Daily Devotional For Friday, October 25, 2024
It is Fantastic Friday and the weekend is just around the corner. In our devotionals we are looking at Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount found in Matthew chapters 5, 6, & 7. We currently are picking up were we left off yesterday in Matthew 6:16-18:
“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. (17) But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face (18) so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (NASB).
Notice Jesus begins with “whenever you fast.” It was HIs way of saying that fasting is not commanded but when you do fast, there are certain things God expects. Today, we come to how to fast properly as seen in verses 17-18. Fasting is mentioned over 30 times in the New Testament and always favorably. Jesus knew His disciples would fast, but unlike Jewish ritual law, He did not give specific days to fast nor times nor places to fast.
A careful reading of the Gospels reveals that there is no record ever of Jesus’ disciples fasting. Why? Fasting was traditionally done while mourning or when times were filled with stress and anxiety. When the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus why His disciples did not fast like they and the Pharisees did, Jesus replied in Matthew 9:14-15, “Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” (15) And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (NASB). Jesus says here that fasting is for mourning.
Unlike mysticism and other pagan fasting is never show in Scripture to be a means to some kind of heightened spiritual experience, visions, or special insight or revelation, or awareness. But fasting is appropriate for us today because the Christ, the Groom, is physically absent from His bride, the church in this world. We know from the Old Testament that fasting is appropriate during times of sorrow. When God caused the firstborn child of Bathsheba and David to die, David fasted (2 Samuel 12:16). When Abner died, David fasted again (2 Samuel 3:35). David even fasted when his enemies were giving him a hard time (Psalm 35:13).
On such occasions of deep grief, fasting is a natural human response. Most people do not then feel like eating. Their appetite is gone, and food is the last thing they are concerned about. Unless a person is getting seriously weak from hunger or has some specific medical reason for needing to eat, we do them no favor by insisting that they eat.
I could give you many more examples in the Old Testament about fasting, but here is the main thing I want you to know about fasting. First, penitence was often accompanied by fasting. David fasted after his double sin of committing adultery with Bathsheba and then having her husband Uriah sent to the front of the battle to be killed. Daniel fasted as he prayed for God to forgive the sins of his people. When Elijah confronted Ahab with God’s judgment for his great wickedness, the king “tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently” (1 Kings 21:27).
In the Old Testament there are examples of people fasting when they were waiting for God to speak to them, such as Daniel in Daniel 9:2-3. Do not misunderstand me here. These “waiting for God to speak to them” was not a means of achieving these revelations, but simply a disciple to do something to deny oneself to listen to God. Fasting was often associated with starting a task or a ministry. Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights before He began His ministry. As pastor and author John MacArthur says:
“Intensity and zeal over proclaiming God’s Word can so consume the mind and heart that food has no appeal and no place. Though abstaining from food has absolutely no spiritual value in itself, when eating is an intrusion on that which is immeasurably more important, it will be willingly, gladly, and unobtrusively forsaken. Both before and after the Holy Spirit directed the church at Antioch to set apart Barnabas and Saul for special ministry, the people were praying and fasting (Acts 13:2–3). As those two men of God ministered God’s Word they prayed and fasted as they appointed elders in the churches they founded (14:23)” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 403).
Second, fasting is always connected to prayer. You can pray without fasting, but you cannot fast biblically without praying. Fasting is an affirmation of intense prayer, a corollary of deep spiritual struggle before God. It is never an isolated act or a ceremony or ritual that has some inherent efficacy or merit. It has no value at all—in fact becomes a spiritual hindrance and a sin—when done for any reason apart from knowing and following the Lord’s will.
Third, is always connected to a pure heart and a submissive, obedient life. We see this in Zechariah 7:5, 9-10, “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? . . . (9) Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; (10) and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another’” (NASB).
Jesus told His disciples that if they fasted, to anoint their head wash their face. Why? To anoint the head with oil was commonly done as a matter of cleaning up yourself.. The oil was often scented and used partly as a perfume. Jesus’ point was that a person who fasts should do everything to make himself look normal and do nothing to attract attention to his deprivation and spiritual struggle.
Jesus told His disciples that if they fast, never draw attention to it in any way. Fast in secret or privately. Genuine fasting is simply a part of concentrated, intense prayer and concern for the Lord, His will, and His work. Jesus’ point is that the Father never fails to notice fasting that is heart-felt and genuine, and that He never fails to reward it. Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll gives us 7 benefits to fasting:
- “Fasting helps us concentrate attention on issues that require prayer.
- Fasting enables us to rearrange our priorities in order to focus on things that really matter.
- Fasting encourages us to examine our lives and inspect our motives.
- Fasting assists us when we’re seeking the Lord’s will.
- Fasting strengthens our self-control and discipline.
- Fasting brings us back to basics and simplifies our lives.
- Fasting equips us to recover from grief and endure sorrow” (Source: Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, “Matthew 1-15,” Vol. 1A, p. 115).
“But Jesus said there’s nothing spiritual about walking around looking like an unmade bed! To fast properly, you should take care of yourself and maintain good hygiene (6:17). If you normally shave, shave. If you normally put on makeup, do so. In other words, make sure you don’t do anything with your appearance that would draw attention to yourself. Remember, you’re fasting and praying not for the sake of those around you but for your heavenly Father, who rewards discreet, sincere spiritual disciplines (6:18). A good test of our motives is to fast and say nothing to anyone about it. Such a personal spiritual discipline is between you and the Lord” (Source: Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, “Matthew 1-15,” Vol. 1A, p. 115).
Questions To Consider
- Have you ever fasted? If so, why did you do it?
- If you have fasted, did you keep it totally private or did you tell others? If you told others, why?
- If you have never fasted, would you consider doing it as a means to mature your relationship to Christ? Why or why not?
- If you have never fasted, why? What reasons did you rationalize as why you could not or should not do it?
- Read Swindoll’s seven benefits to fasting above. Which one(s) would benefit you the most and why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Ezra 8:23, “So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I am not against fasting, but i have learned that fasting is a spiritual discipline that I should probably commit to do this for the sole purpose of discerning Your will and maturing my faith. Please help me to do this for Your glory. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly