Spiritual Fasting…

In this part of the Sermon, Jesus was informing us of our misunderstandings of interpretation of the Law. Publicly showing your faith is great and the Lord calls upon us to be a light unto the world; however, that is with God as the focus, when you are doing it do boast yourself and how “religious” or righteous you, as a person, are, that is what is unacceptable and honestly, quite a balancing act.

‘Disfiguring their faces’, meaning having that pouty look or frowning because of your hunger. In other words, drawing attention to it when it is an intimate moment with you and your Heavenly Father.

‘secret’, Do not boast that you are fasting, but it may become necessary to gently inform in a social setting. For example, if you are fasting from food, but your friend invites you to lunch, you would have to decline. However, since you are friends, you would inform him/her of the reason for declining. In my case, I informed my wife for a number of different reasons. 

1. When you get married, the 2 became 1.
2. To let her know she would need to plan lunch and why.
3. I didn’t know how I was going to react, so she needed to be aware of possible mood swings. (Bonus, I didn’t have any.
4. Why I was locked in my office all day.
5. Last but not least and taking #1 further; the 3 became 1 because Jesus is a part of the marriage covenant.

Another reason for keeping it a secret is because fasting is different for everyone. Later, there will be verse examples.

In the New Testament, there is not a specific command to fast like there specifically is in the Old Testament; therefore, some Christians may feel more inclined to not fast. But, look at the word choice of ‘when’, not ‘if’, in Matthew 6:16. So, my assumption is that Jesus was assuming we would continue to fast as we had been previously doing. In fact, in Matthew 4:2 Jesus fasts Himself and in Mark 2:20 it states to resume fasting after Jesus ascended.

But to even expand on this example even more. A lot Christians believe that just because something was commanded or done as a custom/tradition in the Old Testament, but it was not repeated in the New Testament, that we don’t have to follow it anymore or at a minimum, that it is not in our best interest any more. I was in that category of ignorance and defiance, but now I am on a journey to re-read and strive to truly understand the Bible as a whole. 

I will not be able to uphold every single aspect of the Law, or understand if it applies today, but that really isn’t the point, is it? Humans, in this form, will never, ever be able to uphold every Law. That is why God came to earth as Jesus to uphold the Law as intended (the ‘spirt of the law’), help us with our misunderstanding of the Law, and offer the perfect blood sacrifice that could take God’s wrath against our sins for all of us. As Christians, we should still strive to uphold the Law and repent of our sins daily, directly to Jesus who is our mediator for God. We do not have to repent through a mediator that is man or an animal blood sacrifice.

So, I have mentioned ‘Law’ a lot, let’s go to the Old Testament’s “Pentateuch” (“Torah” or “Law”) (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy), the only time fasting is mentioned as mandatory is for the ‘Day of Atonement’ which falls on the 10^th day of the 7^th month (Israel fasted, cleansed the sanctuary of impurity, and asked for forgiveness of their sins through blood rituals and sending a goat into the wilderness). It is stated in Leviticus 23:32 (see below my signature for the verse and annotations).

Outside of this, the expectation of voluntary spiritual fasting with prayer is typically done alongside with other practices of mourning, lamentation (vocalized poetry about mourning), penitence (practice of asking another for forgiveness and ceasing some sinful behavior), or response to suffering/disaster. The result? Getting closer to God, understanding His will, and then, executing His will. (There are several examples in scripture, see below my signature for the verses and annotations.)

Today, a lot of times, when people (even non-Christians) think of fasting from a religious stand-point is Lent leading up to Easter. This is a timed for focused prayer, worship, repentance, and drawing closer to God. It draws from Jesus’ complete sustenance (not sure on the water part though) fasting for 40 days & nights in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1-2 prior to his ministry starting. (See below my signature for the verse and annotations.)

Today, Christians typically give up something from their diet (like meat, sugar, etc.) or a habit (like social media, drinking alcohol, etc.) when fasting. There are Biblical examples of fasting from something other than food. (See below my signature for the verses and annotations.) With these examples outside of abstaining from sustenance, one could assume that one could fast from anything with the end goal of the fast is to get closer to God.

For example, if you are fasting from social media, the time you spent on social media should be replaced with spending more time with God (as long as that is what was agreed upon) and working on your relationship.

But if you are fasting food, the purpose is to spend that entire time with God (as long as that is what was agreed upon), not just the meal time. This can look a number of different ways. For example, I was in my office from the time I woke up until getting ready for church with nothing but water while studying this topic, which includes reading in the Word, listening to a sermon, going through other Logos resources, and writing this draft blog entry. I would take breaks and listen to praise & worship music while building a Cathedral in my Minecraft world. I have a long way to go on that project, but it is fun.