Fasting in the Life of the Disciple
The adversaries of Jesus saw him as a “gluttonous man, and a winebibber.” Yet when we read carefully it’s apparent that Jesus hardly ever ate! Matthew describes how the Disciples and Jesus spent a night sleeping outdoors (Matt 21:17). The word “lodged” used by Matthew means; “to spend the night in the open air”. This was not the Bethany Bed and Breakfast! Their meal that morning would be whatever they could forage on the path back to Jerusalem. When they came upon the Fig tree, it had no fruit (Mk 11:11-14). So they spent the morning hungry. In passages like this, we always miss the obvious. We are more than ready to discuss and teach the lessons of the fig tree, but not of Jesus and his hungry disciples. Mark tells us that this was a normal occurrence.
In the Gospel of Mark where Jesus sends his disciples out to preach, he sends them with no food or money to buy food!
“And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money”(Mark 6:8).
And when they return from their mission work, they have nothing; “they had no leisure so much as to eat” (Mark 6:31).
The Psalms confirm that Jesus would live a life of fasting and prayer. “My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt” (Psa 109:24 NIV).
When walking through Samaria, Jesus was so tired he collapses by the well outside the village. His disciples go into the town to buy food. When they return, they had to urge him to eat (John 4:31). His reply was “I have meat to eat that ye know not of” (v 32) and then he refused what they offered. John implies Jesus did not eat that night also. We wonder if the disciples allowed themselves to eat their warm bread that night. Would you?
Food That Ye Have Not Known1
Jesus was always denying himself. Immediately after he was baptized, Jesus pushed his body to the extreme and fasted for forty days.
So how do we reconcile these two views of Jesus? Our lord’s enemies said he was gluttonous and ate with sinners yet the record indicates the opposite. The Disciples of John also have the wrong impression of Jesus. They couldn’t understand why Jesus and the disciples didn’t fast like they did!
It would seem to me that Jesus fasted in the only acceptable way, in private! This is exactly what Jesus prescribed.
“But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast” (Matt 6:17-18).
When we read carefully, it seems that it is the disciples and not the master who get their fill of Bread. (See Matthew 9:14-15). In the brief glimpses we get of Jesus at the dinner table he is probing the thoughts of those around him and correcting them (Luke 7:39-40). He is not eating. There may have been a lot of pleasant food on the table but he had a different sort of Bread he wanted to share with those who would hear. (Luke 1:53, Matt 16:11-12).
Jesus fasted, but only a few around him realized it.
What About Us
Nowhere in Scripture are today’s disciples commanded to fast! But what is surprising to me is how many Christadelphian’s say that “fasting is old fashioned and not necessary.” In obvious places where fasting should be discussed, it’s glossed over. For instance, in Matthew 17 where the epileptic is healed, Matthew records; “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” (v 21). One writer says “That’s why prayer is so important”. Missing the “and fasting” part of the verse! With a sigh of relief others remark that this verse may not even be in the original so fasting is not necessary.
It’s an odd thing that so many of us are quick to write this off. Perhaps it reminds us of other religions who emphasize fasting. Perhaps it’s too much like a “work”, a public display of our discipleship. Of course that was the mistake of the Pharisees and the Lord rebukes them. But is it a mistake for us to see no value in fasting privately?
It’s quite clear that fasting was part of the disciple’s life.
“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted,” (Acts 13:2).
“And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed” (Acts 14:23).
“…that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer” (1 Cor 7:5).
God’s word tells us that:
- Fasting is humbling oneself,
- Fasting is acknowledging that we are but dust,
- Fasting reminds us that “in me dwells no good thing”,
- Fasting reminds us of self denial,
- Fasting reminds us that we depend on God for everything!
Writing in the Testimony magazine, Bro. Harry Tennant writes:
“…without human strength, the son of God rises to declare, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ Here is fasting for a purpose, denial of self that he might show forth the father. His body prepared by God was to be no vessel for sin, but constantly to affirm, ‘I come to do thy will’ ”.2
This captures the spirit of fasting. We should live for God, we should deny self, we should hunger and thirst for righteousness. Fasting reminds the believer of these.
Central to fasting is prayer and self denial.
“Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words” (Dan 10:12).
“But [like a boxer] I buffet my body — handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships — and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit — not stand the test and be unapproved — and rejected {as a counterfeit]” (1Cor 9:27 Amp).
“For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.” (Psa 69:9-10).
For Dust Thou Art
Fasting is certainly not for God’s benefit and he does not require this from us. It would be huge mistake to think of Biblical fasting as dieting, detoxing our bodies or prolonging our lives in some way. As the verses above point out, fasting is to afflict the body, to subdue and chasten it.
“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
Dr. Strong tells us the very idea of denial is:
- “To affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with someone.”
- “To forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests.”
Fasting is denying ourselves, acknowledging the sad state of our mortality. Paul captures this sense in Romans: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (7:24).
David, the mighty King of Israel is found lying down on the earth fasting for his sick child (2Sam 12:16). The proud King of Nineveh covered in ashes, sitting in the dust and fasting (Jonah 3:5-9). The repentant captives with Nehemiah are fasting and lying on the earth in sackcloth (Neh 9:1). And evil King Ahab, humbled, lying in sackcloth before the Lord (1Kgs 21:27). Besides the obvious humbling of these men and women, an associated idea is sitting or lying on the earth. In other passages, fasting is associated with ‘ashes’ (Esth 4:3, Dan 9:3). This is a conscious decision of people to humble themselves and declare as Abraham, I “am but dust and ashes” (Gen 18:27).
Fasting is meant to remind us of our mortal nature (dust and ashes) and our need for God’s Mercy and forgiveness. Fasting counteracts our own natural tendencies.
In Ephesians Paul reminds us; “For no man ever had hate for his flesh; but he gives it food and takes care of it” (5:29 Bible in Basic English).
On the day of Atonement, Israel fasted and prayed to God before the Priest would symbolically enter into God’s presence in the Temple and offer incense (Psa 141:2). This humility of flesh before God is absolutely necessary before we come before the Father. Now you understand why it is so odd that our books on prayer do not mention fasting!
I Set My Face Unto The Lord God
Nowhere in the New Testament is fasting discouraged. In fact advice is given on making fasting successful. Fasting can make us aware of the adversary within us whom we appease every day. It took an unintended fast for the prodigal to realize that the world he lived in could not save him and that in his Father’s house was “bread enough to spare.”
This was certainly a big help in the life of Daniel in his service to God. “I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes” (Dan 9:3).
If we choose to try fasting, some hints would be;
- Focus on replacing food with prayer. Having a prayer list ready when hunger pangs strike is very helpful in overcoming natural desires.
- Pray for those on your prayer list thoughout your fast.
- Remember that fasting shows our humility before our creator. Therefore keep your fasting private.
- Focus on God’s word during your fast.
- Choose a manageable time frame, perhaps morning till night, or 24 hours, etc.
- Finally when you do eat again, remember to thank God not only for the bread before you, but the Living Bread who gave up all his desires and replaced them with his Fathers.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One