Chapter # 2 Paragraph # 3 Study # 2
August 13, 2019
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis:   There are three major reasons for Jesus' refusal to teach His disciples to fast: "fasting" has been corrupted into a "practice of pride", denying its true function; "fasting" cannot "fix" what is wrong with Jewish theology; and "fasting" does not lead to "the Joy of Life".

Introduction:   In our first look at this paragraph, we saw that the disciples of John and of the Pharisees were caught up in the practice of "fasting" and they were using their "self-denial" as a basis for criticizing Jesus for not teaching His disciples "to fast". We saw that this practice had been turned from its real place in God's relational universe (a response to significant grief and a turn to God for His solution) to an appealing, but false, alternative place (a practice of self-denial so as to prove one's "righteousness" so that one might obtain a reputation for "godliness" among men: Luke 18:9-14). In other words, "fasting" had been turned on its head so that instead of an expression of deep need for God's intervention it had become an expression of no need for God (an example of Jesus' "those who are healthy do not need a doctor"). For this cause Jesus refused to steer His disciples into a "practice" that lent itself so fully to the "pride of life".

Now, this evening we are going to look into how Jesus responded to this challenge to His own true godliness.

• I. To Understand Jesus' Response, We Need to See the Issues That Are Involved.
  • A. The first issue is the impact that a "relationship with the Bridegroom" typically has: John 3:29 in its context.
    • 1. At issue is the use of "the pride of being 'right' " (3:25) to generate "the Joy of Life" (3:29).
      • a. This "problem" is the use of "pride", which is a relationship destroyer, to produce what only a legitimate relationship with the Bridegroom can produce.
      • b. The "solution" to this "problem" is to exalt Jesus instead of oneself (3:30-36).
    • 2. Jesus appealed to this "typical impact" as an "indisputable": the true and nearest "friends of the bridegroom" would never cast a pall over the entire wedding by acting like one was in deep grief.
    • 3. Relationship unto joy is an issue of the soul.
  • B. The second issue is the impact that attempting to "fix" an old, worn-out, garment by applying a "patch" of new cloth to it typically has: Revelation 3:18 and 16:15.
    • 1. At issue is the reason for garments in good condition: to keep "shame" from being on display.
      • a. This was the original reason for "garments": Genesis 2:25 and 3:7.
      • b. This continues to be the reason for divinely provided "garments" (Revelation 3:18 and 16:15).
      • c. According to Luke 14:9 in context, this "shame" is to be avoided by not attempting to exalt oneself.
    • 2. Jesus appealed to the "typical approach" that men take in avoiding "shame" when their garments are in need of repair: they never try to "fix" what is ruined by using new cloth.
    • 3. Being exalted unto joy is an issue of the spirit.
  • C. The third issue is the impact that reusing brittle wine skins to preserve new wine typically has.
    • 1. There is a desire at every grape harvest to produce a "very good" wine so that people who drink it delight in it and applaud the owner of the vineyard: John 2:10.
    • 2. In coming full-circle, Jesus brings the theme of the Bridegroom and the issue of "trying to produce and preserve good wine" together, and the Joy of Life is still "at issue" through the attempt to impress others.
    • 3. Jesus appealed to the "typical approach" that men take in attempting to produce and preserve "good wine": they never put the new wine in old wineskins.
    • 4. Drinking wine unto joy is an issue of the body.
  • D. Conclusions.
    • 1. The ultimate issue is always going to be "the Joy of Life".
    • 2. The "mechanistic" issues are always going to "relationships, humility, and satisfaction".
      • a. There are "human" distortions in all three of these "mechanistic" issues.
      • b. There are "divine" promises for success in all three of these issues.
    • 3. There is universal human awareness of what "works" and what does not "work".
• II. What Has "Fasting" To Do With All of This?
  • A. It is a "point of conflict" because of the human distortions.
    • 1. At the "relationship" level, the disciples of John and the Pharisees are uniting against Jesus with "fasting" as the issue.
    • 2. At the "shame avoidance" level, these two groups are using "fasting" as a kind of "proof" of the "quality of their clothes", i. e. "I do not need to be ashamed because I can prove my godliness by my self-denial".
    • 3. At the "physical satisfaction" level, these groups have determined that asceticism is better than self-indulgence in producing "joy".
  • B. It is a significant part of the methods of the "status seekers" (Luke 18:12) who are in deep jealousy of Jesus' "status" (Mark 15:10).
    • 1. There are distinct approaches to each "problem" area (soul, spirit, and body).
    • 2. But the under-current in our text is the same: the attempt to, in a reversal of John's words, "decrease" Jesus and "increase" the opponents.

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This is article #096.
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