A Leper Cleansed Jan 29
Mark 1:40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
Matthew places this story (Matt. 8:1-4) immediately after the Sermon on the Mount. In Mark, also, we must believe that the man has heard Jesus’ preaching and has believed.
The cry of the leper as he moved through society was “Unclean! Unclean!” This was commanded by Lev. 13:45. In Greek, this would be the akathartos of Mark 1:23 (Jan 20).
There was and is a disease called leprosy, meaning scaly skin. There are two main types of leprosy, each a different bacteria. One is localized and heals on its own. The second causes widespread neurological damage, numbness, rashes, etc. It is more contagious, and may take decades to kill the person.
Rather than asking for healing or elimination of his leprosy, the man makes the statement, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
The leper acknowledges Jesus’ power to cleanse, and Jesus does so. The law (Num. 5:2) forbids touching the unclean, but Jesus does and cleanses him.
This is undeniably a healing miracle. It is also a great opportunity to see both the spiritual and physical nature of Jesus’ healing power.
Matthew speaks of the people’s rejection of Jesus at Nazareth: “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Matt. 13:58) Whether the issue is an unclean spirit or a demonic power, the faith and cooperation of the ill are required.
As Paul says, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building” (1 Cor. 3:9). We cannot be healed physically or spiritually unless we are willing participants in the process.
When our disease, a physical or emotional or spiritual disease, is the result of our own actions or thoughts, any healing can only be temporary. If we over work, over worry, have too little water or nutrition, too little rest or prayer, etc., we will relapse repeatedly and need to be healed repeatedly.
His healing required both prayer and faith, willingness and cooperation.
Say Nothing Jan 30
Mark 1:43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
45 However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.
Jesus firmly commanded the former leper to tell no one of how the healing has occurred. The man is to show himself to the priests. The priests judged when a person was unclean, so they also must be consulted to pronounce the person clean and restored to society. The man must also make the sacrifices required in Lev. 14, for Jesus knows about blood offerings.
The priests will pronounce the man clean. Ironically, their pronouncement is an affirmation of Jesus’ healing power.
How can the man made whole by Jesus refrain from testifying of His power? Who had ever made a leper clean? In spite of Jesus’ command (it was more than simply “said”), honor seemed due to the humble Healer.
But Jesus does not want this word spread, does not want fame.
Jesus has just said (verse 38) that His purpose is to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15, Jan. 15).
His purpose is to preach “a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4, Jan. 5), to preach the return to God.
As Jesus said of the poor, that you will have them with you always (Mark 14:7), so also are those in need of healing with you always. But Jesus’ time is short. He has a message to preach. He must not let the good, healing the sick, get in the way of the best, turning people back to God.
Performing miracles helps to boost the credibility of His message, but the demands on Him for more healing detracts from His effectiveness in getting the message, that the Kingdom of God is here, to the people.
Now Jesus is unable to enter the populous areas without large numbers of people coming to Him. He must retreat to deserted places, the wilderness, and still they come in search of Him.
People still search for something. Blessed are they who search for Him.
The Lame Jan 31
Mark 2:1-5 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
After some days in the wilderness, Jesus goes to Capernaum. Immediately, a large crowd besieges the house. And Jesus preaches to them. This is the reason He has come to this place and time.
But His healing power is sought, as well. Four men carry a paralytic to Jesus to be healed. Unable to get past the crowd at the door, they carry the man to the roof, make a hole, and lower him down to Jesus.
The paralytic has a loss of sensation or control of muscles to a part or to all of the body. Palsy (KJV), feebleness, or an inability to move some or any limbs, might help to describe the condition. This disease could be fatal quickly or slowly.
Figuratively, paralysis is an inability to move forward in life, to walk confidently.
Spiritually, paralysis is an inability to move toward God or to be open to receiving Him. The most likely reasons are the person’s guilt for their sins, or for their belief that God is absent, not available to them. Both are a misunderstanding of the character of God.
Physical healing was not the reason for Christ’s arrival. Spiritual healing does fit very well, however, with His message that the Kingdom of God is here.
Jesus pronounces with authority, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
We do not know if the man was physically able to walk as a result of this pronouncement. He is still on the bed upon which his friends bore him.
Jesus’ provocative statement must have been met with stunned silence, followed by outrage from those trained in the religion of the day. Jesus has staked His position. And now He will show His authority for this absolution.
Arise and Walk Feb 1
Mark 2:6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
The scribes do not have large crowds following them, hanging on their words. And here is a working man with no formal degree speaking blasphemy in front of an adoring crowd. The scribes are offended and envious, jealous. Unclean spirits swirl around them.
Jesus does not have to hear them speak to know the coldness of their hearts, that they prefer the darkness of winter. His light is for the paralytic as He further heals his lame spirit. The scribes will accept or reject the light, but that is their decision.
The paralytic has come in faith for physical healing, but Jesus has given the man a greater gift. He has removed the sin barrier that the man thought separated him from God. Now Jesus will show him that God is present, an active force in the now.
“I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Jesus speaks with authority, and reality conforms to His words.
He has answered the unspoken charges of the scribes. He has shown by a physical miracle that His authority is from a higher power.
As the lame man rose and went out of the house, now able to assume his walk in life, the crowd is amazed. The scribes’ reaction is not recorded.
The spiritual power of forgiveness of sins is not outwardly visible. It is a divine power, but also a human power. Forgiveness to those who have sinned against us is commanded of us, as later in Mark (Mark 11:25-26), and in Matthew’s parable of the unforgiving servant (Matt. 18:21-35).
Jesus has shown God is with us through the simple act of forgiveness.
Calling Matthew Feb 2
Mark 2:13 Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. 14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee. He is walking in a place familiar to His fishermen disciples. And the small group with the large following pauses every now and again and Jesus speaks to the crowd.
The group stands near to someone who is familiar to the fishermen – the tax collector. Jesus has spoken in Levi’s hearing for a purpose.
Levi, the son of Alphaeus, is sitting at the tax gatherer’s place of business. Positioned by the sea, his target is clearly the fishermen.
Tax collectors were appointed based on the tax revenue they could raise from a specific area. Any money raised above this amount was their wages. Too little tax revenue and they were replaced. So much revenue that the people rebelled and there was the expense of using troops and they were replaced.
The tax collector had few friends. But this one had heard, listened, to Jesus.
Jesus calls to Levi, “Follow Me.” That a tax collector would follow Jesus seems unlikely at first. Perhaps the experiences of his job made the teachings of Jesus – forgiveness, peace, and unity, for example – more appealing than they might otherwise. And the tax collector rises and follows.
Levi is known as a tax collector, a stigma upon his new position as a disciple of Jesus.
As a tax collector, Levi’s character is questionable. He is working for the occupying force, Rome, extracting money from his own people for them. This is not his identity from God but from man.
A spiritual rebirth calls for a new name, a new identity, a new character.
He becomes known as Matthew, gift of God, rather than Levi, tax collector. He is not changing his name like a new set of clothes (although his apparel probably changed, also), but he is aligning his name with his new character.
Like the four fishermen, Levi arises and leaves all to follow Jesus. A disciple on the road with Jesus can take little with him other than the clothes on his back. Levi/Matthew knows the rate of exchange, and he accepts it.
Eating with Tax Collectors Feb 3
Mark 2:15 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Matthew, Mark, and Luke use the phrase “tax collectors and sinners” concerning the crowd joining Jesus as Matthew’s guests. Matthew and Luke use the phrase elsewhere (Matthew also links them with harlots (Matt. 21:31-32). Mature in faith, Jesus models how to call the unrighteous without compromising one’s own integrity.
The Pharisees and scribes have not seen these people, these sinners, at the Temple or synagogues. Indeed, they have never really seen them. Now they see them with Jesus. Note that Jesus is their physician, not their accomplice.
By association, the officer holders of religion classify Jesus with those they have rejected, the unrighteous. This is in spite of His teaching and His miracles, none of which they have comprehended.
Going to them, Jesus teaches the unrighteous, calling them to join Him in a new life. He speaks in a language someone aware of their own sin can hear.
Neither Jesus nor His followers spare themselves from walking in the world with those who have not yet accepted the call of God. They do not throw a message over the walls surrounding the Temple so that whoever is “out there” might catch it. They hand deliver the message, modeling love and acceptance, and invite them “in here,” into a relationship of the heart.
There is a sickness that is a sickness unto death. The mortal body that holds the soul suffers from “time and chance,” which will happen to all. Yet doctors still treat patients.
Jesus sees there is a sickness that takes the life before the body has died. This sickness is separation from God. He has come to restore life. Like the doctor, He treats the dying. He teaches the self-care that people have known from the beginning of time, that loving others is life to the self.
Only those who already are dead in spirit refuse treatment.
Fasting Feb 4
Mark 2:18 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.
Matthew 9:14 makes clear that the disciples of John ask why Jesus’ disciples do not fast. Their alignment with the Pharisees on the question is a rare point of commonality.
Fasting has its time and place, as does most everything not evil under the sun (Eccl. 3). With John the Baptist imprisoned, fasting and prayer by his disciples is appropriate. In Mark 9:29, Jesus says of a certain spirit, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
The Pharisees viewed fasting, prayer, and tithing as foundational to righteousness. They were doing the right things, but for the wrong reasons and without the right spirit.
Jesus condemns the manner in which the Pharisees observe these rites in Matthew 6, for they do it to look righteous in the eyes of men rather than God. Luke 18:11-12 shows a Pharisee justifying his holiness by these three acts, using them as tools rather than making them as offerings to God.
Jesus points out that His disciples have reason to celebrate while He, the bridegroom, is with them. They will have time for fasting when He is taken from them. Again, everything is to be appropriate to its season.
The outward forms of religion must conform not only to their inward sincerity, but also to the time. Although Jesus and His disciples sympathize with John the Baptist and his disciples because of the imprisonment, this does not change their mission.
John has called himself the friend of the bridegroom, and that the bridegroom must increase while he, John, decreases (John 3:27-36). The things that have happened all serve a purpose. If the end purpose is the glory of God through the presence of the bridegroom, why fast and be sad?
The call to each of us is to live a righteous life our self, not to judge whether another person is living righteously.
Next day
Mark 1:40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
Matthew places this story (Matt. 8:1-4) immediately after the Sermon on the Mount. In Mark, also, we must believe that the man has heard Jesus’ preaching and has believed.
The cry of the leper as he moved through society was “Unclean! Unclean!” This was commanded by Lev. 13:45. In Greek, this would be the akathartos of Mark 1:23 (Jan 20).
There was and is a disease called leprosy, meaning scaly skin. There are two main types of leprosy, each a different bacteria. One is localized and heals on its own. The second causes widespread neurological damage, numbness, rashes, etc. It is more contagious, and may take decades to kill the person.
Rather than asking for healing or elimination of his leprosy, the man makes the statement, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
The leper acknowledges Jesus’ power to cleanse, and Jesus does so. The law (Num. 5:2) forbids touching the unclean, but Jesus does and cleanses him.
This is undeniably a healing miracle. It is also a great opportunity to see both the spiritual and physical nature of Jesus’ healing power.
Matthew speaks of the people’s rejection of Jesus at Nazareth: “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Matt. 13:58) Whether the issue is an unclean spirit or a demonic power, the faith and cooperation of the ill are required.
As Paul says, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building” (1 Cor. 3:9). We cannot be healed physically or spiritually unless we are willing participants in the process.
When our disease, a physical or emotional or spiritual disease, is the result of our own actions or thoughts, any healing can only be temporary. If we over work, over worry, have too little water or nutrition, too little rest or prayer, etc., we will relapse repeatedly and need to be healed repeatedly.
His healing required both prayer and faith, willingness and cooperation.
Say Nothing Jan 30
Mark 1:43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
45 However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.
Jesus firmly commanded the former leper to tell no one of how the healing has occurred. The man is to show himself to the priests. The priests judged when a person was unclean, so they also must be consulted to pronounce the person clean and restored to society. The man must also make the sacrifices required in Lev. 14, for Jesus knows about blood offerings.
The priests will pronounce the man clean. Ironically, their pronouncement is an affirmation of Jesus’ healing power.
How can the man made whole by Jesus refrain from testifying of His power? Who had ever made a leper clean? In spite of Jesus’ command (it was more than simply “said”), honor seemed due to the humble Healer.
But Jesus does not want this word spread, does not want fame.
Jesus has just said (verse 38) that His purpose is to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15, Jan. 15).
His purpose is to preach “a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4, Jan. 5), to preach the return to God.
As Jesus said of the poor, that you will have them with you always (Mark 14:7), so also are those in need of healing with you always. But Jesus’ time is short. He has a message to preach. He must not let the good, healing the sick, get in the way of the best, turning people back to God.
Performing miracles helps to boost the credibility of His message, but the demands on Him for more healing detracts from His effectiveness in getting the message, that the Kingdom of God is here, to the people.
Now Jesus is unable to enter the populous areas without large numbers of people coming to Him. He must retreat to deserted places, the wilderness, and still they come in search of Him.
People still search for something. Blessed are they who search for Him.
The Lame Jan 31
Mark 2:1-5 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
After some days in the wilderness, Jesus goes to Capernaum. Immediately, a large crowd besieges the house. And Jesus preaches to them. This is the reason He has come to this place and time.
But His healing power is sought, as well. Four men carry a paralytic to Jesus to be healed. Unable to get past the crowd at the door, they carry the man to the roof, make a hole, and lower him down to Jesus.
The paralytic has a loss of sensation or control of muscles to a part or to all of the body. Palsy (KJV), feebleness, or an inability to move some or any limbs, might help to describe the condition. This disease could be fatal quickly or slowly.
Figuratively, paralysis is an inability to move forward in life, to walk confidently.
Spiritually, paralysis is an inability to move toward God or to be open to receiving Him. The most likely reasons are the person’s guilt for their sins, or for their belief that God is absent, not available to them. Both are a misunderstanding of the character of God.
Physical healing was not the reason for Christ’s arrival. Spiritual healing does fit very well, however, with His message that the Kingdom of God is here.
Jesus pronounces with authority, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
We do not know if the man was physically able to walk as a result of this pronouncement. He is still on the bed upon which his friends bore him.
Jesus’ provocative statement must have been met with stunned silence, followed by outrage from those trained in the religion of the day. Jesus has staked His position. And now He will show His authority for this absolution.
Arise and Walk Feb 1
Mark 2:6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
The scribes do not have large crowds following them, hanging on their words. And here is a working man with no formal degree speaking blasphemy in front of an adoring crowd. The scribes are offended and envious, jealous. Unclean spirits swirl around them.
Jesus does not have to hear them speak to know the coldness of their hearts, that they prefer the darkness of winter. His light is for the paralytic as He further heals his lame spirit. The scribes will accept or reject the light, but that is their decision.
The paralytic has come in faith for physical healing, but Jesus has given the man a greater gift. He has removed the sin barrier that the man thought separated him from God. Now Jesus will show him that God is present, an active force in the now.
“I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Jesus speaks with authority, and reality conforms to His words.
He has answered the unspoken charges of the scribes. He has shown by a physical miracle that His authority is from a higher power.
As the lame man rose and went out of the house, now able to assume his walk in life, the crowd is amazed. The scribes’ reaction is not recorded.
The spiritual power of forgiveness of sins is not outwardly visible. It is a divine power, but also a human power. Forgiveness to those who have sinned against us is commanded of us, as later in Mark (Mark 11:25-26), and in Matthew’s parable of the unforgiving servant (Matt. 18:21-35).
Jesus has shown God is with us through the simple act of forgiveness.
Calling Matthew Feb 2
Mark 2:13 Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. 14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee. He is walking in a place familiar to His fishermen disciples. And the small group with the large following pauses every now and again and Jesus speaks to the crowd.
The group stands near to someone who is familiar to the fishermen – the tax collector. Jesus has spoken in Levi’s hearing for a purpose.
Levi, the son of Alphaeus, is sitting at the tax gatherer’s place of business. Positioned by the sea, his target is clearly the fishermen.
Tax collectors were appointed based on the tax revenue they could raise from a specific area. Any money raised above this amount was their wages. Too little tax revenue and they were replaced. So much revenue that the people rebelled and there was the expense of using troops and they were replaced.
The tax collector had few friends. But this one had heard, listened, to Jesus.
Jesus calls to Levi, “Follow Me.” That a tax collector would follow Jesus seems unlikely at first. Perhaps the experiences of his job made the teachings of Jesus – forgiveness, peace, and unity, for example – more appealing than they might otherwise. And the tax collector rises and follows.
Levi is known as a tax collector, a stigma upon his new position as a disciple of Jesus.
As a tax collector, Levi’s character is questionable. He is working for the occupying force, Rome, extracting money from his own people for them. This is not his identity from God but from man.
A spiritual rebirth calls for a new name, a new identity, a new character.
He becomes known as Matthew, gift of God, rather than Levi, tax collector. He is not changing his name like a new set of clothes (although his apparel probably changed, also), but he is aligning his name with his new character.
Like the four fishermen, Levi arises and leaves all to follow Jesus. A disciple on the road with Jesus can take little with him other than the clothes on his back. Levi/Matthew knows the rate of exchange, and he accepts it.
Eating with Tax Collectors Feb 3
Mark 2:15 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Matthew, Mark, and Luke use the phrase “tax collectors and sinners” concerning the crowd joining Jesus as Matthew’s guests. Matthew and Luke use the phrase elsewhere (Matthew also links them with harlots (Matt. 21:31-32). Mature in faith, Jesus models how to call the unrighteous without compromising one’s own integrity.
The Pharisees and scribes have not seen these people, these sinners, at the Temple or synagogues. Indeed, they have never really seen them. Now they see them with Jesus. Note that Jesus is their physician, not their accomplice.
By association, the officer holders of religion classify Jesus with those they have rejected, the unrighteous. This is in spite of His teaching and His miracles, none of which they have comprehended.
Going to them, Jesus teaches the unrighteous, calling them to join Him in a new life. He speaks in a language someone aware of their own sin can hear.
Neither Jesus nor His followers spare themselves from walking in the world with those who have not yet accepted the call of God. They do not throw a message over the walls surrounding the Temple so that whoever is “out there” might catch it. They hand deliver the message, modeling love and acceptance, and invite them “in here,” into a relationship of the heart.
There is a sickness that is a sickness unto death. The mortal body that holds the soul suffers from “time and chance,” which will happen to all. Yet doctors still treat patients.
Jesus sees there is a sickness that takes the life before the body has died. This sickness is separation from God. He has come to restore life. Like the doctor, He treats the dying. He teaches the self-care that people have known from the beginning of time, that loving others is life to the self.
Only those who already are dead in spirit refuse treatment.
Fasting Feb 4
Mark 2:18 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.
Matthew 9:14 makes clear that the disciples of John ask why Jesus’ disciples do not fast. Their alignment with the Pharisees on the question is a rare point of commonality.
Fasting has its time and place, as does most everything not evil under the sun (Eccl. 3). With John the Baptist imprisoned, fasting and prayer by his disciples is appropriate. In Mark 9:29, Jesus says of a certain spirit, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
The Pharisees viewed fasting, prayer, and tithing as foundational to righteousness. They were doing the right things, but for the wrong reasons and without the right spirit.
Jesus condemns the manner in which the Pharisees observe these rites in Matthew 6, for they do it to look righteous in the eyes of men rather than God. Luke 18:11-12 shows a Pharisee justifying his holiness by these three acts, using them as tools rather than making them as offerings to God.
Jesus points out that His disciples have reason to celebrate while He, the bridegroom, is with them. They will have time for fasting when He is taken from them. Again, everything is to be appropriate to its season.
The outward forms of religion must conform not only to their inward sincerity, but also to the time. Although Jesus and His disciples sympathize with John the Baptist and his disciples because of the imprisonment, this does not change their mission.
John has called himself the friend of the bridegroom, and that the bridegroom must increase while he, John, decreases (John 3:27-36). The things that have happened all serve a purpose. If the end purpose is the glory of God through the presence of the bridegroom, why fast and be sad?
The call to each of us is to live a righteous life our self, not to judge whether another person is living righteously.
Next day
