Daily Devotional For Friday, October 10, 2025
Good morning Southside. Thank you for taking the time to read and meditate on these devotionals. As we get ready to jump into where we left off in Matthew yesterday, let me ask you this. Have you ever fasted? I don’t mean fast as for some medical tests. I mean fast as in the biblical understanding. For years, each January, Southside did the Daniel Fast. This was 40 days of fasting. It was basically a vegan fast. No sugars. No meat and nothing from an animal. That meant giving up McAlister’s Sweet Tea for 40 days. You could only drink water also. Well, we lost a lot of weight, but that was not the goal. The goal was to take our hunger and desires for everything we had given up and pray and focus on the Lord. So, let’s go to our next passage in Matthew that deals with fasting. Look at Matthew 9:14-17:
“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. (16) But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. (17) Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved” (NASB).
Today, we are going to look only at Matthew 9:14-15 and tomorrow we will look at the rest. We read that the disciples of John the Baptizer asked this question. At the moment, the disciples of John the Baptizer were playing second fiddle to Jesus’ disciples. We know that this group lasted well into the second century. You can read about them in Acts 19:1-9. When it came to fasting, the Old Testament only required it one day a year. And that was on the Day of Atonement. See Leviticus 16:29. We know that the Pharisees fasted twice a week – on Mondays and Thursdays (Luke 18:12). So, why did John the Baptizer’s disciples raise this question about fasting. Well, it seems the party Matthew threw (that Jesus and His disciples attended) occurred on one of those prescribed Jewish fasting days.
John’s disciples fasted as a sign of mourning over sin and to prepare themselves for the coming Messiah. Where was John the Baptizer at this time? He was in prison and so his disciples sided with the Pharisees and the religious leaders on this. While they are fasting with the other religious leaders, the Messiah and His disciples are celebrating with Matthew and his fellow tax collectors. Matthew’s point is to say there are times we should fast about our sin and there are times we should feast when the lost come to Christ. This was a time to feast with Jesus when the lost came to Him.
So, John the Baptizer’s disciples threw out this question to Jesus: “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” Notice they knew where Jesus was and they knew what He was doing. So, Jesus gave them an answer they were not expecting. During biblical days, people would fast in times of disaster and as a sign of their humility and repentance due to their sin. Fasting focuses our attention on God and reveals if our hearts have changed and are doing this out of devotion or duress. For examples of this, read the following Bible passages: Judges 20:26, 1 Kings 21:27, Ezra 8:21, Joel 1:14 and Jonah 3:5.
Jesus’ answer to say while the Bridegroom, Him, was present on the earth, it was a time of celebration, not mourning. Wedding guests do not mourn or fast; they celebrate and feast. Jesus was not condemning fasting here because He fasted Himself (Luke 4:2). There is a time to fast and a time to feast. There is a time to mourn and a time to be merry. There is a time to cry and a time to celebrate.
Jesus mentioned that a day was coming when the Bridegroom would be taken away from them. The word Jesus uses here for “taken away” is the Greek New Testament word [ἀπαίρω, apairo] and it refers to something being violently removed or violently killed. Thus Jesus was referring to Isaiah’s prophecy about His death in Isaiah 53:8. “The days to come” refer to Jesus’ future crucifixion and death. During this time Jesus’ disciples would mourn and grieve. In fact, Jesus told His disciples they would grieve but their grief would turn into joy (John 16:20).
So, when we come to worship on Sundays, celebrate. Do not act like you are at a funeral. Jesus is with us as we worship and we should act, sing, and receive the Word of God as such. John the Baptizer’s disciples had watched Jesus and His disciples and saw they did not honor these man-made rules and rituals as they did. Since John the Baptizer was in prison, maybe his disciples felt fasting was in order. But they forgot Jesus the Messiah was with them, so feasting was in order. Celebration, joyous celebration was what was required.
Assignment: When you come to worship, do you celebrate freely and uninhibitedly? Or are you conscious of who may be watching? Do you celebrate more at some athletic sports event and come to church as if it was the time to mourn? Jesus is there with you. What does your worship say to Him of His being with you there and always? The next time you attend a worship service, worship; don’t worry. Celebrate, do not control your celebration.
Scripture To Meditate On: Psalm 150:1, “Praise the Lord” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, I am so sorry I get more celebratory at a ball game than I do for You in worship. I do not want to appear that I am ashamed of You or am at a funeral. Forgive me when I judge others in how freely they worship You. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly