GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 2:20
Fasting
Close friendships enrich one’s life. At one job, I established a close friendship with John. We often worked together and usually ate lunch together. When it was time to leave the job for another, I told John. I was excited about the new job and the adventure that lay ahead. However, when we came to the lunchroom, John just sat staring at his lunch. He said he did not feel like eating. While I was excited about the new job, John, saddened by the new information, didn’t eat his lunch. It wasn’t exactly fasting, but since that time, I’ve had occasions where a bit of news took my appetite away, so I’ve sensed the same loss of appetite sensation that John had.
After critics accused Jesus’ disciples of feasting when they should have been fasting, Jesus told the critics that a member of a bridal party does not fast while the bridegroom is with them. He concluded by saying, “And days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them and then they will fast in that day.” (Mark 2:20) This is the first time Jesus mentioned the time when he would be taken from his disciples. When that happens, he said that they will fast; it will be a time when their appetite will be taken from them. Commentators debate whether Jesus was announcing that fasting would be characteristic of his followers or that his death would be such a crisis that it would steal their appetite.
One may choose to fast as a matter of discipline; or he may fast in order to gain a new appreciation for his blessings. To be spiritually beneficial, the fast must arise from a heart desire rather than a command.
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