2. Jesus is Radically Different
Mark 2:18-22

3. The Importance of Fasting for the Jewish People
People fasted voluntarily as a sign of mourning
2 Samuel 1:12 “And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.”

4. The Importance of Fasting for the Jewish People
People fasted at times of disaster and national calamities
Nehemiah 1:4 "So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven."

5. The Importance of Fasting for the Jewish People
There was one day of prescribed fasting
Leviticus 16:29 "This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you."

6. The Importance of Fasting for the Jewish People
People also fasted as a sign of repentance for sin
1 Kings 21:27 “So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning.”
The fasting taking place could be for just about any of these reasons
But I’m going to guess that it’s one of the traditional days of fasting...

7. The Misunderstanding of Fasting
Jewish people came to think of fasting as meritorious
Luke 18:12 “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.”
But fasting is only appropriate when it reflects the heart
Zec 7:4-5 “Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me?”

8. The Misunderstanding of Fasting
In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees made a show of fasting, which Jesus condemned
Matthew 6:16 "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting.“
And fasting is never a replacement for doing what is right

9. “‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen
“‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord? “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness”
Isaiah 58:3-9

10. A Clarification on Fasting
Jesus compares Himself to a Bridegroom
Unique – reserved for God in the OT
Is Jesus showing His deity?
Don’t fast while the bridegroom is with you!
However, the bridegroom will be taken away

11. A Clarification on Fasting
And the early church did fast
Acts 14:23 “So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
1 Cor 7:5 “Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”

12. Jesus is Radically Different
Jesus uses his comments to make a point
There is a new era beginning that will radically challenge everyone
A new patch shrinks when washed
“New” wine will expand when if ferments and break old bags
(2) And some won’t like it!

14. Jesus is Radically Different
Jesus brings the end of sacrifices
Heb 9:12 “He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
Jesus brings the end of feasts and festivals

15. Jesus is Radically Different
Col 2:16-17 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”
The end of dietary laws
Acts 11:9 ‘‘What God has made clean, do not call common.”

16. Jesus is Radically Different
Jesus is the fulfillment of the law
Mat 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Jesus is more than the Messiah
John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Col 2:9 “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily”