If you are old enough and have attended church in the country, you may have sung from “shaped-note” songbooks. In that instance, the one leading the singing was called a “song leader.” If you were in a more sophisticated environment, you sang from a hymnal and the leader had the title, “Minister of Music.”
You may remember when hymnals were replaced by a projector showing the words on a screen, along with a praise band instead of an organ. The songs were repetitive choruses, led by someone called a “worship leader.”
This period of church life has been labeled as a time of the “worship wars.” Anyone who went through that experience is quite aware of the attempt of one generation to hold on to something that served them well, while another generation reached out for something meaningful to them.
Fasting served John, his disciples, and the Pharisees well, but Jesus and His followers seemed to have little interest in it. They didn’t devolve into a “fasting war,” but they did have a discussion about the practice.
“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).
There were only a couple of times in the Jewish calendar when the people were required to fast. Rudy Ross explains how fasting on one of those days affected him physically, emotionally, and spiritually during today’s video. Clearly, God designed a profound effect to take place through this fast.
In their desire to have the kind of righteousness that priests in the temple possessed, the Pharisees instituted two fast days to be practiced each week. Apparently, John and his followers also added days of fasting beyond what was required to further turn to God.
When Fasting is Needed
Could it be that Jesus and His followers looked like they were having too much fun? Rather than following John’s diet of locusts and wild honey, they attended wedding receptions and banqueted with tax collectors. Jesus needed to explain their behavior to representatives from John.
“And Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.'” (Matthew 9:15).
The most lavish wedding I ever conducted included five limousines for the wedding party and a Rolls-Royce for the bride and groom. When I arrived at the reception, I was greeted by a young woman who asked if I had an invitation. I didn’t, but I pulled out the wedding certificate and said, “I do have this.”
Once inside the reception area, I was greeted by live music and bountiful tables of food. I’m sure you will be surprised to find that locusts and wild honey didn’t share a table with caviar covering new potatoes. The party was a feast, and not a fast.
The heavenly bridegroom of the church is also the King of all kings, who left heaven to fulfill God’s purposes on earth. Rejoicing is infinitely more appropriate in the presence of our heavenly bridegroom than with any human wedding, no matter how great or small.
The same disciples who enjoyed daily meals with Jesus most certainly lost their appetites when Jesus was arrested and crucified. It would not surprise me to find that the people who deeply loved Jesus didn’t think of eating until they discovered Him raised from the dead.
If we sense a distance in our relationship with our heavenly bridegroom, fasting may help restore the closeness that we desire. It is one of several spiritual exercises that God has given us to help our relationship with Him.
Fasting, prayer, solitude, worship, confession, and other practices are not ends in themselves. They are tools that the Holy Spirit can use to draw us deeper in our relationship with the Lord. While they are not ways to achieve spiritual accolades, they are God-given tools to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in our spiritual development.
New Wineskins
How often have you seen this sign in the window of a store: “Store Closing – Opening Soon Under New Management.” When the store opens again, it is certain to be sparkling clean with new signage. There may be new employees to work with the new management.
Jesus put the world on notice that with His coming the whole system was under new management. Because the new was incompatible with the old, changes were necessary.
“No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made.
Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are ruined, but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:16-17).
One of the best ways to understand how Jesus’ “Under New Management” system changed things is to read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) in this light. Jesus didn’t eliminate the old, but He certainly reshaped it to reflect God’s purposes.
Just as Jesus’ teaching reflected the new, so did some of His actions. Jesus willingly served Gentiles and Jews alike. He ate with tax collectors and sinners and was willing to touch lepers. His band of disciples included male and female members.
The “worship wars” phase of modern church life is but one example of how people who treasure the “old wineskins” need to consider the new that God is doing. Let’s determine to live in the new of the Lord and be open to each new way our Lord works within His “Under New Management” system.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 