Luke 5:33-39 — Not so "fast!"

READ THIS: Luke 5:17-26

33 They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.” 34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.” 36 He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

The Pharisees and teachers of the law who were questioning Jesus in our passage from yesterday are still grilling Him in this passage here, specifically about the fact that Jesus' disciples weren't fasting. Jesus responds to their question in three comparisons: a wedding, a garment, and a wineskin. Each of the comparisons show the same thing. Namely, they show that fasting is out of place for the moment. 

The friends of the bridegroom (aka groom) will not plan to fast while the groom is with them. People are supposed to celebrate when the groom is around. Back in these days, the groom would come and be engaged to his wife, then go home to prepare a place for the wife before coming back for her. In Jesus' case, He is the husband to the Church. He came first to tell the Church that He would be coming back. Right now, we are in the waiting period for Jesus to return. But, for the disciples, they had Jesus right then! You don't fast when there's so much cause to celebrate! It would be out of place!

Next, Jesus talks about a garment (aka a piece of clothing). Let's say the garment is a shirt you own. You have this shirt that you really like, but it has a hole in it, so you go out and get a new one similar to it. You wouldn't cut a square from the new shirt to patch up the old one...you'd just wear the new shirt. Jesus was showing a new way of following God that everyone had kind of forgotten. We're supposed to follow God with our whole selves, not just by following some rules out of habit. Throwing fasting on top of following God without changing the heart behind it would just be throwing an old habit on top of what's supposed to be a new lifestyle. Both shirts have the same material and color, but there's something fresh and new and different about the new one that needs to be appreciated in full, not just in part. So, just like the new shirt has filled in the missing patch, there will be fasting, but it will be done in a way that feels different as a whole, because it is grounded in relationship with God. (Instead of a new patch surrounded by old shirt, it's a new patch surrounded by new shirt....a new type of fasting surrounded by a new type of relationship with God). 

The final comparison is a wineskin (aka a bottle for wine made out of animal skins). The way wine was made back then was by putting unfermented juice into a new wineskin. A new wineskin was still flexible and could adapt to the wine as it fermented. The fermentation process created gas that would burst an old wineskin because it was too old to expand and shift. So, new wine had to be put in new wineskin. The old structured way of fasting could be left in the old way of doing things, but the new way of fasting empowered by relationship with God needs to fit into a new way of life entirely. 

But, at the end, Jesus makes a new point. It is hard to want something new when you know the old way is good. It's hard to replace your favorite shirt with a new one or good tasting wine with new stuff. People get used to what they have. The Pharisees were used to what they had even though it simply wasn't as good as what Jesus offered. But, their desire for the old way of doing things was out of place when faced with such a better way of doing things!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Is there something about the world's way of doing things that you think is pretty good that you don't really want to change/give up for Jesus' way of doing things?

2. What do you think is the purpose of fasting now?

TRY THIS:

Learn more about fasting in this short article (just scroll past the video if you don't want to watch it)!