Fasting - 4

Sermon on the Mount-47

Matthew 6:16–18 (NIV84)

16“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,

18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Fasting is the abstinence from such meals as would interfere with an uninterrupted and earnest waiting upon God. Such fasting would primarily be a denying ourselves of all dainties, as Daniel “ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over” (10:3).

Coupled with the sparsest possible diet, there must also be an abstaining from all the delights of nature (see Joel 2:15, 16).

The mere non-partaking of food is not fasting any more than the mere moving of the lips is prayer.

Unless our fasting be that which marks such a heartfelt sense of sin and of seeking unto God as will allow no diversion from its purpose, moving us spontaneously and for the time being with a lack of appetite for all things else, then it is but a superstition, a piece of morbid formalism.

In the New Testament, fasting is voluntary not mandatory.

There is no mandate or command in the New Testament exhorting or pressuring us to fast.

We don’t have to fast, we choose to.

If we don’t have to fast, then why fast at all?

What does fasting accomplish?

Is there a right way and a wrong way to fast?

Improper Fasts

Isaiah 58:1–3 (NIV84)

1“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.

2For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.

3‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.

The Israelites fasted and mourned during their exile with no thought of God or their sins that had caused it in the first place.

When you go to church, pray, or have fellowship with other believers, are you doing these things from habit or for what you can get out of them (or God)?

Isaiah 58:4 (NIV84)

4Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.

Their self-denial (fasting) made them irritable; their fasts always ended in contention, even in brawls (v. 4). And they oppressed their workers with extra labor and harsh commands (v. 3). God tells them plainly that such “fasts” would never result in their voices being heard “on high” (v. 4).

The wicked actions that accompanied their fasts meant that all they wanted was to get their own way. They never got through to God.

Because of their strife, God does not answer their prayers.

Isaiah 58:5 (NIV84)

5Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

“Is merely depriving oneself really the kind of fasting that I favor?”

These actions described the typical fast. A person would choose a day to humble and deny himself.

The outward forms the people were going through in the day of their fast did not please God.

The Law never commanded sackcloth and ashes.

It was a way they expressed humility before the Lord, but it had degenerated into putting on an act.

The people followed all the outward forms of fasting.

Many people today also believe: that’s how we should fast.

We are to humble and deny ourselves and bow our heads in mourning.

No amount of self-mortification can suffice as an action pleasing to God since it all stems from the wrong motivation.

It is, in essence, a pursuit of one’s own affairs, completely self-serving in orientation.

Such extra religious activity is of no value if your conduct stays the same sinful way. God does not command fasts like that.

The people never stopped seeking what they wanted.

They fasted to get God to grant them their desires.

Instead of seeking God and looking to see what He wanted, they went through all the outward forms of fasting in an effort to gain what they wanted.

Always looking to get God’s attention.

Ephesians 5:10 (NIV84)

10and find out what pleases the Lord.

Is this the kind of fast that God has chosen? To go through the outward forms of fasting and still retain a self-centered heart and disposition?

Instead of abandoning themselves and their needs into the hands of God and instead of giving themselves away to others, their religious activities have become self-serving.

The purpose of fasting is not to lose weight or to draw attention to yourself.

Fasting is not for the purpose of manipulating the Lord, it is to help you refocus your attention and priorities upon God Almighty.

It is a time to find out what pleases the Lord.

Our fasting is to go beyond our own personal growth to acts of kindness, charity, justice, and generosity. This truly is pleasing to God.

Isaiah 58:6 (NIV84)

6“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice (bonds of wickedness, lsb) and untie the cords of the yoke (to release the bands of the yoke, lsb), to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

To loosen = פָּתַח pātaḥ = let loose, liberate.

Bonds (chains) = חַרְצֹב ḥarṣōb = a restraint that confines or restricts freedom; especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner.

Wickedness (injustice) = רֶ֫שַׁע rešaʿ = Refers to evil and wicked behavior, often in contrast with righteousness.

Yoke = מוֹטָה môṭâ = the state of being kept down by unjust use of force or authority.

Some people mistakenly interpret these verses as a reward for fasting.

Fasting does not result in the loosening of the chains of injustice; fasting consists in the loosening of the chains of injustice.

Proverbs 31:8–9 (NIV84)

8“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.

9Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Psalm 82:3–4 (NIV84)

3Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

4Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Zechariah 7:9–10 (NIV84)

9“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.

10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’

Matthew 23:23 (NIV84)

23“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

In Isaiah 58:6-7, the Israelites were engaging in outward religious practices like fasting, but their hearts were far from true devotion to God.

They were self-centered, quarreling with one another, and neglecting the needs of the poor and oppressed.

They claimed to seek God's will and yet blamed Him for not noticing their faithfulness, God saw through their empty formalism.

God desires a genuine faith that goes beyond empty rituals and extends out to care for others by freeing the oppressed, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and clothing those in need.

God does want to bless his people (58:8–9, 10b–12), but that blessing cannot be obtained by cultic manipulation (e.g., fasting to get God to do something).

Only twice in the Old Testament does God command persons to fast.

But in hundreds of places he commands his people to treat other people, especially those weaker than they, with respect, justice, and kindness.

So here God tells the people that if they want to stop doing something, they can stop oppressing the poor (58:6–7).

They fast for the very opposite reason of what God intends for his people. Instead of abandoning themselves and their needs into the hands of God and instead of giving themselves away to others, their religious activities have become self-serving.

God calls for behavior that is self-forgetful and outward-looking. Let acts of self-denial be for the sake of others and not for one’s own sake.

Work “to set the oppressed free” (58:6).

Eat less in order to have food to give to the “hungry.”

Wear less-expensive clothes in order to clothe the “naked” (58:7, 10).

This is the kind of cessation and self-affliction God has “chosen.”

Other activities have replaced Israelite rituals, such as church attendance, daily devotions, prayer, tithing, and so on, and these are all liable to the same dangers.

The danger is that we engage in them in order to wring blessings from a God who, we feel, is disinclined to give blessings unless we manipulate him in some way.

James 1:26–27 (NIV84)

26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Godliness is shown not by appearing outwardly pious, but by being sensitive to the sufferings of people.

Luke 4:16–21 (NIV84)

16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.

17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,

19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,

21and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

He did not stop reading at the end of a sentence but stopped before finishing it. In our translation, He stopped reading at the comma (in KJV), but there was no comma in the text He was reading.

He made absolutely no mention of the phrase, “the day of vengeance of our God.”

He made no mention of any of the text that followed this phrase. Do you know why?

He looked at that crowd and said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

Here is a passage of Scripture that was going to be fulfilled down to a comma, and the rest of the passage would not be fulfilled until He came back the second time.

Isaiah 61:1–2 (NIV84)

1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

The reference here is the “Year of Jubilee” described in Leviticus 25. Every seventh year was a “Sabbatical year” for the nation, when the land was allowed to rest; and every fiftieth year (after seven Sabbaticals) was set apart as the “Year of Jubilee.” The main purpose of this special year was the balancing of the economic system: slaves were set free and returned to their families, property that was sold reverted to the original owners, and all debts were canceled. The land lay fallow as man and beast rested and rejoiced in the Lord.

Jesus applied all of this to His own ministry, not in a political or economic sense, but in a physical and spiritual sense. (Ongoing “Year of Jubilee”)

Jesus came to free those imprisoned by sin. Not only did Jesus come to minister to the physically poor, sick, blind, and lame, He came to minister to their greater need, the fact that they were spiritually poor, sick, blind, lame, and dead.

In relation to Isaiah 58:6, the fast that God chooses is the one where we strive to be an instrument of God to loosen the physical and spiritual bonds of wickedness and to release the physical and spiritual bands of the yoke.

How do we do this?

By ministering to one’s physical and spiritual needs. Isaiah 58:7 shows us how we can help with the physical aspect.

Isaiah 58:7 (NIV84)

7Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

The traditional practice of fasting is not what God would have chosen, that type of fasting is inward looking and selfish. So what kind of fasting will please him?

True fasting looks outward and is not so much about depriving ourselves as it is about caring for others.

Helping the poor is more important than helping oneself. Feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and clothing the naked are more important to God than living well oneself.

What is the point of fasting if we do not give what we would have eaten to others?

Self-denial should be for others, not for oneself.

Literal fasting is not excluded, it’s useless when divorced from the spirit of love.

The fasting that God has chosen is to loosen the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke.

This consists of feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and to clothing the naked. (Food, shelter, and clothing)

Negative denying of oneself, which can be done for selfish reasons, is replaced by the positive helping of others and showing them God’s compassion.

Going through the motions of what most would call a traditional fast without regard for the Lord God and others is useless.

James 2:14–17 (NIV84)

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.

16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Religion is more than believing in something or being intellectually convinced of a truth. It is actively serving other people.

John 13:34–35 (NIV84)

34“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

1 John 3:16–18 (NIV84)

16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Isaiah 58:8–14 (NIV84)

8Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

9Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

11The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

12Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 58:8-14 include many blessings that accompany a person who undergoes a fast that God has chosen.

Next week, the Lord willing!