“Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?“ 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.“ Matthew 9:14-15

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received as a student of the Bible was from Philip Jensen, the former Dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney, Australia. According to him, before we take a plunge into creating a doctrine on any subject as New Testament Christians, we must first search the gospels to see what Jesus said about it.

Of course, there are many topics for which nothing is recorded of Jesus in the gospels, which is fine, but for the ones on which something is recorded, that is the best place to begin. That should be the case for the doctrine of fasting as well. What did Jesus teach about fasting, and how should that shape our practice of this neglected spiritual discipline?

Stewing in their religious condescension and discontent, the disciples of John came to Jesus inquiring, “why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?“ This question provides insight into how important fasting was to the Jews of Jesus’ day. This is further corroborated by the story Jesus told about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18, where we see that fasting twice a week was a very normal part of Jewish religious life.

The current religious landscape in Ghana is not very different from the days of Jesus as regards fasting, especially at the beginning of a New Year. If you’ve observed, there is a flurry of billboards and flyers, radio and television adverts announcing prayer and fasting meetings across churches in the country, some running for as long as 40 days.

Fasting is quite a feature of the Ghanaian religious experience, so I’m sure many Christians can identify with the concerns of John’s disciples. Why do we fast, and others don’t?

As important as the question is, it is the response of Jesus that must engage our attention. The Jews of Jesus’ day were known for being so concerned about the letter of the Law that they often missed the spirit behind it, which explains why they were angry when Jesus healed a sick person on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6).

In the case of fasting, the concern was why they fasted but others did not. It didn’t matter the reason for fasting – as long as it was being done, they would be fine with it.

The Foundation for New Testament Fasting

Jesus’ response to them in Matthew 8:13-14 serves as the foundation upon which the New Testament doctrine of fasting should be built. Yes, there are many other references to fasting in the New Testament, but as rightly observed by Jensen, any doctrine on fasting should start from here.

In response to their question, Jesus said, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.“

According to Jesus, fasting has to do with mourning; mourning over a separation between two people – in this case, a bridegroom and his guests. In the New Testament, Jesus is described as the bridegroom of the church. Fasting, therefore, is an expression of mourning and longing for the presence of God.

Above all the reasons for fasting, it is primarily a discipline that seeks to deny the flesh in longing for the presence of God. The message we convey when we fast is that; we desire God more than whatever we deprive ourselves of.

In his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney defines fasting as “a Christian’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.“

Another critical thing to note in Jesus’ response is that fasting is expected of New Testament Christians. In verse 15, he says, “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.“  It was a matter of when, not if, his followers would fast. Sadly, fasting is one of the most neglected disciplines among evangelical Christians today; and that says a lot about our lack of longing and desire for the bridegroom.

Reason for Fasting in the Bible

A survey of both the Old and New Testaments shows many reasons people fasted. Whitney groups them under nine headings: to seek protection and deliverance from God (2 Chronicles 20:3-4; Ezra 8:23); seek guidance from God (Judges 20:26; Acts 14:23); express grief (2 Samuel 1:11-12); express repentance and return to God (1 Samuel 7:6; Jonah 3:5-8); humble oneself before God (1 Kings 21:27-29; Psalm 35:13); express concern for the work of God(Nehemiah 1:3-4); minister to the needs of others (Isaiah 58:6-7); overcome temptation and dedicate oneself to God (Matthew 4:1-11); and express love and worship to God (Luke 2:37).

It is essential to observe that the purpose for all these instances of fasting was God-centered; that should also be the reason for our fasting. When we fast, we are expressing a deep desire and longing for the presence of God. This is why Jesus’ reply to the disciples of John is quite instructive.

According to Jesus, as long as he was around, there was no need for the disciples to fast. However, there would come a time when he would be taken away from them, and then they will fast. This suggests that the only reason why they would fast is that they long for his presence. It’s logical to conclude then that there will be no fasting in heaven because we will be in the presence of God forever.

Wrong Reasons to Fast

Throughout the Scriptures, fasting was always done with a particular purpose in mind; that should also be the case today. We should never get to a place where we fast just because everyone is doing it.

This is what the disciples of John were advocating for. They were fasting and couldn’t understand why the disciples of Jesus were not. It didn’t matter the reason; as long as people were fasting, they were happy. This was not only the case with fasting but with many other religious traditions as well. As time went on, the Jews had lost the significance of all the religious practices God had commanded them to observe.

In our own materialistic Christian culture, the danger we run is to have a self-centred approach to fasting, where we practice the discipline just because of what we can get from God. We embark on fasting with a litany of wants we would like God to provide. However, as we saw earlier, the motive for fasting has always been God-centered, and that should be the case with us.

God does not honour self-centred prayers or fasting. In his rebuke against worldliness and materialism, James reminded his readers of the reason they do not receive the things they asked for in prayer. In chapter 4:3, he writes, “you ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.“

Each of us can easily fall into one of those traps; fasting either because everyone is doing it or making it a self-centred exercise, treating it as a magic bullet to get what we want from God.

According to the Bible, both of them are wrong reasons to fast. May the Lord grant us a genuine longing for his presence, and may that be the desire that drives our fasting, both at the beginning and throughout the year.