Tag Archives: fasting

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – NEW CLOTH, NEW WINE

Bible Study, , ,

NEW CLOTH, NEW WINE

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wine-skins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wine-skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wine-skins.” Mark 2:18-22

The people who came to Jesus with their question about fasting are unspecified: perhaps observant, perhaps curious, perhaps interested, or perhaps critical; who knows? They were looking in on a situation of religious observance from the outside. Perhaps they were more impressed by the discipline of the disciples of John and the Pharisees than by the happy-go-lucky attitude of Jesus and His disciples. These were frivolous compared with the religious austerity of the other men.

Jesus’ reply is surprising, exactly reflecting the scenario these people were questioning. What was He saying? “Haven’t you people got it yet? Don’t you recognise that it’s party time? The bridegroom is here and He has come to claim His bride. This is not time for austerity. It’s time to enter into the celebration.”

He adds two earthy but cryptic observations – new cloth, new wine; old garment, old wine-skins. This should have alerted the listeners that something big is going on here; a big upheaval in their thinking and in their system is happening. New cloth and new wine are not yet in a static and inflexible state. They have to be connected to something that will move with them.

The old system, represented by statutory fasting and all the other disciplines attached to it, has lost its heart. It is no longer flexible, elastic and living, able to move and grow. It cannot hold the new wine of the Spirit, the dynamic, mysterious life of God, without being ruptured by its power. God’s life cannot flourish in a rigid form. Jesus said that the life of the Spirit is like the wind, invisible, unpredictable but dynamic in its outcome. If we try to pour it into a rigid system of rules and ritual, it will explode the system and dissipate.

Like every other aspect of life in the Spirit, fasting must be of the heart, motivated by love and obedience and directed towards a higher purpose – seeking fellowship and oneness with the Father, flowing in harmony with the unpredictable life of the Spirit.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – THE BRIDEGROOM IS HERE

Bible Study, ,

THE BRIDEGROOM IS HERE

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wine skins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wine skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wine skins.” Mark 2:18-22

In this short passage, Jesus was questioned about fasting. Why did the disciples of John fast but not His disciples, as disciples of a rabbi with authority, not as a religious discipline? Is there a difference between fasting as a discipline and fasting as setting aside physical needs to seek the Lord as Jesus did in the wilderness?

Jesus’ response to the question throws some light on the purpose of fasting. Because He was with His disciples in the flesh, there was no need to put eating aside to seek the Lord. In fact, according to Jesus, for the disciples it was a time of celebration as joyful as a wedding party. His physical presence with them made life a perpetual celebration. But, like a wedding, it would only be for a short time and then the bride and groom would leave.

Fasting is not an end in itself. It plays a part in reaching a goal. There is no merit in fasting unless it serves a greater purpose – to seek and enjoy the presence of Jesus. The appetites of the body and the humanness of the mind obscure the manifest presence of God. They form the veil which separate us from seeing and enjoying the greater glory of God’s presence. The more we learn to subdue our bodies and enrich our minds with the truth of God’s powerful and creative word, the more we will “see” Him.

Fasting has no merit other than a change of focus. We must not mix the purpose of fasting for its physical benefits with the spiritual benefit of giving God our undivided attention. Fasting does have definite physical benefit, cleansing of the system and the weight loss that goes with it. However, unless that is our focus and purpose, keep the goal of meeting with God in mind and don’t let any other motive distract.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – TRY THIS

Bible Study, ,

TRY THIS

“‘How can I account for the people of this generation? They’re like spoiled children complaining to their parents, ‘We wanted to skip rope and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk but you were always too busy.’ John the Baptiser came fasting and you called him crazy. The Son of Man came feasting and you called Him a lush. Opinion polls don’t count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating.'” Luke 7:31-35.

Never satisfied! That was how Jesus summed up His generation.

Was He only talking about His own generation or was He summing up the history of the Jewish people? It was certainly true of the generation that came out of Egypt. Their story is one long account of dissatisfied people. The entire period of forty years in the desert was a continuous cycle of complaining, rebellion and punishment to the extent that the people who came out of Egypt forfeited their right to inherit Canaan. Their children went in, while they died in the desert.

And nothing had changed. Not even the terrible experiences of judgment, war, exile and oppression had taught them to trust in God and to be thankful. The lessons of history had been wasted on them because they were as much in bondage to the Romans as their ancestors had been to the Egyptians back in Egypt.

But that was only a symbol of a much deeper and more serious bondage, to sin, which was evidenced by their selfishness of which they seemed unaware. They were the centre of their own universe and they expected everyone else to satisfy their whims. But that makes for a chaotic situation. How can everyone expect everyone else to do what everyone else demands? That’s crazy!

How true it is that people who have experienced oppression develop a sense of entitlement. The Hebrew ex-slaves believed that they were entitled to a better deal than they were getting in the wilderness instead of realising that God was with them and that their wilderness journey was a preparation for what lay ahead. How would they ever take the Promised Land, which was a huge enterprise of faith, if they had not learned to trust God in the desert where they were utterly dependant on Him?

Are we any better? Is there any place on earth, outside of God’s grace, where people live together in harmony, without discontent, without complaining, resisting or agitating against their superiors or against the government in some way or another. I live in a country which is riddled with labour unrest, strikes, demonstrations and uprisings, to the extent that what we have is slowly being demolished and destroyed by violent protests because of this pernicious spirit of entitlement.

Discontentment is a slap in God’s face and a declaration that He doesn’t know what He is doing. How would we run the universe?

It takes a supernatural work of God to set us free from this persistent attitude of entitlement and replace it with an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude. Discontent is an insult to God because it accuses Him of being unfair and unloving. It concentrates on what we don’t have instead of what we do have. It freezes our hearts and makes us incapable of appreciating God’s goodness towards us. It shuts heaven and cuts us off from God’s provision.

What Jesus said about His generation can equally apply to ours. Whatever our opinion might be, nothing changes the truth that God is good. Whether we like who He is or not, is irrelevant and will not change Him. Whether we believe in Him or not, He is who He is and His word is true. Paul said, ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain.’ That about sums it up.

If this applies to you, what would happen if you stopped complaining and started praising? Why not try it?

A Cryptic Answer

Bible Study, , ,

A CRYPTIC ANSWER

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, ‘How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting but yours are not?’ Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. (Mark 2: 18-20).

Members of the audience asked Jesus a straightforward question and got an answer full of mystery. ‘Why do the disciples of these guys fast and yours do not?’ They said nothing about bridegrooms and weddings. But veiled in Jesus answer were many cryptic clues, both to His identity and His destiny.

Did those who questioned Him realise that He was referring to something that had happened in the history of His people centuries before? When the children of Israel came out of Egypt, God led them through the Red Sea straight to Mount Sinai in the land of Midian, where God had met with Moses and called him to deliver his people from slavery.

On their arrival, God went through all the stages in a young man’s courtship of a maiden culminating in a marriage proposal. He asked them to be His bride – and He was, therefore, from then on, betrothed to Israel, their bridegroom, awaiting the wedding day when He would fetch His bride and take her to His Father’s house where He had prepared the bridal chamber for the consummation of their marriage.

When Jesus, in a veiled way, referred to Himself as the “bridegroom”, was He saying that He was the one who had betrothed His people to Himself at Mount Sinai? Was He telling them that He had arrived in person to propose to His bride once again, since His betrothed had rejected Him in the past? Why should His presence among them be a time of fasting? It was a time of joyous celebration because He would remove all hostility between them and the Father once and for all.

Their sins had separated them from God. They had persistently rebelled against Him and disobeyed His instructions. They had betrayed Him and made alliances with them enemy. They were unfaithful to the marriage covenant He had given them at Mount Sinai. They had not honoured their promise to remain loyal to Him in spite of His faithfulness to them.

He had come Himself to deal with their misunderstanding of who His Father really was, so that they would anticipate their life in Father’s house with joy when the wedding day finally came. Both John the Baptist and the Pharisees, who had gathered followers around them, could make no such offer. All they could do was to invite people to become part of the religious ritual they followed. Even John, who was the forerunner of Messiah, could offer them nothing but “fasting”.

Then Jesus made another cryptic comment. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. What was He talking about? He did not say that the bridegroom would go away. That was the normal procedure in the courtship process. Both He and His bride has preparations to make before the wedding. His was to prepare the bridal chamber back as His Father’s house. Hers was to separate herself from all other men and to prepare her wedding gown.

But taken away? What did He mean? Again this was a cryptic clue and a veiled message that He would be forcefully removed. Why? How? He did not give them details. There was a hostile element in this love relationship that wanted the bridegroom out of the way. They would get rid of Him and then the real reason for fasting would begin – not ritual fasting for religious reasons but grief because the bridegroom had been permanently removed – so they thought.

Jesus did not tell them the end of the story. He was under no obligation to inform people who had no attachment to Him about His future. That would come later when His own disciples were thoroughly convinced that He was who He said He was – the Son of God – and would bear witness through their changed lives, in the power of the Holy Spirit, that the kingdom of God had really come.

In the meantime it was perfectly okay for them to enjoy the presence of the bridegroom for a little while and not to get all religious about it.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

 

Available on www.amazon.com or www.kalahari.com in paperback, e-book or kindle format, or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

 

Check out my blogsite at www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

The Bridegroom Is Here!

Bible Study, , ,

THE BRIDEGROOM IS HERE!

“They asked Him, ‘John’s disciples are well-known for keeping fasts and saying prayers. Also the Pharisees. But you seem to spend most of your time at parties. Why?’ Jesus said, ‘When you are celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to pull in your belt, but this isn’t the time. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. When the groom is gone, the fasting can begin. No one throws water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come.

‘No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put wine in old cracked bottles, you get strong, clean bottles for your fresh vintage wine. And no one who has ever tasted fine aged wine prefers unaged wine.'” Luke 5:32-39 (The Message).

What was that all about? Weddings; wine; mending old clothes? How did that answer their question about fasting and prayer?

John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, who had faithfully practised and taught his disciples the requirements of the religious system he represented. Part of the ritual was the daily prayers and the required fasting which he and his disciples had engaged in while he was alive. He had not been a disciple of Jesus in the sense of following Him as the Twelve were doing.

Although Luke did not record the circumstances of John’s death, we can assume that by this time Herod had killed him, and that his disciples were continuing where he left off.

Those who questioned Jesus had noticed the difference between John’s and Jesus’ disciples. While John’s followers were practicing their religion, Jesus and His disciples seemed to be a happy-go-lucky lot, going to banquets and feasting instead of fasting.

Jesus answered, using the imagery of the Old Testament Scriptures. Wine and weddings were familiar pictures of Israel and her relationship with God. At Sinai after their deliverance from Egypt, God invited His people into a marriage relationship with Himself, using wedding talk to engage their understanding of how He viewed the union He desired to have with them.

The life He offered them to return to, in spite of their persistent waywardness and spiritual adultery, was like spicing up their lives with wine. “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Isaiah 55:1 (NIV).

On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came, the followers of Jesus were accused of being drunk, and they were — on the new wine of the Holy Spirit! Jesus had not come to patch up an old, worn-out religious system with “a silk scarf”. He had come to bring something altogether new, so radical in its newness that it could never be poured into the old wineskins of rules and ritual, which is what Judaism had become, another “ism” of performance which most of them could not keep up.

The kingdom of God is a kingdom of joy and celebration. They had to learn that their God is a joyful, glad God, not a mad or sad God. This was all about a wedding and at a wedding no one fasts! When Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding, He made enough of the best quality wine to keep the celebration going for many days.

Jesus had lit a fire because the kingdom of God had arrived, and He wanted no one to put it out by dousing it with old rigid practices that extinguished its joy. The wedding feast had begun, the new wine was flowing, hearts were being set ablaze because the Bridegroom had finally come!

Where do you fit in? Are you still clinging to the old stuff that makes you want to abstain? Come, join the party because the Bridegroom is here.