With the start of the Paralympics in Vancouver, one factor that has been stressed is the fact that the athletes competing should be considered as athletes just as much as their able bodied competitors who just finished. The Para Olympians train, and diet like their other Olympic cohorts. For many people their training and dieting is just as inspiring.
As Jesus has been talking about our training for the Kingdom, he now deals with fasting which is the third area-after those of giving (6:2–4) and praying (vv. 5–15)-for which Jesus gives a corrective to the hypocritical religious practices typified by the scribes and Pharisees. In each case the perversion of God’s standard was caused by the overriding desire to be seen and praised by others (v. 1). What we see here is the resumption of the pattern established in vv. 2–4 and 5–6 which is now resumed, with the third type of secret religious observance (France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (254). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co.)
The first two examples of Christian piety that Jesus gives in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount do not seem particularly difficult. To most people, prayer and ..giving .. make sense and are familiar, even though they may not understand them completely or practice them. But that cannot be said of Christ’s third example. Not only does fasting seem unnecessary to most persons, it may even seem quite foolish or absurd (Boice, J. M. (2002). The Sermon on the Mount : An expositional commentary (207). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.).
Fasting has been practiced for various reasons throughout history. Many ancient pagans believed that demons could enter the body through food. When they felt they were under demonic attack they would fast to prevent more evil spirits from gaining access to their bodies. The yogis of most eastern religions and cults have always been committed to fasting-often for long periods of time, in which mystical visions and insights are claimed to be received. In modern western society fasting has become popular for purely physical and cosmetic reasons, and is recommended in some diet programs.
The Bible records no teaching or practice of fasting for practical reasons. Legitimate fasting always had a spiritual purpose and is never presented as having any value in and of itself.
During Old Testament times many faithful believers fasted-Moses, Samson, Samuel, Hannah, David, Elijah, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, and many others. And the New Testament tells us of the fasting of Anna, John the Baptist and his disciples, Jesus, Paul, and numerous others. We know that many of the early church Fathers fasted, and that Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Whitefield, and many other outstanding Christian leaders have fasted.
But the only fast commanded in Scripture is the one connected with the Day of Atonement. On that day all the people were to “humble [their] souls” (Lev. 16:29; cf. 23:27), a Hebrew expression that included forsaking food as an act of self-denial.
That was a national fast, involving every man, woman, and child in Israel. But it occurred only one time a year, and then only as an integral part of the Day of Atonement.
Because it is not elsewhere commanded by God, fasting is unlike giving and praying, for which there are many commands in both testaments. Both the Old and New Testaments speak favorably of fasting and record many instances of fasting by believers. But except for the yearly fast just mentioned, it is nowhere required. Beyond that, fasting is shown to be an entirely noncompulsory, voluntary act, not a spiritual duty to be regularly observed. If it is observed it must be done so for the right reasons, and Jesus contrasts 1) Pretentious (Matthew 6:16) against 2) Proper Fasting (Matthew 6:17-18)
1) Pretentious Fasting. (Matthew 6:16)
Matthew 6:16 [16]"And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. (ESV)
The phrase and when you fast supports the understanding that fasting is not commanded. But when it is practiced it is to be regulated according to the principles Jesus gives here.
Nçsteia (fast) literally means not to eat, to abstain from food. Fasts were sometimes total and sometimes partial, and ordinarily only water was drunk. Fasting as an exercise is to deprive one’s self of the normal and pleasant performances of life for the sake of personal enrichment.
Quote: In his classic book on prayer, Dr. O. Hallesby has written, “Fasting is not confined to abstinence from eating and drinking. Fasting really means voluntary abstinence for a time from various necessities of life, such as food, drink, sleep, rest, association with people and so forth. … Fasting in the Christian sense does not involve looking upon the necessities of life, which we have mentioned, as unclean or unholy. … Fasting implies merely that our souls at certain times need to concentrate more strongly on the one thing needful than at other times, and for that reason we renounce for the time being those things which in themselves, may be both permissible and profitable.” (O. Hallesby, Prayer, trans. by Clarence J. Carlsen (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1960), 113.)
The more obvious form of fasting is in dieting, and may have health benefits as well. But the purpose is to transcend distraction or sensual gratification for the sake of enhancing meditation. Sexual abstinence (1 Cor. 7:5) on the part of a married couple for a time may be a form of fasting. (Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Vol. 24: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 24 : Matthew. The Preacher’s Commentary series (18). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.).
• Even the discipline of solitude might fall in this category, as a “fast” from normal human interaction (Weber, S. K. (2000). Vol. 1: Matthew. Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference (84). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
• Barclay lists five values in fasting that show the abiding benefits of this practice: (1) the value of self-discipline, (2) the release from slavery to habit, (3) the preservation of the ability to do without things, (4) the positive value for health, and (5) the enhancement of our appreciation of things (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, 1:239–240).
Intemperance in eating, as well as in everything else, is warned against in Scripture. See N.T.C. on I and II Timothy and Titus, p. 122. The lazy gluttons of Crete, sluggish and sensual, do not remain unrebuked (Titus 1:12). A mark of the enemies of the cross is that “their god is their belly (Phil. 3:19; cf. Rom. 16:18).” Instead of striving to keep their physical appetites under control (Rom. 8:13; I Cor. 9:27), realizing that our bodies are the Holy Spirit’s temple, in which God should be glorified (I Cor. 6:19, 20), these people surrendered themselves to gluttony and licentiousness. They worshiped their sensual nature. The Bible forbids this. In this connection it is interesting to note that the physical advantage in cutting down the intake of animal fats is not a modern medical discovery (see Lev. 3:17; 7:22–25 (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 9: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew. New Testament Commentary (342). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
Two extreme views of eating were held among the Jews of Jesus’ day. Many, like the ones mentioned in this passage, made an obvious display of fasting. Others believed that, because food is a gift from God, each person would have to give an account to Him on the day of judgment for every good thing he had not eaten. The first group not only was more prevalent but was more self-righteous and proud. Their fasting was not a matter of spiritual conviction but a means of self-gratification.
By the time of Christ, fasting, like almost every other aspect of Jewish religious life, had been perverted and twisted beyond what was scriptural and sincere. Fasting had become a ritual to gain merit with God and attention before others. Like praying and giving, it was largely a hypocritical religious show.
Many Pharisees fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12), usually on the second and fifth days of the week. They claimed those days were chosen because they were the days Moses made the two separate trips to receive the tablets of law from God on Mount Sinai. But those two days also happened to be the major Jewish market days, when cities and towns were crowded with farmers, merchants, and shoppers. They were, therefore, the two days where public fasting would have the largest audiences.
Those wanting to call attention to their fasting would look gloomy, and disfigure their faces /neglect their appearance that their fasting may be seen by others. They would wear old clothes, sometimes purposely torn and soiled, dishevel their hair, cover themselves with dirt and ashes, and even use makeup in order to look pale and sickly. As we have seen in previous chapters, hypocrites comes from a Greek word for the mask used by actors to portray a certain character or mood. In regard to fasting, some Jewish hypocrites literally resorted to theatrics.
To look gloomy or Dismal (TEV “sad face”) translates a word used in the New Testament only here and in Luke 24:17. It may be used of one who looks angry, sullen, or sad. To Disfigure their faces is translated “neglect their appearance” by TEV and “neglect their personal appearance” by AT. JB renders “pull long faces” and NEB “make their faces unsightly.” One commentator notes that the Greek verb translated disfigure appears not to be used elsewhere with “face” as its object, and he suggests that it was chosen here because it rhymes with the Greek verb rendered may be seen. Some commentators limit disfigure their faces to the matter of leaving them unwashed. Others extend the meaning to include leaving their faces unwashed and their hair uncombed and the strewing of ashes on their heads. For English speakers the problem with disfigure is that it may imply a permanent action, whereas the reference is limited to things done during days of fasting. It is important to show that when the hypocrites disfigure their faces, it is a deliberate thing. Thus the phrase can be rendered “they deliberately go with dirty faces (or, unkempt appearances),” “they make themselves appear to be suffering,” or “they allow themselves to look terrible.” (Newman, B. M., & Stine, P. C. (1992). A handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. UBS helps for translators; UBS handbook series (174–175). New York: United Bible Societies)
When the heart is not right, fasting is a sham and a mockery. Those whom Jesus condemned for fasting that their fasting may be seen by others were pretentiously self-righteous. Everything they did centered around themselves. God had no place in their motives or their thinking, and He had no part in their reward. The reward they wanted was recognition by others, and that reward, and only that reward, they received in full.
Please turn to Zechariah 7
Unfortunately, throughout the history of the church fasting has most often been viewed in the two extremes that were common in Judaism.
Quote: John Calvin said, “Many for want of knowing its usefulness undervalue its necessity. And some reject it all together as superfluous, while on the other hand, where the proper use of fasting is not well understood, it easily degenerates into superstition.”
Fasting is always linked with a pure heart and must be associated with obedient, godly living. The Lord told Zechariah to declare to the people:
Zechariah 7:5 [5]"Say to all the people of the land and the priests, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? (ESV)
Zechariah 7:9-10 [9]"Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, [10]do not oppress the widow, the fatherless,
the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart." (ESV)
• Seventy years of fasting meant nothing to the Lord, because it was done insincerely.
• Like the hypocrites that Jesus would later condemn, those Israelites lived only for themselves (v. 6).
After chastising the people in a similar way for their pretentious and unrighteous fasting, the Lord declared through Isaiah:
Isaiah 58:5-9 [5]Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD? [6]"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? [7]Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? [8]Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. [9]Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ’Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, (ESV)
ILLUSTRATION: One of the greatest actions of love and compassion was the work of David Brainerd in missions. This is was he recorded in his personal Diary April 19, 1742
"I set apart this day for fasting and prayer to God for his grace; especially to prepare me for the work of the ministry; to give me divine aid and direction, in my preparations for that great work; and in his own time to send me into his harvest. Accordingly, in the morning I endeavored to plead for the divine presence for the day, and not without some life. In the forenoon I felt the power of intercession for precious, immortal souls; for the advancement of the kingdom of my dear Lord and Saviour in the world; and withal, a most sweet resignation and even consolation and joy, in the thoughts of suffering hardships, distresses, and even death itself, in the promotion of it, and has special enlargement in pleading for the enlightening and conversion of the poor heathen. In the afternoon God was with me of a truth. Oh!, it was blessed company indeed! God enabled me so to agonize in prayer, that I was quite wet with sweat, though in the shade and the cool wind. My soul was drawn out very much for the world; I grasped for multitudes of souls. I think I had more enlargement for sinners than for the children of God; though I felt as if I could spend my life in cries for both. I had great enjoyment in communion with my dear Savior. I think I never in my life felt such an entire weanedness from this world, and so much resigned to God in every thing. Oh! that I may always live to and upon my blessed God! Amen, Amen.
(As Recounted by Brian Thiessen @http://sermons.logos.com/submissions/23177#content=/submissions/23177)
We have seen 1) Pretentious Fasting. (Matthew 6:16), and finally:
2) Proper Fasting. (Matthew 6:17-18)
Matthew 6:17-18 [17]But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, [18]that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (ESV)
Fasting is mentioned some thirty times in the New Testament, almost always favorably. It is possible that fasting was even overemphasized in some parts of the early church. At least four times a reference to fasting seems to have been inserted into the original text where it is not found in the earliest and best manuscripts (Matt. 17:21; Mark 9:29; Acts 10:30; 1 Cor. 7:5). The other favorable accounts, however, both in the gospels and in the epistles, show that proper fasting is a legitimate form of spiritual devotion.
Jesus’ statement when you fast (cf. v. 16) indicates that fasting is normal and acceptable in the Christian life.
He assumes His followers will fast on certain occasions, but He does not give a command or specify a particular time, place, or method. Because the validity of the Day of Atonement ceased when Jesus made the once-for-all sacrifice on the cross (Heb. 10:10), the single prescribed occasion for fasting has ceased to exist.
Jesus offers no new law in regard to fasting and does not interfere with the voluntary custom of fasting. But all hypocrisy in fasting is abominable to him. He forbids any and all display of this religious practice (to be praised by others) (Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Matthew’s Gospel (274). Minneapolis, MN.: Augsburg Publishing House.).
Jesus’ disciples did not fast while He was with them because fasting is associated primarily with mourning or other times of consuming spiritual need or anxiety. Matthew 9:14-15 [14]Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" [15]And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. (ESV)
•
Fasting is never shown in Scripture to be the means to heightened spiritual experience, visions, or special insight or awareness-as many mystics, including some Christian mystics, claim. Fasting is appropriate in this age, because Christ is physically absent from the earth. But it is appropriate only as a response to special times of testing, trial, or struggle.
Fasting is appropriate during times of sorrow. When God caused the first child born to Bathsheba by David to be taken ill, David fasted while he pleaded for the infant’s life (2 Sam. 12:16). He also fasted when Abner died (2 Sam. 3:35). David even fasted on behalf of his enemies. “When they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer kept returning to my bosom” (Ps. 35:13).
On such occasions of deep grief, fasting is a natural human response. Most people do not then feel like eating. Their appetite is gone, and food is the last thing they are concerned about. Unless a person is getting seriously weak from hunger or has some specific medical reason for needing to eat, we do them no favor by insisting that they eat.
Please turn to Ezra 8
Overwhelming danger often prompted fasting. King Jehoshaphat proclaimed a national fast in Judah when they were threatened with attack from the Moabites and Ammonites (2 Chron. 20:3). From a human standpoint they could not possibly win, and they cried out to God for help, forsaking food as they did so. Queen Esther, her servants, and all the Jews in the capital city of Susa fasted for three full days before she went before the king to plead for the Jews to be spared from Haman’s wicked scheme against her people (Esther 4:16).
As the exiles were about to leave Babylon for the adventurous return to Jerusalem, Ezra declared
Ezra 8:21-23 [21]Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. [22]For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, "The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him." [23]So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he
listened to our entreaty. (ESV)
Penitence was often accompanied by fasting. David fasted after his double sin of committing adultery with Bathsheba and then having her husband Uriah sent to the front of the battle to be killed. Daniel fasted as he prayed for God to forgive the sins of his people. When Elijah confronted Ahab with God’s judgment for his great wickedness, the king “tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently” (1 Kings 21:27). Because of Ahab’s sincerity, the Lord postponed the judgment (v. 29). Centuries later, after the exiles had returned safely to Jerusalem, the Israelites were convicted of their intermarrying with unbelieving Gentiles. As Ezra confessed that sin in behalf of his people, “he did not eat bread, nor drink water, for he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles” (Ezra 10:6).
When the people of Nineveh heard Jonah’s preaching they were so convicted that they believed in God and “called a great fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. … By the decree of the king” they would “not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing” (Jonah 3:5, 7). Rather than resent the warning of judgment and damnation, they repentantly turned to God and sought His forgiveness and mercy.
Fasting was sometimes associated with the receiving or proclaiming of a special revelation from God. As Daniel contemplated Jeremiah’s prediction of the seventy year’s desolation of Jerusalem, he gave his “attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes” (Dan. 9:2–3). As he continued “speaking in prayer,” he reports, “then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. And he gave me instruction and talked with me, and said, ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding’ ” (vv. 21–22). A short time later, just before receiving another vision, Daniel made a partial fast-by forsaking “any tasty food, … meat or wine”-for three weeks (10:3). It is important to note that, though fasting was related to the revelations, it was not a means of achieving them. Daniel’s fasting was simply a natural accompaniment to his deep and desperate seeking of God’s will.
We often fail to understand God’s Word as fully as we ought simply because, unlike those great people of God, we do not seek to comprehend it with their degree of intensity and determination. Skipping a few meals might be the small price we willingly pay for staying in the Word until understanding comes.
Fasting often accompanied the beginning of an important task or ministry. Jesus fasted forty days and nights before He was tempted in the wilderness and then began His preaching ministry. Intensity and zeal over proclaiming God’s Word can so consume the mind and heart that food has no appeal and no place. Though abstaining from food has absolutely no spiritual value in itself, when eating is an intrusion on that which is immeasurably more important, it will be willingly, gladly, and unobtrusively forsaken.
Both before and after the Holy Spirit directed the church at Antioch to set apart Barnabas and Saul for special ministry, the people were praying and fasting (Acts 13:2–3). As those two men of God ministered God’s Word they prayed and fasted as they appointed elders in the churches they founded (14:23).
Only the Lord knows how much the leadership of the church today could be strengthened if congregations were that determined to find and follow the Lord’s will. The early church did not choose or send out leaders carelessly or by popular vote. Above all they sought and followed God’s will. Fasting has no more power to assure godly leadership than it has to assure forgiveness, protection, or any other good thing from God. But it is likely to be a part of sincere dedication that is determined to know the Lord’s will and have His power before decisions are made, plans are laid, or actions are taken. People who are consumed with concern before God do not take a lunch break.
In every scriptural account genuine fasting is linked with prayer. You can pray without fasting, but you cannot fast biblically without praying. Fasting is an affirmation of intense prayer, a consequence of deep spiritual struggle before God. It is never an isolated act or a ceremony or ritual that has some inherent efficacy or merit. It has no value at all-in fact becomes a spiritual hindrance and a sin-when done for any reason apart from knowing and following the Lord’s will.
There can be no right fasting apart from a right heart, right living, and a right attitude. Jesus properly instructs at Matthew 6:17 But you, when you fast, Jesus tells those who belong to Him, anoint your head, and wash your face. But when you puts the follower of Jesus in contrast; that way is not for the disciple. Jesus implies that those who follow him will fast from time to time, but he says nothing about frequency, occasion, or method. He is concerned only with the motive behind the fasting and indeed primarily with the requirement that fasting be done secretly, as a matter between the religious person and God (Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (151). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.).
To anoint the head with oil was commonly done as a matter of good grooming. The oil was often scented and used partly as a perfume. Like washing the face, it was associated with day-to-day living, but especially with more formal or important occasions. Jesus’ point was that a person who fasts should do everything to make themselves look normal and do nothing to attract attention to their deprivation and spiritual struggle.
Finally in Matthew 6:17 that your fasting may not be seen by others
The one who sincerely wants to please God will studiously avoid trying to impress others. One will determine not [to] be seen fasting by others, but by God the Father who is in secret. Jesus does not say we should fast for the purpose of being seen even by God. Fasting is not to be a display for anyone, including God. Genuine fasting is simply a part of concentrated, intense prayer and concern for the Lord, His will, and His work. Jesus’ point is that the Father never fails to notice fasting that is heart-felt and genuine, and that He never fails to reward it.
Illustration: One of the greatest out workings of God in North America was that of the Great Awakening in New England. When Jonathan Edwards preached his great sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," it is said that he had a little manuscript that he held up so close to his face that no one could see his expression.
One man sprang to his feet, rushed down the aisle and cried, "Mr. Edwards have mercy!" Others grabbed hold of the backs of the pews lest they should slip into perdition. They were under such conviction that they felt as if the day of judgment had already dawned upon them. There was a real spiritual reason behind the power of that sermon.
Before he preached the sermon, for three days Edwards had not eaten a morsel of food, nor closed his eyes in sleep. Over and over again he had been heard to exclaim, "Oh, God give me New England! Give me New England!"
And when he finally arose from his knees and made his way to the pulpit, he looked as if he had been gazing straight into the face of God. Before he even opened his lips to speak, great conviction fell upon his audience.
(From Robert Roberts @ http://sermons.logos.com/submissions/76697#content=/submissions/76697)
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. (1989). Matthew (399–407). Chicago: Moody Press.)
