While “intermittent fasting” as a way to boost our health and shrink our waistlines has become more popular in modern America, fasting as a spiritual discipline has largely fallen by the wayside. But it was an important part of Old Testament religious practice. The Law of Moses prescribed one fast a year, on the great Day of Atonement, as a way for God’s people to express their repentance from sin (see Leviticus 16:29-31). And since John the Baptist’s message had the same focus, his disciples fasted for the same reason.

So, should Christians continue this tradition? Jesus seems to say, “Yes and no.” Because He was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament ceremonies and sacrifices, His followers no longer need to engage in the Day of Atonement’s rituals. Now that He has fully and finally atoned for the sin of all His people, our response to His sacrifice should be one of celebration, not of mourning. Our faith thus needs to be placed in the new wineskins of Christ-centered worship, not in keeping the Old Testament ceremonial law.

But more than that, Jesus came to bring all who would trust in Him into a new relationship with God, becoming not just the Savior of His people, but the Bridegroom of the Church. So it only makes sense for us to rejoice that He has come to save us, in much the same way that the bridal party rejoices with the couple on their wedding day.

But as Jesus points out in verse 20, our salvation has also involved Jesus being taken away from us, first by His death on the cross, and then by His ascension into heaven. Just so, until He comes again, we are called to deny ourselves, taking up our own crosses of suffering and sacrifice in order that more people may come to know Christ as Savior (see Mark 8:34). Fasting is thus a good way of tempering our desires for worldly things and of turning our focus more consistently toward our coming King.

So, should we fast? Not if we do so in order to earn our salvation in some legalistic way. But maybe we should set aside some good and necessary things for a time, devoting ourselves to more consistent repentance and more focused prayer. For now, that’s a good way to draw close to the Bridegroom who loves His church so much.

Mark 2:18-22 (NASB)

18 And John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
19 And Jesus said to them, “While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom do not fast, do they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
20 “But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.
21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.
22 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”