at a celebration! The bridegroom is present! It is a time for rejoicing, a time for feasting. A time of joy and celebration. Wedding guests are not asked to FAST. The disciples were the guests of the bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

Last Sunday before our children left our home, I told them that next Sunday that instead of eating a meal together that we would be FASTING. It didn’t go over to well. I thought I was going to have a revolt on my hands. Of course, I was only joking with them.

I like what Tony Evans says in his commentary. He wrote, “Jesus’s simple answer was, “Because it’s a party.” The kingdom of God had come near because the King of the kingdom—the Messiah—had arrived. A time for fasting would come later when the groom (King Jesus) was taken from them. As sure as you don’t grieve at a wedding feast (9:15), you don’t fast at a celebration.” Evans, Tony. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (p. 1469). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

In the Bible Exposition Commentary on Matthew we read, First, we need to understand why Jesus' disciples didn't fast then, in the time of Jesus' earthly ministry. That's the big question posed by John's disciples, to which Jesus replies, "Can the wedding guests be sad while the groom is with them?" (v. 15). This loaded statement from Jesus is worth reflecting on. Fasting is related to sadness or mourning. Fasting is a picture of mourning, of broken-heartedness. Oftentimes, people fast when things aren't going the way they are supposed to. But Jesus here uses the imagery of a wedding feast with wedding guests and a bridegroom. Throughout the Old Testament, God had pictured Himself as the husband, the groom, of His bride Israel. For instance, Hosea says, In that day—this is the Lord's declaration—you will call Me, 'My husband.' . . . I will take you to be My wife forever. I will take you to be My wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion. I will take you to be My wife in faithfulness, and you will know Yahweh. (Hos 2:16, 19-20) These were promises that God would draw His people to Himself like a groom seeks after a bride. With this beautiful imagery, Jesus is making the incredible claim, "The groom is with you!" In other words, "I am the groom!" Jesus is saying that He is God, and that He has come to betroth His people to Him forever. In light of the fact that Jesus is claiming to be present as the groom, it makes sense that His disciples would not be fasting. You don't sit around at a wedding mourning and fasting. This is a time for feasting, not fasting. (Platt, David. Exalting Jesus in Matthew (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.)

Before the coming of Jesus Christ people FASTED and mourned, but now that Jesus was present, it’s a time to rejoice and to break bread and feast together. Celebrate that redemption has arrive. It’s not a time for FASTING - FASTING will come later.

Now is the time for feasting!

Old and New Testament Fasting

It's crucial that we understand the difference between Old Testament fasting and New Testament fasting. Old Testament fasting was a longing and a waiting for the King to come. It was purely a future hope. New Testament fasting, on the other hand, has both a past and a future element to it. The past element has to do with looking back to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, believing firmly that the King has come. Followers of Christ have tasted the new wine of His presence. We have been forgiven of our sins, and we have been satisfied by our Savior. So in that sense, there is not mourning; there is rejoicing. Yet, at the same time, we have been promised that there is more to come; this is the future element to our fasting. Although the King has come, we know that our world is still full of sickness, disease, suffering, and pain. The effects of sin and the fall are all around us: paralysis, fevers, malaria, HIV/AIDS, cancer, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. Based on the entire context of Matthew 9, we know that Jesus (our King) has authority over all these things; therefore, what we are longing and fasting for is the day when the King will put an end to these menaces once and for all. We'll live in a new heaven and a new earth where we will dwell forever with our King (Rev 21). (Platt, David. Exalting Jesus in Matthew (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.)

There is a second truth that Jesus teaches about fasting. He says,

B. But the days will come when they will fast – 9:15b

But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

This is an allusion to the death and ascension of Jesus Christ. After Jesus dies, and after He is taken away, then, and then only will it be a time to FAST. It will be an expectant FAST. It will be FASTING for the purpose – the longing for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (Revelation 20). Therefore,

· FAST for the future of Christianity.

· FAST for the future of the Family.

· FAST for the future of Christ’s Second Coming.

John Piper writes, ““Then they will fast”—until the second coming.”[1]

So, I would suggest to you that fasting should be a part of our Christianity. How often we FAST should be left up to each believer. I would also remind us of the criteria that Jesus provided us back in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:16-18). Jesus said these three things about fasting:

1. When you fast don’t be like the hypocrites who disfigure their faces so as to appear to be fasting. The point is that fasting should be done in secret.

2. When you fast anoint your head and wash your face. The point is that we are to have good hygiene when we fast.

3. When you fast don’t appear to be fasting. The point is fasting is to be done in private – it’s between you and God.

So, NOW is the time to FAST! Jesus is gone. We are too FAST.

III. A change has to be made – 9:16-17

16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. 17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Christianity V. Judaism

A. No on puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment – 9:16

A new patch is incompatible with old clothes. Don’t try and practice Christianity through hanging on to the practices found in the Old Testament. You will soon wear yourself out by trying, and the tear will become worse. Jesus is saying that God has done something new, and everyone needs to comprehend what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ. A key to understand is that Jesus Christ has fulfilled all that we read in the Old Testament. The entire Old Testament pointed to the coming of Jesus Christ – it testified of Him! Jesus Christ is “Better” than everything we read about in the Old Testament – Read the Book of Hebrews. Pick up my two commentaries on Hebrews. They will help you to see what we as believer have in Jesus Christ – He is superior to everything in the old covenant.

Grace V. Law

B. Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins – 9:17

A second illustration that Jesus uses involves wine. He states that new wine should not be put into old wine skins. I have read, “The strength of fermentation of the new wine would be too much for partly worn old, or inelastic skins and they would break.” Again, it is incompatible. Christ didn’t come to weld the two – old and new together. No, He came to make all things NEW (Revelation 21:5). Jesus transforms every part of our lives – don’t miss this.

Now is the time to make sure all things are new. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read,

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away behold all things have become new.”

If you try and put Christian truth into an unchanged life you will discover that it just doesn’t work. You might feel good about yourself, but there is really no transformation. Some people may even be deceived into thinking that they are Christians, when in fact all they are doing is practicing Christian truth without the reality of being a new creation in Jesus Christ.

Don’t try and put new wine (a picture again of a new life in Christ) into old wineskins (Judaism). No, new wine needs to be held in new wineskins. Everything becomes new for the one who is in Jesus Christ.

Are you a believer? Have you given your life to Jesus Christ? I hope you have. But, if you haven’t why not make a decision to follow Jesus Christ today.

Conclusion: What are the take home truths for today? There are four of them I want to pass along to you. They are:

1. Religious people will always have questions as to why we practice certain things in Christianity. In this case, “Why are you not FASTING?”

2. Jesus and His disciples didn’t FAST because it was a time for celebration – the bridegroom was present. It was a time for feasting and rejoicing.

3. There will be a time when FASTING will be practiced. Now is that time. For those of us living in the Church age, we should be FASTING. We should FAST until Jesus Christ returns.

4. Christ changed everything. You don’t take the old economy and mix it with the new. It’s not compatible. Christianity is superior to Judaism. Christianity is superior to all religions. And you do not try and mix grace and law together – they are not compatible. God’s people are to live under grace. Jesus Christ makes all things new. And if you are a Christian, you have been made new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

[1]Piper, J. (1997). A hunger for God: desiring God through fasting and prayer (p. 38). Crossway Books.