The 
ight House
Sunday School (Jesus' Sisciples Questioned about Fasting)
Jesus' Disciples Questioned about Fasting
(Matthew 9:14 - 17)
Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 15And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. 16No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
(Matthew 9:14-17)“John” in this passage is “John the Baptist” who evidently had disciples of his own. “Disciple” is defined as follows:
- Control obtained by enforcing compliance or order.
- A systematic method to obtain obedience: a military discipline.
- A state of order based on submission to rules and authority: a teacher who demanded discipline in the classroom.
Both the Pharisees and John’s Disciples fasted, but for different motives. John and his disciples fasted to show their repentant humility over their sin and the sins of others. The Pharisees did not fast out of repentant humility, but from a desire to impress themselves and others regarding their spirituality.
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
(Matthew 6:16-18)Jesus and his disciples however did not fast, which naturally puzzled the disciples of John, and so they asked the disciples of Jesus for an explanation.
An explanation of Jesus’ answer to them might be: It isn't appropriate for Jesus' disciples to imitate the Pharisees in their hypocritical shows, nor is it appropriate for them to imitate John's disciples in their ministry of humble preparation, because the disciples are experiencing what was being prepared for.
There will come a day when fasting is appropriate for Jesus' followers; but now, when Jesus is among them, is not that day.
Jesus said:
16No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
Here Jesus is speaking in an analogy about combining old things with new things. His message seems to be that new things and old things do not go together. The application seems to be that Jesus came to set up a new covenant. This new covenant would be one of salvation based on man’s faith and God’s grace rather than the old covenant based on law. The traditions, customs, and even way of thinking under the old covenant would not fit with the new covenant. Things were about to change soon in a very big way.
Jesus would bring NEW wine and the vessels that held the old wine would not hold the new. He would set up a new church where the Jew and the Gentile would come together and there would be no difference between them. He would set up a new institution
Applications:
Our motives are important. If our actions and deeds are not correctly motivated they are vain. Correctly motivated means that they are not done to exalt ourselves before others, but rather that they are done for the glory of God in humility.
Regarding the old skins not being suitable to hold new wine: Due to our sinful nature, we need to be renewed constantly by the power of God’s word, by keeping our body under subjection to the Holy Spirit, and by repentance when we sin. Otherwise we are not fit vessels for God to use in accomplishing His work.
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And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. 10And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
(Matthew 9:9-13)Matthew was also known by the name, “Levi”.
The “receipt of custom” in verse 9 refers to the tollbooth in the street where tax collectors sat to receive various taxes.
Tax collectors were notorious sinners and regarded as collaborators with the Romans against the Jews. They bought their position with a set price and then any money they collected above that set price was for their profit. Therefore they were not thought of highly by the Jews. Yet Jesus called one (Matthew) to be a Disciple. God looks beyond what men can see. He looks into people’s hearts. This is one reason only He is qualified to judge. He can see the good in those that appear bad and He can see the bad in those that appear good. Many working in the ministry have come from a sinful past. Many pastors, preachers, teachers, etc… at one time lived a sinful life but even in that state, God was able to see something in them that He could mold and shape into a dedicated servent.
“In the House” refers to the home of Matthew which is indicated in the gosple of Mark regarding this same incident.
And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.
(Mark 2:15)The term “publican” is another word for “tax collector”.
It appears that when Jesus told Matthew, “follow me” that he was obedient without hesitation which is an example of how we all should respond to God’s commands and to the Holy Spirit when He speaks to our hearts. When the Holy Spirit says sing, we should sing whether we believe we can sing or not. When the Holy Spirit says give, we should give whether we believe we can afford to give or not. When the Holy Spirit says to witness to a person, we should go witness to them whether we believe it will go any good or not. It is a matter of trusting God to use the work He has given us to do regardless of how we perceive the situation. It’s called walking in faith.
The Pharisees thought that Jesus was doing wrong by dining with the sinful tax collectors in Matthew’s home and they expressed their thoughts to the disciples. Jesus’ answer to them was basically that they are the ones who needed him and not the rightous. It is true that we as Christians are to be separated from the world, but we are not to confuse this commandment with reaching out to sinners with a heart of love and compassion. The commandment to be separated is not referring to a physical separation, nor does it mean that we are to treat sinners with any less compassion than we do our brothers and sisters in Christ. Separation from the world simply means to be separated from the sinful ways of the world and stand firm on the teachings of God’s word even when in their midst. We can show love and compassion for the lost while being plain that we do not approve of their sinful ways. In fact, by showing them love and compassion, it strengthens our witness toward them regarding their sinful ways. We are to be a light to this lost and dying world, that they may see their wicked ways and turn to Christ for redemption. We can not be an effective light if we treat them as though we are better than they are. The fact is that we are NOT better than they are, we are only better off than they are and rather than that making us feel a superior to them, it ought to cause us to be burdend for them. The love and compassion we should have toward them should cause us to desire that we will receive what we have. If we truly feel this way it will motivate us to be a witness to them.
God Bless you,
Carl
I may not look like much, but I cost a bunch!
