Lent, Day Three
"The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." Matthew 9:15b It was usually the Pharisees that questioned the practices of Jesus. If He was fasting, there were questions about that. If He was eating, they accused Him of being a glutton. In this particular passage, however, the ones questioning Jesus were the disciples of John the Baptist. They spent time in fasting. The Pharisees spent time in fasting. Why did not Jesus and His disciples fast? I love His full answer to them: "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." In other words, the whole purpose of fasting was to draw closer to God. But God was with them--God the Son--so why in the world would they be fasting? There would certainly come a time when Jesus would be taken away from His disciples (both when He was crucified and, ultimately, when He asce...