Close to God: A Theology of Fasting- Practice Makes Perfect (a series on practical righteousness) #5; Build your Life #24

Intro: Many of you will remember an old song by the Carpenters- Close to You. Why do birds suddenly appear | Every time you are near?

Just like me, they long to be | Close to you

Why do stars fall down from the sky | Every time you walk by?

Just like me, they long to be | Close to you

What happens when you long to be close to God? What do you do? Maybe you take a walk, spend time in nature, express gratitude, or quietly reflect on who He is & what He has done for you.

In our current section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has been teaching us how to be close to God, how to be more like God, through the practices of giving, praying, & forgiving. Today He teaches us about fasting- Matthew 6:16–18, Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

What is fasting? Fasting is deliberately abstaining from food or other comforts as a religious practice. Most religions observe fasting as a religious practice- Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, & Judaism. It is probably less common in Christianity than it should be. We love food too much, & I dare say, we aren’t as devout as we ought to be with our religious practices. I’m not advocating for fasting for the sake of fasting, I’m advocating for it as a means of getting closer to God. How can fasting help us draw closer to God?

1. The RHYTHM of Fasting, vs. 16| make it part of your week

Moreover- fasting is in addition to that of giving & praying. Jesus’ words “when you”indicates fasting is an assumed practice. Like praying & giving, Jesus expects that fasting is something His disciples will do.

Fasting- abstaining from food; sometimes a certain kind of food, sometimes for a certain length of time, but always for religious reasons.

Fasting was a part of the religious landscape. Fasting is an ancient practice- 41 OT references & 23 NT references. The 1st reference is in Judges 20:26, Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fastedthat day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. Fasting is associated with mourning rites, repentance, prayer, & with receiving revelation from the Lord.

Fasting was only commanded on the Day of Atonement, otherwise it was voluntary. Exceptions were made when fasts were proclaimed in conjunction with national emergencies or observances. The length might be 1 day, or 1 night, 3 days, 7 days, or even 40 days.

After Jesus’ baptism & before His public ministry, He fasted for 40 days & 40 nights.Jesus considers fasting as a sign of humility & a means to reflect on God’s Word. The early church fasted in preparation for important decisions. Early Christians (Didache 8.1) fasted two days a week- “And let not your fastings be with the hypocrites, for they fast on the second and the fifth day of the week; but do ye keep your fast on the fourth and on the preparation day (6th).” Wednesday & Friday as opposed to Monday & Thursday (like the hypocrites)

Jesus is making a contrast between those who are merely religious (i.e., scribes & pharisees) & those who are righteous. E.g., in Luke 18:9-14, Jesus told a parable to some who were self-righteous & despised others: Two men went to them Temple to pray, 1 a pharisee & the other a tax collector. The pharisee prayed- “God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” While the tax collector would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his chest, saying “God be merciful to me a sinner!” It seems like pharisees were the type that held to the ritual of fasting twice a week.

When Jesus tells His disciples to not fast like the hypocrites, it’s not about the ritual or the rhythm. It wasn’t about the frequency but the form. When Jesus commands His disciples to not fast like the hypocrites, it’s not because of when, but because of why- they didn’t do it to draw closer to God, they did it to be seen by people. Jesus assumes fasting is a part of our weekly rhythm, but we need to be mindful of His rules.

2. The RULES for Fasting, vs. 17-18a | be mindful

ILL: Whenever I hear the word rules, I always think about this line from Grease- rules are there ain’t no rules... Jesus gives His disciples some rules to think about, some things to be mindful of when they fast.

Rule 1- Don’t be like the hypocrites. Hypocrite (actor)- pretender, it is someone who professes beliefs & opinions they do not hold to conceal their real feelings or motives; Jesus portrayed hypocrites as people who do the right thing but for the wrong reasons. How can we visualize their wrong motives being played out here?

Sad countenance (1 Gr. word)- sullen, gloomy face, a dark or dour countenance; Disfigure- the word for destroy, in the sense of mar or spoil the appearance of (unclean or unkempt). ILL: imagine being at work & someone just looks awful, hair isn’t washed, face isn’t clean, they’ve got bags under their eyes, they make these terrible, pained faces, holding their stomach like it hurts, etc. Reminds me of The Office episode weight loss, where Kelly is on a crash diet & not eating.

The context could be anywhere- work, church, a dinner party scenario- why aren’t you eating? And why do you look like that? Well, I’m fasting. The whole reason for fasting is so others will know they are fasting.

These are the super-religious fasting freaks. Appear- to shine, be seen; sense- reveal, make visible or known. The reason they look so bad, so sad, so pained, is to make it known. I see another possibility- they may not be fasting at all, but only make it appear as though they are by the way they look & act, that is the height of hypocrisy!

Jesus says that when people take notice of the super-religious fasting freak, then getting noticed is what they want. Jesus draws a contrast between His disciples and the super-religious fasting freaks. Rule 1 is- when you fast, don’t make it look like you are.

Rule 2- see rule number 1: anoint your head & wash your face.In contrast to the hypocrite who makes themselves look as bad as they possibly can- with sad, contorted, & pained faces; Jesus says to freshen up & lighten up. Put oil on your head & wash your face, use basic hygiene practices. When you fast, be mindful to follow the rules of Jesus- don’t make it look like you are fasting.

3. The REWARD of Fasting, vs. 18b| move towards the Lord

This is the 2nd time Jesus has referenced the secret place in chapter 6. In contrast to prayer in your secret room, fasting in secret means to keep it to yourself. When you fast in secret, the Lord is already there (secret place). The Father knows all things, & sees all things, so it’s no secret to Him. What He sees you do in secret; He will reward you openly.

This is the 3rd time that Jesus has distinguished between rewards. In vs. 16, Reward (misthon)- wages, pay, get what you earned. In vs. 18, Reward (apodosei)- pay back, repay, recompense, e.g., reimbursement.

When you make sure everyone knows you are fasting, the reward of your fasting is that everyone knows, but when you fast in secret, the reward will be a feast in public.

ILL: All 3 of the synoptic Gospels record an occasion when Jesus was questioned about fasting (Matt 9:14-15; Mark 2:18-19; Luke 5:33-35). They asked Him “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?” His answer- “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”

Friends, we’re living in those days now, when Jesus, the Bridegroom of the church (His bride), is away from us. While He is away, fasting should be a part of the regular rhythm of the Christian life, just like giving, praying, & forgiving. Fasting is one of the ways that we train ourselves for godliness (perfect like Him, Mt. 5:48).

Romans 14:17, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:12–13, All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them.

Philippians 3:18–19, For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.

Fasting can help us draw close to God and set our minds on heavenly things. Our earthly fasting in pursuit of Christ will be rewarded with heavenly feasting in the presence of Christ!

Revelation 19:6–9, And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

If we make fasting a regular rhythm of our lives in pursuit of Christ here and follow Jesus’ rules about it- don’t make a show of it & do it in secret, then the reward will be feasting in person with Christ in heaven.

Do you fast?If you don’t, I want to challenge you to give it a try. At the risk of breaking the rules, I want to encourage you to fast 1 day a week. A couple of years ago, I started fasting once a week, strictly for health reasons. Some of the health benefits include Weight loss and fat reduction, Improved insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control, Reduced inflammation, Increased lifespan, and Improved brain function and cognitive health. There are several others.

Over time, I began to train myself to say- Jesus, when I feel hungry, please fill me with more of you.Now, I feel more in tune with the Lord and myself. It has trained me to think about what I might fill my time, my mind, or my belly with. It is an exercise in discipline.

I try to keep a rhythm of fasting at least once a week, but I won’t tell you when.If you invite me out to eat on that day, I’m probably going- because it’s not a ritual, it’s a rhythm. E.g., taking a weekly sabbath (a day of rest) should be a weekly rhythm- that you do it is more important than when you do it. So, making a fast doesn’t have to be ritualistic, but please make sure it is for righteousness’ sake- to draw close to God.