Mark 2:18-22 "The Presence of the Bridegroom"

The people had made an observation regarding the practice of fasting. They noticed that John’s disciples fasted and so did the disciples of the Pharisees but the disciples of Jesus didn’t fast.

We know from the law that fasting was required once a year on the Day of Atonement but the Pharisees had implemented fasting as religious discipline twice a week.

And we know from Luke’s gospel that John’s disciples often fasted and prayed as a spiritual discipline.

But Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast at all. So the people inquired about it and asked Jesus a question about the practice of His disciples.

It is in this context that our Lord gives them an explanation regarding the practice of His disciples when it came to fasting.

And this explanation serves to establish a Kingdom principle that goes beyond fasting as merely a spiritual discipline but instead it helps us understand the New Covenant context for fasting.

Look back at your text to the Explanation in verses 19-20:

I. The Explanation (19-20).

Jesus explains the practice of His disciples regarding fasting by asking a question about a wedding feast.

The question is one of stark contrast because fasting was all about self-denial of things like food and at times water to disciple and discipline one’s appetites. But a wedding banquet was a much more joyous context.

It was one where feasting was taking place usually for a whole week long as a celebration for the coming marriage.

Now it is helpful to understand who the characters are in the Marriage parable.

Jesus Himself is the bridegroom and His disciples are the guest at the wedding.

The presence of the bridegroom denotes the coming marriage union that is to be celebrated.

But notice that Jesus speaks of a future time when His disciples will fast and it will be when the bridegroom will be taken away. On that day then His disciples will fast.

Jesus doesn’t discount the spiritual discipline of fasting but legitimizes it in the context of Him being taken away.

This would be in fulfillment of Isaiah 53:8 “8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?”

Messiah will be cut off and this will be a different context that will cause His disciples to fast.

Jesus doesn’t discard fasting as a spiritual discipline that depicts a longing to be in the presence of the Bridegroom.

This text is not about the legal requirements of fasting but it is a text about the principle of fasting in light of the surpassing glory and priority of the presence of the Bridegroom.

Jesus then illustrates this principle in two ways in verses 21-22:

II. The Illustrations (21-22).

The first illustration is someone sewing a piece of unshrunk cloth as a patch to an old garment (21).

This would cause the patch to shrink eventually and pull away from the old garment and tear even worse.

The second illustration is someone putting new wine into old wineskins (22).

This would cause the old wineskins to bust open due to the fermenting process taking place.

New wineskins are for new wine because the new wineskins will expand during the fermenting process.

Jesus makes the point that no one does this. It defies logic, it makes no sense.

Both of the illustrations are purposeful reflection tied to the wedding imagery of verses 19-20.

Listen to theologian Dr. Walter Wessel from his work on Mark’s gospel:

“A wedding, new wine, and a new garment are all symbols of the New Age. The main teaching of the parable seems to be that the newness the coming of Jesus brings cannot be confined to the old forms (Dr. Walter Wessel).

Both of the illustrations are making the point of the New Covenant in Christ as taking priority over the old religious system. The old system was built on things like religious performance according to the law.

And people performed works of the law in service to God. But the New Covenant Kingdom under Messiah is built upon a relationship to Messiah that is initiated by Him into our lives. It is not built upon our performance of our religious piety.

Our hunger is for Christ. His spirit is in us as believers and when we fast it is us signifying our longing for Him and the reality of His Kingdom to manifest more in our lives and in the world.

Today is Mother’s day and our purpose in celebrating it is not primarily for us to compensate Mom for all the good things she done for us in the past. But there is a relationship that is on display in Motherhood.

Most mothers are loving their children long before a child is able to reciprocate that love. But it initiates in the relationship from the mother first and then moves in the direction of the child. All the child can do is to be the beneficiary of such love and care. But as the child grows the relationship broadens and love is extended in both directions.

And it can come to pass that the child will may have the chance to selflessly and sacrificially love mom in a way that simulates those early years of her nurture and care for you as a baby in the womb or as a baby in her arms.

Mother’s Day is about relationship and recognizing the value of Moms.

In the same way fasting in the New Covenant context is about relationship with Messiah and life in His Kingdom. Some argue that since Christ has come to live in us by His Holy Spirit that relationship has intensified fasting has outlived its purpose because Christ is once again with us.

Also I am not aware of any place in the epistles where Christians are commanded to fast. But we do see fasting being practiced in Acts 13 and Acts 14 when the Church was faced with big decisions. They wanted to hear from God so they fasted as a sign that they hungered for hearing from God more than they hungered for food.

But our text this morning is about the priority of Christ and relationship with Him over and above the spiritual discipline of fasting. In the Kingdom we are bound to Christ and He is the priority of our lives. The Spiritual discipline of fasting may help us condition this truth into our Christian practice and belief but the focal point is that relationship with and to Christ is the priority.

Dear Ones, Christianity is not living out a series of performance based spiritual disciplines. Any religion will do for such things. But no religion on planet earth has Christ, the eternal Son of God who extends love in such a sacrificial manner as to die in their place for the purpose of an eternal union in relationship to them.

In the New Heavens and New Earth one of the first things that happens there is a marriage supper of the Lamb. In Revelation 19:9 the Apostle John is told by an Angel to write something down of a significant priority: 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

The Bridegroom will be physically present with His bride and we are not going to be fasting we will be feasting. And at the core of the celebration will be the divine initiated relationship that Christ has joined Himself to us.

Sin will be no more and all the times we fled from Him in our sin will be over and we will have been changed in the twinkling of an eye we will be like Him. A bride prepared and made Holy by God for His one and only eternal Son.

In Utah we had the words from Revelation 19:9 on the wall over the place where we served the food for the potlucks. Christian you may not be aware but every time we eat together and have Christian fellowship in a potluck or in the celebration of Lord’s Supper, we are practicing in a micro-cosom anticipating the macro-cosom of the feast to come.

Conclusion:

If you are a Christian and you are not hungry to be with Christ it may be that you are eating you fill from the table of the world and you are satisfied with it. You may need to practice the spiritual discipline of fasting while you say no to your physical appetites and pray for God to give you a deeper hunger for Christ above all things.

Christian it is so easy for us to loose focus upon the priority of Christ. Satan is a master of deceit and he tempts us with all the trinkets that the world has to offer. It can cause our love for Christ to grow dull and lethargic and before we know it the Christian life feels more like a weight than a joy.

Christ is the priority! Christian confess your sin to Him and ask Him to cultivate in you a heart that is passionate for His glory! And rest in Him and in the sufficiency of His grace.

Unbeliever the food of the world is like spiritual junk food. It is fuel for the appetites of men but in the end it leaves you malnourished because you were never created to live off of it and to find your purpose in it. Christ alone is the only food for the soul and the only food that you were made to be satisfied with.

Believe the gospel of Jesus Christ and find your fullness in Him. Let’s Pray!