Intentionality With God | Matthew 9:14-17

It takes effort

Author

Caleb Lee
February 14, 2024

Relationships take effort.

If one party loses interest or stops putting in any effort, the relationship dies.

Add distance to that equation and things get even more complicated. If you’re seeing someone every day, your relationship is going to thrive (given you’re on good terms).

If you’re far away from that person, especially for extended periods, the effort gets harder. But that’s when the effort is necessary for a thriving relationship.

14  Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15  And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17  Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Matthew 9:14-17

John’s (referring to John the Baptist) disciples ask a valid question here. John the Baptist taught his disciples to fast often in preparation for Jesus’ coming.

So why doesn’t Jesus require His disciples to fast?

Because it isn’t necessary.

He’s spending every day with His disciples, and His relationship with them is thriving.

But He gives a picture of what’s to come: One day, He won’t be on earth anymore. And then His disciples will fast.

I’ll be honest, I never quite understood what the purpose of fasting was until I read this passage again a few months ago.

It’s a time to intentionally seek Jesus.

Through the hunger pangs, through the caffeine withdrawals, through all of the physical torment that comes with fasting, it’s a time to seek Him.

Because He’s not physically here. And that distance requires us to make an effort to nurture our relationship with Him.

That changed my entire view on fasting.

I hope it does for you too.

Let’s seek Him together.

Have a blessed Wednesday, friends.