Mark 2:18-22

People ask about fasting Mark 2:18-22: Some of the Pharisees asked Jesus, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Fasting was not a commanded by God as a general religious practice. John the Baptist was dead and his disciples were fasting in his memory. Jesus identified Himself as the bridegroom and He said His disciples would fast after the wedding. It would be appropriate for His special friends to lament after He was gone.

Jesus gave the illustration of the new cloth on the old garment. He was doing the right thing at the right time. He did not come to patch up Judaism with the new teachings of Christianity. Christianity was a new and better way. The new wine in old wineskins also teaches the lesson of doing the right thing at the right time. Jesus' new teachings could not be subordinated to Jewish customs. They simply would not fit. Something would break.

What about fasting today? Christians are not commanded to fast under the New Testament. When Christ spoke of fasting He spoke of it as a matter of private devotion to God. (Matthew 6:16-18) Fasting can provide strength and encouragement for the Christian. However, since we find neither a certain time nor required observance for fasting in the New Testament, we conclude that fasting is an individual activity determined by each Christian.