A Discussion about Fasting

Meditations of the Gospel of Mark

August 4, 2020

A Discussion about Fasting

Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them.

Mark 2:19

Read: Mark 2: 18-22

John the Baptist’s disciples and the Pharisees were keeping the religious tradition of fasting on certain days. Some busybodies asked Jesus why his disciples weren’t fasting. Jesus answered them with three illustrations showing how different is the new Kingdom of God he was announcing.

By referring to himself as a bridegroom, Jesus reveals his presence marks the marrying of the Kingdoms of Heaven and Earth and also invokes the image of the most joyous of occasions in Jewish culture – the wedding feast.

Jesus’ reference to old and new cloth and old and new wineskins illustrate that he is birthing a new community of faith where everything is new! “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

My Takeaway: Jesus’ statement that his new wine needs new wine skins is a reminder for me to listen to the Apostle Paul everyday: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12: 2a NIV). Becoming a fully-devoted follower of Jesus, and seeking the life in Christ as my way of life, requires unlearning the ways of the world as much as learning the ways of Christ.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.