WHY DON'T THEY FAST? The question from John’s disciples shows that they missed the point that Jesus just made.
- Matthew 9:13-14.
- In v. 14, John’s disciples come and ask about why Jesus’ disciples aren’t fasting. In other gospels, it gives us more information that the Pharisees were in the mix here as well (Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33), since they also practiced regular fasting. This is a question that comes immediately after Jesus’ statement in v. 13 about God desiring mercy, not sacrifice. And coming right then makes it an example of completely missing Jesus’ point.
- The question in v. 14 speaks volumes about how they (John’s disciples and the Pharisees) defined their religion. They saw that Jesus’ disciples weren’t fasting and they thought it was enough of a breach of mandatory religious practice that it required confronting Jesus about it. (Note that it must have been a pretty big deal for this to be an issue they would confront Jesus concerning.) This was important to them and they couldn’t comprehend what Jesus could be thinking.
- In contrast to the Great Commission, you might say here that they are concerned about Jesus’ “great omission.” Why leave fasting out of the picture for His disciples?
- Now, I want to answer these questions, but before I do with the next point on your sermon outline, let me pause for a moment and talk about fasting.
- If you read the rest of the New Testament, fasting is commended. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount presumes that His disciples will fast. Paul fasts, for instance during the Road to Damascus experience. So the point we are going for here is not that fasting is terrible and no one should ever do it again.
- On the other hand, it’s also important that we note that weekly fasting was not required in the Old Testament Law.
- There is a requirement to fast on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). See Leviticus 16:29, 31. Later some other days of fasting would be added to the expected behavior for a faithful Jew. Important for what we’re talking about here, though, is this point: the Pharisees fasted twice a week (on Mondays and Thursdays) as common practice (see Luke 18:12). Obviously, with the disciples of John coming to Jesus here with their complaint, they also had some practice of regular fasting each week.
- I want to unpack this more throughout the remainder of the sermon, but for now let me simply make the point: this weekly requirement to fast that seems to be the basis for the complaint from John’s disciples had no basis in Scriptural command. While fasting is to be commended, that doesn’t mean that is was commanded as mandated by the disciples of John and the Pharisees. That means what John’s disciples are complaining about in v. 14 was not the violation of a Scriptural command. What was it then? We’ll get into that in a moment.
THE HEART OF GOD: His heart desires mercy, not sacrifice.
- Matthew 9:13-14.
- To figure out what all is going on here, let’s go to the previous verse for a moment and ponder it. In the larger story there Jesus is accused of eating with tax collectors and sinners – presumably horrible, disqualifying behavior for a religious leader. In v. 13 Jesus explains why it isn’t merely permissible that He is doing this, but it actually illuminates the center of the heart of God.
- Jesus tells them that He wants mercy, not sacrifice. This doesn’t mean that sacrifice is worthless or will never happen (after all, several of the disciples will eventually die for their faith). No, it means that the heart of God is moved most by a desire to see mercy extended to the least of these. Mercy is what He desires most.
- I think this idea ties in perfectly with Jesus discussion elsewhere of the two greatest commandments. They are, of course, to love God and love people. The second one is crucial on this point. The reason that Jesus states that He desires mercy is that He loves people and wants to see them made whole. This is the heart of God – to see mercy shown to those away from Him that may know that He loves them. The love and mercy are two sides of the same coin.
- This is precisely the reason that the question from the disciples of John is so striking.
- What is their question about? It’s about sacrifice!
- As we noted earlier, there is no requirement in the Old Testament for the Jews to fast twice a week. It’s a requirement that some have voluntarily taken upon themselves as a part of the expression of their faith. It is a sacrifice they are making as part of their faith. They’re giving up eating two days a week as part of their faith. It’s a sacrifice they’re making.
- In coming to Jesus and confronting Him about this, clearly this has become a defining characteristic of their faith. This is part of what shows that they are serious about God, that they are close to God, that they are God’s favorites. In fact, they are dumbfounded that Jesus’ disciples aren’t doing it? How can that be?
- It’s striking that they are asking this right on the heels of Jesus saying, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” It’s a bold statement that they completely missed the point of what He was just talking about.
- The heart of what it reveals is that they don’t have the heart of God.
- All this leads us to the need to look at what’s motivating us.
WHAT'S THE RIGHT MOTIVATOR? Is your motivation duty or love?
- Matthew 9:13-14.
- One way to summarize everything that we’ve talked up about up to this point is that there are two motivators for people’s hearts that we see here: duty and love.
- The first is duty.
- This points us to the disciples of John questioning Jesus about fasting. They were sacrificing because they felt they had a duty to God and they were going to fulfill it. Sure, fasting twice a week wasn’t required by God, but it was a sign of the sacrificial nature of their devotion to God. They were going to do their duty to Him, even when it was inconvenient or difficult. In fact, it was the difficulty of it that proved the depth of their devotion.
- The second is love.
- This points us to Jesus’ statement in v. 13. He wants mercy that welcomes people, even the broken. He has shared that this is His heart. As I noted earlier, another way to say “mercy” here is “love for people.” You’re concerned about them and want them to know God.
- Obviously, there were then and are today a ton of people whose relationship with God is defined by sacrifice. I go to church three times a week. I read a chapter every day. I give 10%. I don’t do this or that. It’s how many define their faith – by the sacrificial things I do that show that I am a mature Christian.
- That’s what makes this passage so radical. This passage is a slap in the face of duty-focused religion. It shows them to be clueless in the face of Jesus’ requests for something else. And the rest of the passage doesn’t have Jesus softening the blow with a follow-up statement.
- This passage puts the emphasis on mercy and love. Our motivation needs to be love for those around us. This is the heart of what Jesus is concerned about. This is the heart of His mission.
- All this leads to the question that we want to end with: does all this mean that Jesus doesn’t want us fasting – or praying or giving or doing anything else that looks like a sacrifice? Is He throwing all that out the window?
GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT: Jesus’ Kingdom is a new thing, though it will have some of the same pieces.
- Matthew 9:15-17.
- Answering the question I posed a moment ago requires us to look vv. 15-17. Let’s examine them in turn and then bring them together to talk about the bigger picture here.
- First, v. 15.
- Jesus responds to the question from the disciples of John.
- He doesn’t say, “Oops, you’re right. They should be fasting. We’ll get right on that.” But He also doesn’t say, “Nope. They are never going to fast. That’s a thing of the past.”
- No, instead He informs them that this is an unusual circumstance. Just like a wedding party wouldn’t act sad while the groom is with them, so too the disciples are in an unusual circumstance right now because Jesus is with them. Eventually Jesus will be gone and then they will fast.
- This is a little odd considering what’s come before. We might expect a rejection of fasting.
- Second, vv. 16-17.
- This is not a random addition to the passage, but rather it’s a key statement to understand what all is going on here.
- The verses are worthy of a sermon unto itself, but let me just summarize. Jesus is emphatically saying here that what He is bringing is not a patch onto the Old Testament system. That would be ultimately destructive. No, Jesus has come to do something new.
- As we know, that something new is His death and resurrection, which opens the door for grace and salvation, which makes us into new creations in Christ and gives us the Holy Spirit. This is massive upgrade over the Old Testament system. Jesus didn’t just offer that patch to the Old Testament – He gave us something new and better.
- Now here is where we need to bring all these ideas together. Let’s take them backwards.
- First, is this a new thing that Jesus is doing?
- Yes, vv. 16-17 are definitive on that.
- Second, does that mean that all the elements of the old way (like fasting, prayer, reading the Bible, giving, etc.) are now gone forever?
- No, v. 15 indicates that Jesus intends for His followers to fast after He’s gone. So those pieces are still around in some form.
- Well, then, what do we do with that?
- The answer is in v. 13. The key is our motivation. The key is having the heart of God.
- Verse 14 reminds us that many try to get close to God through doing their duty. But that “sacrifice” is not the heart of God. Instead, that leads people to more self-centeredness and spiritual pride.
- No, we must have the heart of God. He loves people and wants to see mercy flow into their lives. We must have that as the center of our faith as well. There can be no substitute for “loving people as ourselves.” If we have a duty focus, we are in the bad position that the disciples of John were in.
- So we then bring all these together.
- I need to check my heart to ensure that my passion is on showing mercy to those who are struggling, not to impress by making great sacrifices.
- Once I have that at the center of my heart, I can then move forward to pray, to give, to fast, to do whatever will help me to get more and more of God. I’m not doing them as proof that I’m great and making impressive sacrifices. No, I do it to have more and more of the heart of God.
- For example, fasting is no longer a public sport I do so I can brag about being more sacrificial than you. Rather, it’s a private thing I pursue to try to get a little more of that heart of God as I pray for those I love who are away from Him.
- All of this takes place in the New Covenant brought to us through Jesus. It’s a covenant of joy and peace and mercy.
- This should lead us to some hard questions.
- Where is my heart? Am I focused on sacrifice and duty? Or do I have a heart for mercy?
