{"id":916,"date":"2022-05-10T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-10T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=916&2022"},"modified":"2022-05-05T18:00:23","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T00:00:23","slug":"fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Fasting Without the Groom: Matthew 9:14-17"},"content":{"rendered":"
Focus Passage: Matthew 9:14-17 (GW)<\/div>
\r\n

14\u00a0<\/sup>Then John\u2019s disciples came to Jesus. They said, \u201cWhy do we and the Pharisees fast often but your disciples never do?\u201d<\/p>

15\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus replied, \u201cCan wedding guests be sad while the groom is still with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.<\/p>

16\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cNo one patches an old coat with a new piece of cloth that will shrink. When the patch shrinks, it will rip away from the coat, and the tear will become worse. 17\u00a0<\/sup>Nor do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, people pour new wine into fresh skins, and both are saved.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Read Matthew 9:14-17<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n

Part way into Jesus\u2019 ministry, the gospel of Matthew draws our attention onto a question that John the Baptist\u2019s followers ask Jesus. While Mark and Luke share this event as well, Matthew points out that some of the people asking this question might have been John\u2019s followers.<\/p>\r\n

At this point in history, John had been arrested and he was either locked away in a jail cell or he had been beheaded. Most likely, John was still alive, and this may have been one reason for John\u2019s followers to have placed emphasis on the spiritual discipline of fasting.<\/p>\r\n

Matthew tells us that John\u2019s followers came to Jesus with a question. They ask Jesus, \u201cWhy do we and the Pharisees fast often but your disciples never do?<\/strong>\u201d (v. 14)<\/p>\r\n

On the surface this is a valid question. What makes Jesus\u2019 disciples different from the other \u201cdisciple- groups\u201d of that culture?<\/p>\r\n

Jesus responded to them with an illustration that doesn\u2019t directly answer the question while it also answers their question. Jesus replied, \u201cCan wedding guests be sad while the groom is still with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.<\/strong>\u201d (v. 15)<\/p>\r\n

In this response, Jesus shares His answer using terms of a wedding feast. In a semi-subtle way, He identifies Himself as \u201cthe groom\u201d at a wedding feast. While this isn\u2019t typically one of the passages that we think of when looking forward towards heaven, at the end of time, there will be a great union between God and His people that other places in the Bible parallel with a wedding feast. In those places as well as in Jesus\u2019 words in this passage, He is the groom, and God\u2019s people (the Church)<\/em> are His bride.<\/p>\r\n

Jesus doesn\u2019t dismiss the spiritual discipline of fasting. Instead, He refocuses this discipline onto what it was intended for. While Jesus was physically present on earth working miracles, there were no reasons for His followers to fast. Fasting is done when one is sad or needing to refocus their life, mind, and\/or heart.<\/p>\r\n

In our own lives, like with Jesus\u2019 disciples, fasting can be a powerful spiritual exercise to help us focus on God better, and it can help us remember our dependence on God while also emphasizing how He has blessed us. Fasting from other things (not necessarily exclusive to food) frees up time where we can focus on God and what He wants for us.<\/p>\r\n

Fasting is a temporary spiritual discipline. While the disciples were with Jesus prior to His death, there were no reasons to fast, and when we are in heaven celebrating with God for eternity, there will be no reason to fast either. However, where we are currently in the timeline of history, fasting is one appropriate method we can use to help us remember and refocus our attention onto God.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p>

Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Part way into Jesus\u2019 ministry, the gospel of Matthew draws our attention onto a question that John the Baptist\u2019s followers ask Jesus. While Mark and Luke share this event as well, Matthew points out that some of the people asking this question might have been John\u2019s followers. At this point in history, John had been […]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-text"],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":false,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"yoast_head":"\nFasting Without the Groom: Matthew 9:14-17 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fasting Without the Groom: Matthew 9:14-17 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part way into Jesus\u2019 ministry, the gospel of Matthew draws our attention onto a question that John the Baptist\u2019s followers ask Jesus. While Mark and Luke share this event as well, Matthew points out that some of the people asking this question might have been John\u2019s followers. At this point in history, John had been […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reflectivebiblestudy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-10T09:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@godstruthhisway\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@godstruthhisway\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cam\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3\"},\"headline\":\"Fasting Without the Groom: Matthew 9:14-17\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-10T09:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":655,\"articleSection\":[\"Written Journal Entries\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\\\/\",\"name\":\"Fasting Without the Groom: Matthew 9:14-17 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-10T09:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fasting Without the Groom: Matthew 9:14-17\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/\",\"name\":\"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\",\"description\":\"Your Life. God's Truth. His Way.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3\",\"name\":\"Cam\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/avatars\\\/2\\\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/avatars\\\/2\\\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\\\/gospeladventure\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/avatars\\\/2\\\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Cam\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fasting Without the Groom: Matthew 9:14-17 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fasting Without the Groom: Matthew 9:14-17 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","og_description":"Part way into Jesus\u2019 ministry, the gospel of Matthew draws our attention onto a question that John the Baptist\u2019s followers ask Jesus. While Mark and Luke share this event as well, Matthew points out that some of the people asking this question might have been John\u2019s followers. At this point in history, John had been […]","og_url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/","og_site_name":"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reflectivebiblestudy\/","article_published_time":"2022-05-10T09:00:00+00:00","author":"Cam","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@godstruthhisway","twitter_site":"@godstruthhisway","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/"},"author":{"name":"Cam","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#\/schema\/person\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3"},"headline":"Fasting Without the Groom: Matthew 9:14-17","datePublished":"2022-05-10T09:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/"},"wordCount":655,"articleSection":["Written Journal Entries"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/","url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/","name":"Fasting Without the Groom: Matthew 9:14-17 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-05-10T09:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#\/schema\/person\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/fasting-without-the-groom-matthew-9-14-17\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fasting Without the Groom: Matthew 9:14-17"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#website","url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/","name":"Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure","description":"Your Life. God's Truth. His Way.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/#\/schema\/person\/6aa6c062baad6d28cd49429d13dee5e3","name":"Cam","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-content\/uploads\/avatars\/2\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg","url":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-content\/uploads\/avatars\/2\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-content\/uploads\/avatars\/2\/b94b7ad9f3de7c191324b19a0e9c49a1-bpfull.jpg","caption":"Cam"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}