Matthew 9:14-17 Fasting

Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.  But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.  Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved." [Matthew 9:14‭-‬17 NASB]

 For a practice that seems to dominate much of religious life, there is very little instruction about fasting in the Bible. Jesus told us that we should do so privately, and not to be seen. We have today's passage, and the rest must be discerned from a very few examples.

In the Old Testament, fasting was an act of mourning and repentance, seeking God's mercy. It was a show of humility.

In the New Testament, the Pharisees made a very public show of fasting twice a week. They were very proud of their humility. The disciples of John the Baptist followed the example of their leader who preached that people needed to humble themselves and repent. They were still operating under the Old Covenant.

Jesus taught that it was inappropriate for His disciples to mourn, or to fast since fasting was an outward sign of mourning. Mourning when you are joyful is like patching an old garment, or putting new wine in an old wineskin. It is inappropriate and has no value.

We have three examples of fasting in the New Testament. Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness in preparation for His public ministry. Interestingly, there is no record of the disciples fasting after Jesus' death (although they did go fishing).

There are two passages that mention fasting in the book of acts. The first is in chapter 13. There were prophets and teachers gathered in Antioch. "While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." [Acts 13:2-3 NASB]

In the second instance, Paul and Barnabas were visiting a number of churches that had been established. "When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed." [Acts 14:23 NASB]

Under the New Covenant, we no longer fast as a sign of mourning, because through the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Bridegroom (Jesus) is always with us. However, the believers in the book of Acts followed the example of Jesus in that they fasted as a preparation for ministry. 

If you feel an urgency to fast, then do so, but make sure your motivations are pure. We don't mourn the absence of Jesus, because He is with us. Fasting so that your prayers will be answered is not appropriate. God hears our prayers and knows our needs. He answers our prayers because He loves us, not because we have coerced Him, or shown ourselves to be "spiritual" by fasting.

If you are seeking direction, fasting will not make God speak to you, but it may focus your mind so that you are more able to hear Him. 

When preparing for works of ministry, it is appropriate to fast. When the disciples failed to cast out a demon, Jesus instructed them, “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” [Matthew 17:21 NASB] This confirms that fasting is not only appropriate, but an important part of preparing for ministry.

I confess that I don't know how fasting affects our spirit, because the Bible doesn't explain it. I can infer that fasting prepares your spirit to commune with God. He is always there, and always available to us, though we may not always give Him our attention. Fasting is not for God, but for ourselves. It is not to convince Him, but to prepare ourselves.