One
day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, "Why
don't your disciples fast like we do and the Pharisees do?" Jesus replied,
"Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Of course not.
But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. Besides,
who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and
rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. And no
one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the
pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new
wineskins so that both are preserved." Matthew 9:14-17
Once
when John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus
and asked, "Why don't your disciples fast like John's disciples and the
Pharisees do?" Jesus replied, "Do wedding guests fast while
celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can't fast while the groom is
with them. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they
will fast. "Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the
new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger
tear than before. "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the
wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost.
New wine calls for new wineskins." Mark 2:18-22
One
day some people said to Jesus, "John the Baptist's disciples fast and pray
regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples
always eating and drinking?" Jesus responded, "Do wedding guests fast
while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be
taken away from them, and then they will fast." Then Jesus gave them this
illustration: "No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses
it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the
new patch wouldn't even match the old garment. And no one puts new wine into
old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine
and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who
drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. 'The old is just fine,' they
say." Luke
5:33-39
Meditate on
fasting.
These
scripture passages are all so similar. Matthew was one of Jesus’ disciples (Luke
6:13-16), and so it is assumed that he was there with Jesus when He taught
these parables associated with fasting. He was there when Jesus was arrested in
the Garden. Mark, also known as John Mark, wrote an account of the arrest of
Jesus that mentions a young man who runs away in a sheet, which is taken away.
That guy is assumed to be Mark, who wrote that book. Later, he traveled with
Paul and then with his cousin, Barnabus (Acts 15:37 and Colossians 4:10). Luke
was not a disciple of Jesus, but he also traveled with Paul and likely heard
the stories directly from Mark. The stories were passed around and written down,
building the Gospel account of Jesus.
Fasting,
going without food, for the purpose of devotion to God, was what people
expected of Jesus and His disciples. But, Jesus used a couple of parables to
illustrate the point that He and His disciples were not fasting. Those parables
included a groom at a wedding, a patch made of new fabric, and putting new wine
in old wineskins. He simply used examples of real life that people would
understand. No one wants to fast at a wedding celebration. Rejoice and be happy—enjoy
the time and people while you are alive and well.
Do you fast or celebrate and eat?
Buffet at a hotel at the Dead Sea.
Israel
Women
knew the importance of using old or preshrunk fabric to repair a torn garment.
If new fabric is used, it will shrink when it is washed, thus tearing the old
fabric. Similar idea describes the use of with the wineskins. Wineskins need to
expand as the wine continues to ferment after it is put in the wine bags. If
old wineskins are used, they will burst as the new wine expands. So that means
the wine and the wineskins will both will be ruined, lost. Good examples that
were applicable to that time. We don’t use wineskins these days, and quite
frankly, when was the last time you heard about someone mending torn fabric at
all, whether with new or old fabric?
What do we learn about Jesus from this passage? Jesus enjoyed good food and good company. Can you imagine Him laughing and singing at a wedding party? He was practical when it came to illustrating and comparing different situations in His parables.
Do you fast or celebrate while we wait on the bridegroom?
Prayer
– Lord Jesus, thank you for these parables and the consideration of fasting. Fasting
is good not only for losing weight, but also for focusing on You, devoting our
time and energy to building our relationship with You. May we rejoice and then
fast as the Holy Spirit prompts us to do so. Help us to apply Your word to our
lives.
Verse
of Salvation ~ And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; It shall rejoice in His
salvation. Psalm
35:9 NKJV
© 2026 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New King James Version (NKJV) © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Harper Collins
Publisher. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
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