The Question about Fasting
“18 Now John’s (the Baptizer) disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and people came and said to Jesus, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 Jesus said to them, “The wedding attendants cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
21 “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 Similarly, no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins, but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins” Mark 2:18-22.
Obviously the Kingdom of God has drawn near in Jesus’ preaching and merciful activity, so this is not a funeral wake but a wedding party. But when Jesus, the bridegroom, is taken away at Calvery, there will be mourning and fasting, all of which will be taken away at the Resurrection. The patching cloth and pouring new wine into old wineskins is Jesus’ way of saying that what He brings is incompatible with the old. Jesus is not going to reform the old, but totally transform it! Jesus provides no concessions, no accommodations, and no compromises with the old. You and I cannot negotiate with God. We cannot bargain with Him! Nor can our churches and denominations condemn and exclude sinners, because that is what the old does.
I cannot help but remember the temple veil that rips from top to bottom when Jesus dies on the cross (see Mark 15:38). The rip speaks to me of the end of the old and the birth of the new, who is Jesus Christ.
So dear friends, in your prayer today, consider the old that is in you, and pray that God will transform you into the person He created you to be. Let us pray for one another today, as well, for we all need to be ripped from top to bottom.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Bible:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” Romans 12:2.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, you are a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” 2 Corinthians 5:17.
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” Ephesians 4:29.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” Matthew 5:16.
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