MATTHEW 9:14-17
THE QUESTION ABOUT FASTING
Matthew 9:14 “Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?'”
In Matthew 9:14, the disciples of John the Baptist raise a question about fasting, a significant spiritual practice in Jewish tradition. Fasting, an expression of penance and devotion, was common among devout Jews like the Pharisees, and John’s disciples followed these customs too. The Law of Moses mandated fasting only on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29-31), but by Jesus’ time, Pharisees and others fasted regularly, often twice a week (Lk 18:12). Thus, John’s disciples were perplexed by the fact that Jesus’ disciples did not adhere to this tradition.
In response, Jesus explains that fasting was unnecessary for His disciples at that moment because He, the “bridegroom,” was present with them (Mt 9:15). He uses the image of a wedding feast, where fasting would be inappropriate in the midst of such joy. This bridal imagery is significant in a biblical context, drawing upon the Old Testament theme of God as the bridegroom of Israel (Isa 54:5, Hos 2:19-20). Jesus, identifying Himself as the divine bridegroom, indicates that His presence is a fulfillment of Israel’s hope.
However, Jesus also acknowledges that His disciples will fast when He is taken away, pointing to the time after His Ascension when Christians would fast as an expression of longing for His return and a deepening of their spiritual focus (Mt 9:15, Acts 13:2-3; 14:23).
The Newness of Jesus’ Ministry
This passage highlights the transition Jesus brought in spiritual practices. While He does not reject fasting outright, He introduces a new understanding of it. In the parables of new wine in old wineskins and new cloth on old garments (Mt 9:16-17), Jesus illustrates that His message and mission cannot be confined to the old ways. His followers are called to embrace the newness of the Kingdom of God with renewed hearts and minds. The coming of Christ inaugurates a new covenant, transforming the way believers engage with spiritual disciplines like fasting.
Catholic Teaching and Tradition
Fasting remains an essential spiritual discipline within the Catholic tradition, especially during liturgical seasons like Lent. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that fasting is a way of penance, self-denial, and spiritual renewal, uniting us with Christ’s suffering and promoting self-discipline (CCC 1434-1439). The Church emphasizes that fasting must be approached not as a mere ritual, but as a transformative practice that brings us closer to God and fosters solidarity with the poor.
The Church’s guidelines on fasting are rooted in the broader context of spiritual exercises and penance, particularly during seasons of reflection like Lent and on Fridays in remembrance of Christ’s Passion. As stated in the Catechism: “The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year are intense moments of the Church’s penitential practice” (CCC 1438). These times encourage not just fasting but other acts of charity, self-denial, and prayer.
Reflection
As Christians, we are called to fast and engage in spiritual disciplines, but always with the right intentions. Jesus’ response to John’s disciples shows that fasting should not be an empty ritual or a source of pride. Instead, fasting is meant to draw us closer to Christ, expressing our longing for His presence and preparing our hearts for His return.
In our own lives, fasting serves as a reminder of our dependence on God. It helps us discipline our desires and unites us with Christ’s suffering for the sake of others. Just as the disciples did not fast while they had the bridegroom with them, we fast today with the hope and anticipation of Christ’s return. Our fasting should be a reflection of our inner transformation, a way to open our hearts to God’s grace.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are the bridegroom of our souls. Help us to remember Your presence with us each day and to fast, not out of mere obligation, but as a way to draw closer to You. May our fasting and prayer help us to hunger for Your righteousness, to deepen our relationship with You, and to prepare for the joy of Your return. Strengthen our hearts, that through these disciplines we may become more like You and live out Your love in the world. Amen.
Matthew 9:15 “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.’”
In this passage, Jesus responds to the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees, who questioned why His followers were not fasting. Jesus uses the metaphor of a wedding feast to explain the situation. He identifies Himself as the “bridegroom” and His disciples as the “wedding guests.” Just as it is inappropriate for guests to fast or mourn during a wedding celebration, it was inappropriate for Jesus’ disciples to fast while He was physically present with them.
Jesus as the Bridegroom
This analogy of Jesus as the bridegroom carries deep theological significance. In the Old Testament, God is frequently portrayed as the bridegroom of Israel (Isa 54:5, Hos 2:19-20). By referring to Himself as the bridegroom, Jesus makes a bold statement about His divine identity as God incarnate. This assertion was radical for His audience, affirming that He had come to unite His people to Himself in a new covenant, similar to a marriage.
The image of Christ as the bridegroom is central to the New Testament as well, where the Church is described as His Bride (Eph 5:25-27, Rev 19:7-9). This relationship signifies a profound union between Christ and His followers, which is expressed most intimately through the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist.
The Wedding Guests and the Time for Fasting
Jesus’ disciples are likened to wedding guests who are enjoying the joyful presence of the bridegroom, the Messiah. Jewish weddings were times of great celebration, filled with joy and feasting. During such occasions, fasting, which is often associated with mourning and repentance, would be inappropriate. Jesus highlights that as long as He is with His disciples, it is a time of celebration and not fasting.
However, Jesus also alludes to His impending passion and death when He says, “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” This indicates a future time of mourning and fasting, referring to the period after His crucifixion and ascension. In the early Church, fasting became a significant spiritual practice, especially in preparation for encountering the Risen Christ and anticipating His second coming (cf. Acts 13:2-3).
Fasting in Catholic Tradition
The Catholic Church continues to observe fasting as an essential spiritual discipline. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that fasting and penance, particularly during Lent and on Fridays in memory of Christ’s death, are important practices that unite us to Christ’s sacrifice and prepare us for His return (CCC 1438). Fasting is not only a sign of repentance but also a way of fostering a deeper longing for union with Christ, the divine Bridegroom.
Joy and Mourning in Christian Life
This passage illustrates the balance between joy and penance in the Christian life. While Christ is with us, especially in the Eucharist, we are called to celebrate and rejoice in His presence. Yet, we also live in anticipation of His return, a time marked by fasting, prayer, and acts of penance. As the Catechism teaches, these practices help us grow in holiness and prepare for the ultimate wedding feast in heaven.
Reflection
Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 9:15 reminds us that life with Him is a journey of both joy and sacrifice. There are moments when we experience the fullness of His presence, particularly through the sacraments, and other times when we feel distant from Him, prompting us to fast, pray, and seek deeper union with God. The Church’s liturgical rhythms – times of celebration and times of penance – help guide us in this spiritual journey.
Fasting, when embraced with the right heart, allows us to participate in the sacrifice of Christ and keeps our hearts vigilant for His second coming. While we live in this “in-between” time, we are called to keep our eyes fixed on the joy of the Resurrection while carrying our daily crosses with patience and hope.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, Bridegroom of our souls, we rejoice in Your loving presence and the gift of Your Body and Blood in the Eucharist. Teach us to cherish the times of joy in union with You, and to embrace fasting and penance as means of growing closer to You. Help us to carry our crosses faithfully, always longing for the day when we will feast with You at the eternal wedding banquet. Come, Lord Jesus, and unite us fully to Yourself. Amen.
Matthew 9:16 “No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and the tear is made worse.”
In this verse, Jesus uses a simple but profound metaphor to illustrate the difference between the old covenant, represented by the “old cloak,” and the new covenant He brings, symbolized by the “unshrunken cloth.” Just as a new piece of cloth sewn onto an old garment would shrink and worsen the tear, the new teachings and way of life that Jesus offers cannot simply be attached to the old ways of the Jewish Law. Instead, the old must be transformed to make way for the new.
Jesus’ Mission: Establishing the New Covenant
This imagery draws on Old Testament prophecies, particularly from Jeremiah, where God promised a new covenant that would be different from the one made with the ancestors of Israel (Jer 31:31-32). Jesus fulfills this prophecy by instituting a new covenant through His life, death, and resurrection. He does not merely add to the old covenant but transforms it, bringing about a new way of living based on grace, love, and the Holy Spirit.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this transformation: “The Law of the Gospel fulfills and surpasses the Old Law and brings it to perfection” (CCC 1967). Jesus’ new covenant is not a patch to reform the old but a completely new garment that requires believers to be open to a radical transformation of heart and mind.
As followers of Christ, we are called to embrace this newness of life. The “old cloak” can also represent our old sinful habits or ways of thinking. We cannot simply patch the Gospel onto our old lives. Instead, we are called to undergo a total transformation, as St. Paul reminds us: “Put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth” (Eph 4:24). This transformation involves letting go of the old self and allowing the Holy Spirit to renew us from within.
Jesus and the Fulfillment of the Law
Although Jesus came to fulfill the Law (Mt 5:17), His new covenant was not about rigid adherence to old practices. He emphasizes inner transformation and love over mere ritual observance. In the Jewish tradition, fasting and other practices were important, but Jesus teaches that these must come from a heart transformed by love, grace, and mercy, not mere external compliance with rules.
The old way of life, rooted in the old covenant, could not contain the transformative power of Jesus’ message. As Jesus points out, attempting to fit the new into the old would only result in a worse “tear,” just as putting new wine into old wineskins would cause them to burst. The message of Christ calls for a complete renewal and reformation of our lives.
Catechism of the Catholic Church and Renewal
The Catechism further explains that the new law of Christ is a law of love, grace, and freedom. “The New Law is called a law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear; a law of grace, because it confers the strength of grace to act, by means of faith and the sacraments; a law of freedom, because it sets us free from the ritual and juridical observances of the Old Law” (CCC 1965). Jesus’ new covenant requires a new approach to God, one that focuses on love, inner renewal, and spiritual freedom, rather than the strict observance of rules and rituals.
The Challenge of Spiritual Renewal
For Christians today, the message of Matthew 9:16 is a reminder that we cannot cling to old habits, old prejudices, or old ways of living that are incompatible with the life Christ calls us to live. The old ways, whether they are rooted in sin, fear, or mere external observance of religious practices, must give way to the transforming power of Christ’s grace and the Holy Spirit.
St. Paul echoes this sentiment in his letter to the Corinthians, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). This transformation is ongoing and requires continual openness to God’s grace, which is made available to us through the sacraments, prayer, and the Holy Spirit working in our lives.
Reflection
Jesus’ parable about the new patch on the old cloak teaches us about the necessity of letting go of the old in order to fully embrace the new life He offers. As Christians, we are constantly called to spiritual renewal, putting aside our old selves and allowing Christ to shape us into something new. Holding onto old ways that are incompatible with the Gospel will only lead to spiritual stagnation and hinder our growth in holiness.
We are invited to embrace the new life of grace, a life that frees us from the limitations of our past and opens us to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. Just as a new patch cannot be sewn onto an old garment without causing damage, so too must we allow Christ to fully transform our hearts, minds, and actions, making us living witnesses to the Gospel.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the new covenant You have established through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to let go of our old ways and fully embrace the new life You offer us through Your grace. Transform us by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we may be renewed in heart and mind, living out the Gospel in all that we do. Teach us to be open to Your love, grace, and freedom, so that we may grow closer to You each day. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Matthew 9:17: “Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
In this verse, Jesus uses the metaphor of wine and wineskins to teach the transformative nature of His message. In biblical times, wine was stored in animal skins, and as it fermented, the wine would expand. New wine required new, flexible wineskins that could stretch. Old wineskins, already stretched and rigid, would burst if filled with new wine.
Here, Jesus conveys that the “new wine” represents His Gospel message – the new covenant of grace and salvation through Him. The “wineskins” symbolize the hearts and minds of believers. The old wineskins represent the Mosaic Law and the old ways of religious practice, which could not contain the vitality and transformative power of the Gospel. Christ’s teachings were not merely additions to the old covenant but something new, calling for internal renewal and transformation in the hearts of His followers.
Jesus’ message was not simply an enhancement to existing Jewish laws and rituals but a fulfillment of those laws in a new, spiritual way. As St. Paul reminds us in Romans 7:6, “But now we are released from the law, dead to what held us captive, so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit and not under the old letter.”
This passage also serves as a reminder to Christians today: The transformative nature of the Gospel calls for new hearts and minds open to receiving God’s grace through the Holy Spirit. We are invited into a dynamic, life-giving relationship with God, not one rooted in mere external observance of laws, but one that constantly renews and transforms us. This is why St. Paul exhorts believers in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Historical Context:
At the time of Jesus, religious life for the Jews centered around strict adherence to the Mosaic Law, which included rituals, sacrifices, and dietary laws. However, Jesus’ coming fulfilled these old practices and brought a new way of relating to God – through grace and love rather than legalism. As Jesus states in Matthew 5:17, He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.
By introducing the new covenant, Jesus was ushering in a new era of salvation through grace and faith, which required not just external conformity but an inner transformation of the heart. This theme of renewal is echoed in Ezekiel 36:26, where God promises, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you.” The Jewish law, though important, could not by itself bring salvation, as emphasized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The Old Law is a preparation for the Gospel. The Law is a pedagogy and a prophecy of things to come. It prophesizes and presages the work of liberation from sin which will be fulfilled in Christ” (CCC 1963).
Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church further elaborates on the relationship between the old and new covenants. While the Old Law served to prepare the way for Christ, it was incapable of providing the salvation that only Christ’s sacrifice could offer. In the new covenant, the focus is on grace and the law of love (Jer 31:33). As such, Christians are called to live in the freedom of Christ, liberated from the strictures of the old ceremonial laws (Rom 6:14).
Furthermore, the Catechism teaches that grace is the free, unmerited gift of God that enables us to respond to His call and partake in His divine nature. As stated in CCC 1996, “Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life.”
Conclusion:
In Matthew 9:17, Jesus uses the image of wine and wineskins to illustrate the need for spiritual renewal and transformation. His Gospel message calls us to constantly open our hearts and minds to the grace of God, allowing Him to shape us into vessels fit to carry His message of love and salvation. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be renewed and transformed, becoming true followers of Christ in both word and action.
Reflection:
As Christians, we are called to be the “new wineskins” – open, adaptable, and willing to receive the new life offered by Christ. This demands an openness to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, who continually renews us and draws us closer to God. We must be willing to let go of old habits, prejudices, and mindsets that hinder our spiritual growth, allowing the Holy Spirit to stretch and expand our hearts to contain the fullness of God’s grace.
In our daily lives, we might be tempted to hold onto old ways of thinking or behaving that restrict our spiritual growth. However, as St. Paul urges in Ephesians 4:22-24, we must “put off the old self” and “be renewed in the spirit of your minds”, so we can fully embrace the Gospel and the life Christ offers.
This process of renewal is not a one-time event but an ongoing journey. The Church, too, is constantly called to renewal, as noted by St. Augustine: “The Church is always in need of renewal, for its members are always in need of repentance.”
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the new life You offer us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to be open to the transforming power of Your Holy Spirit. Renew our hearts and minds, making us worthy vessels to receive Your grace and share Your love with others. May we always be ready to embrace the newness of Your Gospel message, letting go of anything that holds us back from fully following You. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
CONCLUSION
In Matthew 9:14-17, Jesus uses the imagery of a bridegroom, new cloth, and new wine to convey a profound truth about His mission and the call for spiritual renewal. He emphasizes that His presence is a time of joy and celebration for His disciples, akin to a wedding feast where fasting would be out of place. Yet, He also points to a future when fasting and penance will be necessary after His departure. Through these metaphors, Jesus teaches that His Gospel brings newness – transforming old religious practices and requiring a change of heart and mind to fully receive the grace He offers. As followers of Christ, we are called to embrace this transformation and live with hearts open to His guidance.
The passage also reminds us that while fasting and other spiritual disciplines remain vital in our faith journey, they must stem from a deep, internal longing for Christ rather than mere adherence to rituals. The new covenant that Jesus brings calls us to live out the Gospel in a dynamic relationship with Him, one marked by love, grace, and inner renewal. As Christians, we are invited to be continually transformed by the Holy Spirit, letting go of old ways that hinder our spiritual growth, and embracing the new life Christ offers.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, You are the source of all grace and renewal. Open our hearts and minds to Your transforming power. Help us to let go of our old ways and embrace the new life You offer us. May our fasting and spiritual practices draw us closer to You and make us vessels of Your love and grace. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may we live as true disciples, always ready to share Your message of salvation with the world. Amen.