Matthew 9:14

Sunday, 13 April 2025

 

Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” Matthew 9:14

 

“Then, they come to Him, the disciples of John, saying, ‘Through what, we and the Pharisees, we fast much. And your disciples, they fast not?’” (CG).

 

In the previous verse, Jesus instructed the Pharisees to learn what it means when the Lord spoke through the prophet, saying, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” Next, it says, “Then, they come to Him, the disciples of John.”

 

This account is restated in Mark 2 and Luke 5. What seems at first contrary to the thought of Jesus being the coming Messiah is that John’s disciples continued with him, despite John having proclaimed that Jesus is the Messiah, as in John 1.

 

It is true that two of them followed Jesus, including Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother (John 1:35-42), but here it specifically noted that John continued to have disciples. And more, it next says that they were “saying, ‘Through what, we and the Pharisees, we fast much?’”

 

The expression “through what” is one that asks for an explanation concerning a matter. It is something like, “What is the basis for your actions today?” Also, their question isn’t just that John’s disciples and the Pharisees fasted as a habit, regardless of the day. Rather, Mark’s gospel more specifically records, “The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting” Mark 2:18.

 

In other words, it appears there was a set day or occasion that precipitated their fasting. Despite this, Jesus was in the house of these taxmen and sinners, reclining and eating. The question by John’s disciples, as well as the Pharisees, as is seen in Mark 2, indicates that they would have expected everyone to fast on this particular day.

 

For example, it says in Zechariah 8 –

 

“Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“The fast of the fourth month,
The fast of the fifth,
The fast of the seventh,
And the fast of the tenth,
Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts
For the house of Judah.
Therefore love truth and peace.”’” Zechariah 8:18, 19

 

There were set days that people fasted, like those mentioned in Zechariah 8. The observant Jews would diligently follow these practices, even if they were not specifically designated in the Law of Moses. Understanding this, their question seems more relevant than it otherwise might.

 

They are not simply asking why Jesus doesn’t arbitrarily fast but why He is not following the tradition of the people. And more, it wasn’t only Jesus who may have some particular reason because He was proclaimed by John to be the Lamb of God, but they continue with the words, “And your disciples, they fast not?”

 

There was a reason for not fasting that extended beyond Jesus, even to His disciples. John’s disciples, along with the Pharisees (as noted above) were truly interested in the reason for His departure from the set traditions that they meticulously followed.

 

Life application: In Acts 11, Peter explained to those who questioned him about going into the house of a Gentile that it was directed by God. In his words, he says –

 

“Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” Acts 11:16, 17

 

Likewise in Acts 19, it says –

 

“And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’
So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’
3 And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’
So they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’
4 Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’” Acts 19:1-4

 

The gospels and Acts are showing us the progression of learning that took place in the disciples and then in the early church as well as among the people of Israel. There is a problem, however, that persists to this day. People fail to make the distinction between law and grace. Reading the gospels and Acts and understanding the progression of thought in them is intended to help us understand the difference.

 

And yet, though these events are clearly laid out for us in Scripture, many people keep falling back on the law, customs, and traditions of Israel. None of those things are binding on people who have believed the gospel.

 

And yet, because of a partial or faulty understanding of what God in Christ has done, the insidious infection of law observance, in part or in whole, remains a teaching in the church.

 

How sad it is that we cannot accept grace without reinserting ourselves into the equation, meaning that we have not accepted grace at all! Henceforth, may we rest in what Jesus has done and in that alone.

 

Lord God, we are so grateful to You for the release from bondage that we possess because of Jesus. Sin no longer has mastery over us because we are no longer under law but under grace. Help us to live with this understanding, being ever grateful for Your goodness to us through the giving of Jesus. Amen.