But we should not be surprised at this. The Old Testament predicted that through the Messiah there would be much that is “new.” Isaiah 43:18-19 says: Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. This describes God’s blessing upon Israel in the time of the Messiah.
Again, the OT promised the NT, and the promise is tied to the time of the Messiah. Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah (Jer. 31:31-34). Jesus, the Christ, was the Mediator of that New Covenant (Heb. 8:1-6). We are no longer under the law, as was the case in the conversation of Matt. 9:14-17. We are under grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). We have moved from the ministry of condemnation to the ministry of righteousness, from the letter of the law to the power of the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:6-7). The wall that divided the Jews and Gentiles has been removed; there is one new man in Christ (Eph. 2:15).
Unquestionably, we have an advantage over the disciples of John. We live after the cross, the resurrection and the ascension. We have the teaching of the Apostles of Christ to help us. We have some understanding of the old that passed away and the new that has come. Consider Jesus’ answers to their question about fasting.
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Answer #1: Jesus' disciples don't fast in the
Jewish way because of Who Jesus is! Christ
is the BRIDEGROOM, the center of attention, the important one. The disciples are FRIENDS. Thus, it is a typical wedding illustration:
it's feast time, not fasting time. The
Pharisees imposed many fasts upon people; it was part of their external
religion. Fasting is a proper spiritual
discipline both before and after the cross.
Jesus says His disciples will fast after He is taken from them. But the purpose of fasting, the affliction of
the soul, was the development of a deeper communion with God. At this time the disciples of Christ had it
as good as you could have it: they were walking and talking with God as they
walked and talked with Christ (cf. John 14:7-11).
[Note the consistency
of Scripture. The disciples are not the
Bride of Christ; that is the Church, Eph. 5.
They are the friends of the Groom.
This is consistent with the Parable of the Virgins, Matt. 25:1-13. There the believing people of Israel are the
friends of the Groom. These friends are
the ones invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, Rev. 19:7-10; Mt. 22:1-14.]
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Answer #2: Jesus' disciples don't fast in the
Jewish way because it is obsolete. The
two illustrations of garments and wineskins say the same thing. The garments symbolize righteousness. The new wine speaks of the blessings (Pr.
3:10) of the new covenant. They both
speak of something tied to the Messiah.
The name of the Branch, the Messiah, is The LORD our Righteousness
(Jer. 23:5-6). And as we have already
noted, the Messiah is the Mediator of the New Covenant and all the blessings
that are a part of that. The point here
is not that fasting will be done away with after Jesus is gone. Rather, the type of fasting promoted by the
Pharisees will be done away with. Life
under the New Covenant requires new forms.
Jesus did not come simply to put a patch on the old system.
In the context of Matthew 8-9 this passage makes sense. Jesus is making bold statements, claims of One who can do away with the current form and format and establish one that is new. Following Jesus looks very much different than following the Pharisees. The disciples of John were confused because they had been raised on the religion of the Pharisees; they were supposed to be the best Jews around. Yet, this Jesus was exactly the One John had prepared them to receive (Mt. 3:11).
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