F. Fasting (5:33–39)
F. Fasting (5:33–39)
33. Jesus’ disciples were too cheerful. They did not practise mournful fasts and this puzzled some. Though the only fast prescribed in the law was that on the Day of Atonement, fasting was practised by John the Baptist’s followers and by those of the Pharisees. So they asked Jesus why his disciples did not conform to this widespread practice. The reference to offering prayers probably means set prayers at fixed hours. Luke makes it very clear that Jesus and his followers prayed often. And indeed here, though Jesus agrees that his followers do not fast, he does not say the same about prayer.
34–35. ‘Wedding guests don’t fast’ is the gist of Jesus’ answer. His presence brings joy like that of a wedding party. Really to follow him is to enter a happy experience. While he is with them his disciples cannot fast; but he does envisage a day when he will be taken away from them. This surely refers to the cross (there may be the notion of violence in the verb aparthē). When this happens they will fast. Jesus does not say ‘will be made to fast’ (cf. the question in v. 34), and he seems to refer to voluntary fasting.
36. He adds a parable (the word can denote a short, pithy saying as well as a story). He takes it from the homely practice of patching clothes. To patch an old garment with a piece torn from a new one is to spoil both, the new by being torn and the old by having a patch that does not match. Mark’s version is slightly different. He speaks of a piece of ‘unshrunk cloth’ used as a patch, when its greater strength will make it tear away from the old, thus making a worse tear than the one it mended. Clearly the illustration was used more than once in slightly different forms.
37–39. Another illustration is taken from wineskins. The flesh and bones of animals, usually goats, were removed, leaving the skins intact. They could then be used as containers for liquids. At first they were fairly elastic, but when old they lacked this quality and could easily burst under stress. Jesus says that new wine put into old skins means burst skins and spilled wine. New wine must be put into fresh wineskins. Both this and the previous illustration drive home the point that Jesus is not simply patching up Judaism: he is teaching something radically new. If the attempt is made to constrict this within the old wineskins of Judaism (e.g. by imposing fasting), the result will be disastrous. He sees that this teaching will not be palatable to some. A man drinking old wine does not want even to try the new. The old is good, he says (not ‘better’, as the margin). He is not even comparing them. He is so content with the old that he does not consider the new for a moment. ‘It’s the old that’s good!’