FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Introduction

Over the next few weeks I want to talk about fasting. In this week's devotion, we will first begin by examining a few of the reasons why many Christians don't like the idea of fasting. Second, we will examine Scripture in order to determine if fasting is something we are still meant to do in this day and age. Then we'll finish up by examining Jesus' response to the devil's temptation after His 40-day fast. Next week we will continue our Biblical examination of fasting.

Our Distaste for Fasting

For many of us, the idea of fasting leaves a bad taste in our mouths. Maybe this is because we think of those who fast as being holier than thou. We assume that those who practice fasting only do it for the wrong reasons (e.g., to get attention). Thinking of fasting reminds us of Jesus' words to the Pharisees: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:16-18). We don't want to put on a show for others. We don't want to be hypocrites. We don't want to be perceived as being self-righteous, and so we abstain from fasting.

ccc Another reason for our distaste for fasting is that we think of it merely as a form of asceticism. Dictionary.com defines asceticism as: “the doctrine that a person can attain a high spiritual and moral state by practicing self-denial, self-mortification, and the like.” If we fast as a means of attaining a higher form of spirituality, then we are essentially claiming the ability to achieve a higher spiritual state. But we know that our spirituality comes from God alone—not from some form of imposed self-denial. As 1 Corinthians 2:12-14 says : “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Since we know that we are not capable of making ourselves more spiritual or more moral, we don't see the purpose of fasting. We are opposed to the idea that fasting might provide a sort of leverage to get what we want from God.

ccc Furthermore, we are unsettled by the seemingly close relationship between fasting and works-righteousness—the (wrong) idea that we can earn our own righteousness, or salvation, by our good works. The Bible makes it clear that this idea is not true. God judges us against His perfect law and, because we are not able to obey the law, we are helpless to save ourselves (Ephesians 2:8-9): “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” If we believe that we can somehow make ourselves right with God by doing good works, then we are placing our faith in our own works rather than in God's perfect work of salvation through Jesus. This is a very dangerous place to be! The Bible clearly states that our righteousness comes from God (Philippians 3:8-9): “I consider [all things] rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” God the Father, draws us to Jesus (John 6:44), and we come to Him offering nothing. The Holy Spirit creates faith in us, through which are able to receive what only Jesus can give us—eternal life. And even though we are called to be holy, it is God who washes, sanctifies, and justifies us (1 Corinthians 6:11). Given all of these problems, we have a hard time understanding why we should fast. We see the pitfalls of fasting, but none of the benefits.

ccc So we see that fasting, in and of itself, is meaningless. But the same could be said of prayer or worship (which I think we'd all agree are very important). The problem is that it's all too easy to do things without even thinking about them. We can mindlessly recite the words of prayers we've known since we were children, but is this really what prayer is? We can sing ages old worship hymns without thinking about God at all. Is this really worship? In the same way, we can deny ourselves food for a day, but if we do it for the wrong reasons and don't consider why we are doing it, then it's just a meaningless act. If fasting is just a form of works-righteousness, then we ought to discount it. But why then did Jesus Himself use this practice? Perhaps we should not discount it just yet...

Fasting: A Thing of the Past?

I am not aware of any verse in the Bible that commands us to fast, but it is clear from the Old Testament that fasting was a part of the Jewish life (e.g., Judges 20:26, 1 Samuel 7:6, 31:13, 2 Samuel 1:12, 12:16-22, 1 Chronicles 10:12, 2 Chronicles 20:3, Ezra 8:21-23, Nehemiah 1:4, 9:1, Esther 4, Psalm 109:24, Daniel 9:3, Joel 2:12, Jonah 3:5, Zechariah 7:3). When Jesus addressed the Jewish people in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:16-18), He did not say “if you fast,” He said “when you fast.” Jesus Himself began His earthly ministry with a 40-day fast (Matthew 4:1-4).

ccc Fasting was such a part of the Jewish tradition, that the people expected Jesus' disciples to fast. From the Bible we learn that John's disciples and the Pharisees fasted, but Jesus' disciples did not. When questioned about this, Jesus said (Matthew 9:15): “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom [Jesus] will be taken from them; then they will fast.” By this statement, Jesus was saying that His disciples would fast when the time was right. While Jesus was still with them, it was a time of celebration rather than mourning—a time of feasting instead of fasting.

ccc By His own words Jesus admits that He “will be taken from” His disciples. We might think that this phrase refers to His crucifixion and death. But I think it applies, more appropriately, to Jesus' ascension into heaven (Acts 1:9-11). It is apparent from the Bible that the latter explanation is what the early church understood to be true, because in Acts 13:1-3 it says “In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers... While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul [Paul] for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” Why would members of the early church fast if they believed that it was no longer appropriate?

ccc From these passages, I believe we must conclude that fasting is still relevant for us today. The question that remains is this: What is the purpose of fasting? Or Why should we fast? This question is more difficult to answer. We will begin by examining the events following Jesus' 40-day fast.

Not Bread Alone

What is the purpose of fasting? Jesus points us to the answer in His dialog with Satan during His temptation (Matthew 4:1-4): “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' ""

ccc “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” This is a profound statement. This saying originates from Deuteronomy chapter 8, which recounts the journey of the Israelites through the desert after they fled from Egypt. Eventually, we will shed some additional light on this passage by looking at the context of the original verse. But for now, I have a few general comments about the verse itself.

ccc When you consider that life itself came about by the commands (the words) of God, it's easy to see that man does not live on bread alone. Bread cannot bring life—only God can do that. Furthermore, it is by the words of God that all things came into existence. For example, Genesis 1:24 records: “And God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.' And it was so.” And in Psalm 33, we read: “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth” (verse 6), and “he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (verse 9). When God speaks, His words come true. Everything we have today is here because God spoke it into existence. Everything—including our life—comes from God.

ccc Not only has God given us life, He also actively sustains our lives. We tend to think of food (e.g., bread) as our sustenance (that which sustains and nourishes us), but this is incorrect. So often we fail to recognize the work of God around us. We see only what we do and begin to think that we deserve credit and thanks for the food we harvest. Farmers plant seeds, they water the ground, they tend the weeds. Do farmers produce food? Psalm 104:14 says that God “makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth.” Later, in verses 24 and 27, the psalm continues: “In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures... These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.” The work of a farmer is hard. But farmers do not grow crops, they harvest them. Man is not capable of making seeds grow—only God can do that. We can't even comprehend why a seed mixed with soil, water, and sunshine should produce anything new at all—but it does. We take it for granted that our lives are in God's hands, and we frequently neglect to give Him thanks for what He's done. Verses 29 and 30 of Psalm 104 do a good job of expressing the extent to which our lives are truly in God's hands: “When you [God] hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.” So we see that both life and bread are gifts from God, who is our true sustenance. Whether we acknowledge God or not, day after day our lives continue because of Him (Psalm 3:5): “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.”

ccc God created us and gave us the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). We were made to live forever, but, because of our sin, we perish. However, as Christians, we know that there is hope. God sent Jesus to earth to bear our sins on the cross. Through Jesus, we can “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4, ESV). Remember that this new life is the result of God's grace, and it comes to us through faith in Jesus' atoning sacrifice (Ephesians 2:8)—“whoever believes in him [Jesus] shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). But without the Bible (the word of God), we would not know the truth of our salvation. We would not know what to believe in. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). We are alive today because of God. In spite of our sins, we will not one day cease to exist. Instead, because we hear Christ's words and believe, we will live with Him forever. In this way also, we see that “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Eternal life comes from faith in the words of Christ. And this is what Christ said (John 6:35-40): “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty... All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

ccc From all of these Scriptures, we see that God is the true source of life. He sustains us day by day and has even paid the price to redeem us from the grave. Eternal life is ours through faith in what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. We have done nothing. God has done everything. Fasting, then, is a way of acknowledging that God—rather than bread—is the true source of life.

ccc Next week we will continue our Biblical investigation of fasting. In the meantime, I hope you will join me in meditating on the sustenance of God. I hope you will remember that Jesus is your bread—the one who sustains you in this life and keeps you for the life to come. Amen!