14Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. 17Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
The Pharisees in 9:1-13, and now the disciples of John, questioned Jesus’ partaking in a feast (9:14-17).
9:14
Then
The word “then” connects this section to the previous passage (9:1-9).
the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
John the Baptist’s disciples fasted as often as the Pharisees, but Jesus’ disciples did not fast. Old Testament law requires fasting on the Day of Atonement but religionists added many other fasts. Pharisees fasted two days a week without water. The disciples of John, satisfied with the old economy, did not put sufficient value on the coming of the Savior. John himself said, “He must increase but I must decrease.”
9:15
And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Jesus answered John the Baptist’s disciples with an illustration of friends of the bridegroom (Jn 3:29). The “friends” were the attendants of the bridegroom. Weddings took place over seven days. This was not a time for mourning. Jesus was the bridegroom and His disciples were “friends of the bridegroom.”
Jesus’ disciples would not fast while Jesus was with them but took part in the celebration of Jesus’ presence with them. When Jesus left, then they would fast.
9:16
No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.
If we put a piece of unshrunken cloth on a garment that is already shrunk, the unshrunk piece will tear the old piece when washed. Jesus’ ministry was not a revitalization of Judaism but a new entity. Jesus was the fulfillment of the coming Messiah with an entirely new economy.
9:17
Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Mixing Judaism and the ministry of Jesus is like putting new wine into old wineskins. Pressure caused by the gases of fermentation of new wine will burst old wine skins. Liberty of the gospel ruins legalism. Judaism was ceremonial nationalism, whereas Christ’s ministry was personal and dynamic. We cannot patch New Testament truth with Old Testament truth.
PRINCIPLE:
Jesus came to introduce a new, mutually exclusive economy.
APPLICATION:
God established a new, mutually exclusive economy (dispensation) with the coming of Christ. Jesus presents Himself as grace oriented, as over against the law orientation of the Old Testament. The presence of Jesus necessitates altering of the previous economy.
For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jn 1:17
New Testament believers cannot keep part of the old and add a little of the new. The two economies are entirely unique on their own. The new wine of the new dispensation requires an entirely new vessel. Grace negates law and law negates grace; the two are mutually exclusive. The new way of life must be put in a new frame of reference. It is not possible to patch up the Christian life of grace with legalism.
should I as a Christian have fast days?
Brenda, there is no imperative that a Christian should fast. The purpose of a fast was to set aside exclusive time for God without having to worry about preparation of food etc. There is no intrinsic value to a fast but there is practical value.
Pharisees and John’s disciples fasted for the preparation for the coming of Christ (Messiah). So their fasting was an expression of repentance for their sins in preparation for Christ. We must fast in preparation for the second coming of Christ.