“Your disciples do not fast”

Read Luke 5:33-35

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For the Jews, fasting was another aspect of the ceremonial law which needed to be kept. Even the disciples of John followed this outward expression of religion but Jesus didn’t require it (33). To the Jews this appeared to show lack of devotion to God, but, as always, Jesus was more concerned with the inner reality than the outward ritual.

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In the Old Testament fasting is always linked with penitence or mourning. So it is not appropriate at a wedding, a time of joy (34). And being with Jesus was a joyful experience for his disciples. When the time came for him to be taken from them (i.e. at his arrest and execution), then they would weep and mourn, and fasting would be a natural expression of that (35; Jn.16:20).

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Jesus himself fasted throughout the forty days in the wilderness at the start of his ministry (Lk.4:2). But there is only one other passage in the gospels where Jesus teaches about fasting and there he emphasises that what matters most is inner sincerity, free from religious pride (Mt.6:16-18). So fasting may have a place at times, but it has no intrinsic value in itself. For Christians, our faith and devotion are rooted in the joy of the resurrection (Jn.16:22).