When You Fast
After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry (Matthew 4:2, NIV)
Let’s talk about fasting. It is an age-old practice observed by many people among various religious faiths. It has also been used to make political statements or bring awareness to various causes.
For those of us who are followers of Christ, we look to the Bible, and especially to Jesus, for guidelines and examples on the practice of fasting.
It is important to note that Jesus never commanded his followers to fast. He did, however, assume that they would fast. In his most famous sermon, The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave specific instructions on fasting using the phrase, “When you fast . . .” (Matthew 6:17)
This tells me that while our Lord never commanded fasting, he certainly assumed that his followers would practice this spiritual discipline.
On the other hand, the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus this very pointed question - “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus responded by saying that the time would come when his disciples would fast. That time, in the words of Jesus, would be “when the bridegroom will be taken from them.” (See Matthew 9:14-15, NIV)
“There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens,” says Solomon in Ecclesiastes. Tomorrow we will consider why Lent is a time for fasting in the lives of many of Jesus’ disciples.
In Christ,
Dan