Sunday, February 20, 2011
RELATING FASTING TO THE CROSS OF JESUS
The last two weeks we have looked intently at two specific passages -- Matt. 9:14-17 and then Isaiah 58. This week we are going to back away and pull some of the passages together that we have been examining the last few weeks. I want to put before us a very definite theme concerning this subject of fasting.
I. Did Jesus Fast?
Let me ask you a question. Did Jesus fast? Yes, we looked at it a few weeks ago. Jesus went into the desert and fasted for 40 days. Now another question. Other than the 40 days of fasting right after His baptism and just before the temptations, did Jesus fast? Do we have any record of such fasting in the New Testament? At first glance, I would say no. However, recently I was reminded of a particular passage which sheds light on the subject. I am referring to Jesus’ contact with the Samaritan woman in John 4. You will recall that Jesus and His apostles broke with the common Jewish practice when they cut through Samaria on their way from Judea to Galilee. It was about noon when they approached a town called Sychar. Jesus sat down by the well outside of town, while His disciples went into town to get something to eat. It was there that He met the woman who came out to draw water. Jesus asked her for a drink and then engaged her in conversation, ultimately telling her openly that He was the Messiah. Let’s pick it up in verse 25. Read John 4:25-34…
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. 27. And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? 28. The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29. Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30. Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. 31. In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. 32. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. 33. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? 34. Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
So did Jesus fast on that occasion? You might say, “No, He just didn’t eat anything.” Is that not what fasting is -- going without food? Did He fast the rest of the day? I don’t know, because we are not told. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that Jesus didn’t eat anything the rest of the day. Why? So that He could keep His record intact? He may have fasted because He was busy dealing with the all the people from Sychar which the woman brought back to see Him.
So why did Jesus fast on this occasion? Jesus Himself gives us the answer. They said to Him, “Master, eat.” Jesus replied, “I have meat to eat that you know not of.” Very literally, “I myself have meat to eat which you yourselves do not know.” Jesus fasted because His need was for the spiritual meal, which only His Father could supply. It wasn’t that He was too busy to eat. The “in the mean while” of verse 31 seems to indicate that they urged Jesus to eat between the time the woman left and the time when the people returned from Sychar. Jesus wasn’t interested in the physical food, because He was feasting on what His Father had to offer. We don’t know the details. Perhaps He was rejoicing that this woman believed and went to bring others to Him. Or perhaps He was intently praying for this woman, as she was about to confront people who had little respect for her. Whatever the specifics, the spiritual food took precedence over what the disciples could offer Him.
Notice that His fasting was closely related to the reality of life. His fasting had everything to do with His conversation with that woman. Jesus said His meat was to do the will of the One who sent Him and to finish His work.” And for what purpose did the Father send Him? Later when He had dealt with Zacchaeus, He would say, “The Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). That’s exactly what He was doing here; He was seeking the lost. Ultimately, in order to save the lost, He would hang on the cross in order to pay the penalty for sins. In talking with this woman, Jesus was doing what the Father sent Him to do. That work would not be finished until He said from the cross, “It is finished.”
So we know that on at least two occasions Jesus fasted. At first glance, those two fasts seem very different. The first lasted for 40 days, while the second may have been for just one meal. The first seemed more planned and for a definite purpose of preparation, while the second seemed more spontaneous. When Jesus fasted for 40 days, it was just Him and His Father. He had no human being with Him. But in John 4, His apostles were traveling with Him.
But while these fasts appear to be very different, they were similar in that they were related to one great purpose. They were centered on the cross and God’s plan of redemption. We saw that in the 40-day fast. You can look at it again in Matthew 4, if you want to. Remember that it was the Spirit of God that led Jesus out into the desert to be tempted by the devil (verse 1). After 40 days of intense fellowship with His Father and not eating, the temptations came. We saw how the temptations of Satan were designed to tempt Jesus to abandon submission to His Father and bypass the cross. If Satan could short circuit the crucifixion, then he could hinder God’s redemptive plan. Surely this time of fasting in the Father’s presence prepared Jesus for Satan’s deceptive temptations.
The shorter fast of John 4 has the same focus. Jesus had just shared with a sinful woman that He was indeed the Messiah who had come to give living water. After that woman invited the people of the town to come out and meet Jesus, notice the summary statement in John 4:42, "And [they] said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." It was while the woman was back in town sharing the good news of the Savior that Jesus had declined to eat, saying, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” We cannot separate the fasting of Jesus from the cross and His purpose of redemption.
II. Cross-Centered Fasting
Now go on over to Matthew 9. You will remember us looking very intently at verses 14-17. When they asked Jesus why His disciples didn’t fast, He replied, “Can the children of the bridechamber mourn while the bridegroom is with them?” The obvious answer is, “Of course, not. You can’t expect the friends of the bridegroom to fast while the groom is with them at the wedding feast.” By implication, neither can you expect my disciples to fast as long as I am with them. But Jesus continued, “But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then they will fast.” Then He went on to talk about how it would be ridiculous to use a piece of new material to patch an old garment or to pour new wine into old bottles. Jesus was saying that although His disciples will fast when He is taken away from them, it will be a new kind of fasting, different from what the disciples of John and the Pharisees practiced. This new fasting will take into consideration the Bridegroom, the Redeemer, Jesus Himself. It will be a fasting that grows out of the joy of knowing Him. Yet it will be a fasting of sorrow, because of the fact that He is not present. Yes, it will be a homesick kind of fasting, where the follower of Jesus intensely longs to see his Lord face to face. Notice that fasting is still linked very closely to God’s redemption and our Precious Redeemer.
You will remember that we asked the question, “So did Jesus’ disciples fast after He was taken back to heaven?” Come again to Acts 13, where that question is clearly answered. Let’s read Acts 13:1-4…
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 4. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
So we see that these five leaders in the church at Antioch ministered to the Lord and fasted. This ministering to the Lord speaks of that joy of knowing the bridegroom. Yet, at the same time, they seemed to be seeking the direction of the Lord. At least they were open to His direction, because they heard the Holy Spirit tell them that He had a special work for Barnabas and Saul (Paul). Then we see that before sending them out, they fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them. We are not told who is designated by the “they” of verse 3. While it may have been those five leaders, it may indicate that the whole body of Christ at Antioch prayed and fasted on behalf of Barnabas and Saul. This action certainly didn’t happen without the knowledge of the church.
And what was it that Paul and Barnabas were sent out to do? They took the gospel to lands where the gospel had not been known. They proclaimed to both Jews and Gentiles that God sent His Son Jesus to die for them on the cross. Do you see it? Their fasting was related directly to the message of the cross, to God’s redemptive plan. And when Paul and Barnabas returned through the cities where they had begun churches, strengthening and encouraging the disciples in those churches, they ordained elders in each church. Accompanying the choosing of those leaders, they fasted and prayed. These leaders would be guiding the church to go into the world and preach the gospel to all peoples. To that end they fasted and prayed. Don’t miss how the new fasting that Jesus brought is tied ever so closely to the death and resurrection of our Lord.
Last week we looked at Isaiah 58. I believe it would be safe to say that this passage focuses on fasting more than any other in the entire Bible. At first, we might conclude that Isaiah 58 has little to do with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, because it was written 700 years before He came to earth. What we do have to admit is that God clearly teaches us through this passage that fasting which pleases Him must be related to the spiritual and physical oppression around us. The people of Isaiah’s day were fasting, but their hypocritical fasting was not pleasing to the Lord because it had no effect on the way they lived. Like the fasting of the Pharisees hundreds of years later, it was arbitrary, mechanical, and full of death. Through his prophet, God said, "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 7. Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?" (Is. 58:6-7).
Do we understand that though this is an Old Testament passage, we cannot divorce it from Jesus. Who was it that came and dealt with both spiritual and physical oppression? No one did it like Jesus. Again, listen to those words He quoted from Isaiah. Last week we read it from Isaiah 61, this week let’s read it from Luke 4:16-21…
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
And once again, here what Peter said about Jesus in Acts 10:37-38, “That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 38. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” Jesus went about doing good, healing all who were oppressed by the devil. Jesus did miracles; He healed the sick; He cast out demons. Praise God! But what was the one thing He did that would ultimately heal those who were oppressed by the devil? He died on the cross, becoming the propitiation for our sins, and He rose from the grave. If He hadn’t done that, everything else would have meant nothing. Yes, He healed people and even raised the dead, but those people He healed died and those He raised died again. It was His death and resurrection that brought everlasting life to all who believe.
So even Isaiah 58 is linked to Jesus’ death on the cross. When Jesus died, it was a giving of Himself freely to those who were oppressed and beaten down. Remember His invitation: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). How does He give rest? It only happens when a person casts Himself on Jesus, trusting what He did at the cross. When we fast according to Isaiah 58, it has no value apart from Jesus’ death and resurrection. We have no power to deliver people from spiritual oppression, except to share the gospel of redemption, pointing them to the Jesus who died and rose. And while people may be able to do some humanitarian deeds on behalf of others, true caring for the hungry and poor over the long haul grows out of our relationship with the risen Christ.
That brings us back to where we started five weeks ago. You may recall that I began by warning us of the dangers of fasting. The first mention of fasting by our Lord Jesus consisted of a strong warning. Let’s read it in Matt. 6:16-18…
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18. That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
This is one example of fasting that does not please the Lord. Isaiah 58 is another. Ultimately, if fasting is not connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus, it has missed the mark. That is what Jesus was saying in Matthew 9, when He said that His disciples would fast after the bridegroom was taken away from them. True biblical fasting is rooted in our relationship with Christ and expresses both our sorrow because He is not present with us and our joy in tasting His goodness.
II. Specific Questions about Fasting
With that biblical background, let’s confront our questions: Should I be fasting? If so, how often should I fast? And for how long should I fast? Is it appropriate to fast according to a definite schedule? Is there any place for corporate fasting? In others words, should the leaders of a church call the members of that church to fast? I want to acknowledge immediately that I don’t have all the answers to those questions. I am not the final authority. However, I would be less than honest, if I did not try to deal with those vital questions that any serious Bible student must ask.
So should the believer fast? I’m not sure that “should” is the right word to use. We cannot find a biblical command to fast. While fasting is commanded on the Day of Atonement, we don’t observe that once a year celebration, because Jesus is our atonement and He offered Himself once for all on the cross. Jesus did not command His disciples to fast. So can we conclude that fasting is a thing of the Old Testament and does not apply to us? Certainly not. While Jesus didn’t command anyone to fast, He said clearly that His disciples would fast. Are you a disciple of Jesus? If so, you will fast. That is pretty simple, isn’t it? But why? Again, because our precious Lord has been taken away from us. Though we love Him and have His Spirit with us, our fellowship with Him is clouded by the distractions of the world, by the power of the enemy, and by our own sin. 1 John 3:2, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." As we long for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ (Tit. 2:13), we will fast.
Okay, Jesus says that His disciples will fast, but how often should I fast? Should I fast on a regular schedule, like once a week or once a month? Brothers and sisters, I address those questions with fear and trembling. Weigh carefully what I say, but then go before the Lord and ask Him to settle this in your minds and hearts. The reason I give you this caution is because the Bible does not directly answer this question. Jesus says clearly that His disciples will fast, but He did not add a word about how often and how long? You might say, “But Jesus condemned the way the Pharisees fasted, and they fasted twice a week. Doesn’t that mean that Jesus condemned fasting on a regular schedule?” Jesus also blasted the Pharisees for praying in public. Does that mean that He condemned all public prayer? No. Jesus was dealing with the motives of their hearts. The problem was not that they fasted two days every week, but that they did it to gain the approval of other people. Now if anyone fasts on certain days in order to impress others, that is as wrong now as it was then.
I would encourage us to ask these kinds of questions: Does my regularly-scheduled fasting grow out of my relationship with the Lord? Is it an expression of my joy in Him and my homesickness to be with Him? Is this kind of fasting related closely to my longing to relieve the spiritual and physical oppression of those around me? When I fast on a prescribed day, am I truly loving and seeking the Lord, or am I just going without food? If you are convinced that fasting every Wednesday or some other day fits into those purposes and you sense the Lord is leading you to do it, then go for it. On the other hand, we need to be aware that this kind of regularly prescribed fasting can easily become a ritual that doesn’t please the Lord. I am sure that some of my fasting in the past has been of that nature. Regardless of what you conclude about such regular fasting, never forget that Jesus tells us clearly that His disciples will fast.
When you fast, for how long should you fast? This is another question that the scripture does not directly answer. As we have seen, Jesus fasted for 40 days on one occasion and for just a meal or two on another. Did Jesus purpose to fast 40 days when He went into the desert? I rather doubt it. My opinion is that Jesus was fasting, as led by the Spirit, and it was on the 40th day that the devil came and tempted Him. Let’s trust the Lord to lead us concerning how long we should fast. It may be that some of us are so well-nourished that we will have to go without food for more than a day before it has much effect on us. The kind of lifestyle we lead can also be a factor. I don’t do the kind of physical labor that Trey Griffin does. It may be more difficult for Trey to skip a couple of meals than for me not to eat for two or three days. There is no set rules for these things. We must let the Lord guide us, as we relate our fasting to His purpose of redemption in our lives and the lives of others.
If you came looking for a fasting program, you will have to look elsewhere. We don’t find a program for fasting laid down in the New Testament. Nevertheless, as we seek the Lord and are directed by His Spirit, we will fast. That is the clear teaching of scripture. Beyond that, we must be very careful about laying down rules and regulations, lest we become as misguided as the Pharisees.
Now let’s deal with that last question: Is there a place for corporate fasting? In other words, is fasting strictly a personal thing, or would it be appropriate for a group of Christians to fast? Could there be a time for a whole church to join together in fasting? Without doubt, we see this practice in the Old Testament. When a powerful enemy threatened Judah and Jehoshaphat her king, “Jehoshphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah” (II Chron. 20:3). When Ezra and a group of Israelites were getting ready to travel to Jerusalem, Ezra proclaimed a fast and they sought the Lord to protect them on the way (see Ezra 8:21-23). In the days of Nehemiah, “…The children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them” (Neh. 9:1). A few weeks ago we read how Joel called God’s people to a time of fasting (Joel 1:14, 2:12-15). There can be no question that God was pleased when His people came together to fast and pray. However, that was in the Old Testament, and Jesus called for a new kind of fasting. Is Jesus’ kind of fasting consistent with this corporate fasting of the Old Testament?
Of course, the passage we immediately think about is Matthew 6:16-18, which we read earlier. When Jesus says anoint your head and wash your face so that you will not appear to men to fast, is He saying that we must make sure that no one else knows we are fasting? No. He is dealing with the motive of the heart. If you are married, it will be very difficult for you to fast and your spouse not know it. Jesus is warning us not to fast for the purpose of impressing people around us. We are fasting before God, not before men.
But that still doesn’t answer the question about corporate fasting. Is it proper to call God’s people to a time of fasting? I don’t believe this is a difficult question to answer. In Acts 13, we saw that five leaders in the church were fasting together. The fasting at the sending out of Paul and Barnabas may have included the whole church, though we can’t be sure. This fasting definitely went beyond the individual, and it was New Testament fasting. But what about the warning of Jesus in Matthew 6? Let me ask you a simple question: Would it be proper for the elders of this church to call the entire church to a time of prayer? Would anyone have a problem with that? We’ve done it on a number of occasions. Now I remind you that just as Jesus warned about fasting in order to impress others, He said the same thing about prayer. Let’s read it in Matt. 6:5-6, "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Do you see that Jesus’ warnings concerning prayer and fasting follow the same basic theme? If it isn’t wrong to call the church to corporate prayer, then why would we think it wrong to call the church to corporate fasting? “Well, we know that the Lord wants all His people to pray, but not necessarily to fast.” That’s not true. Jesus said that His disciples would fast after He was taken away from them. What could be more normal than for the members of the church to unite their hearts together in a time of prayer and fasting, as they seek the Lord?
Brothers and sisters, I can foresee us calling the church to a time of prayer and fasting. I am asking you to consider that now, before it happens. Unless there is some pressing physical problem that would prevent you from fasting, you need to be ready to join your brothers and sisters in seeking the Lord in this way.
Conclusion
I am well aware that there are plenty of questions we have not answered. There is no attempt to avoid questions and issues, but I believe we have tackled enough to give us a foundation concerning biblical fasting. If you have specific individual questions, we can certainly look into them.
Please allow me to close by reading a brief quote from John Piper’s book A Hunger for God (pages 89-90)…
One of the great effects of fasting is that it assists what it expresses. I mean that fasting is mainly an expression of the soul’s hunger for God. It is not a contrived means to make us love God. We love him and long for him. And then fasting rises up as a way of saying earnestly with our whole body what our hearts feel: I hunger for you, O God. Fasting expresses, rather than creates, hunger for God.
Nevertheless, it is also true that the very nature of fasting makes it an assistant to this hunger for God. The reason is that hunger for God is spiritual, not physical. And we are less sensitive to spiritual appetites when we are in the bondage to physical ones. This means that fasting is a way of awakening us to latent spiritual appetites by pushing the domination of physical forces from the center of our lives… Therefore fasting assists the very experience of hunger for God that it also expresses.
In other words, we fast because we hunger for the Lord. Yet, at the same time, that fasting increases our hunger for God. Feasting on the Lord leads us to fast. Fasting enables us to feast the more upon Him.
While there is great danger in fasting for the wrong reasons, there is even greater danger in ignoring what Jesus said His disciples would do. Through the years, almost imperceptibly, our religious society has become so dominated by physical appetites that the spiritual longings have been blunted. It has happened so gradually and subtly that most of us are almost totally unaware of it. Fasting is one of the ways we gain a more spiritual perspective.
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