“And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.”
My Notes
What Does Matthew 9:15 Mean?
"And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast." Jesus is asked why his disciples don't fast (while John's disciples and the Pharisees do). His answer uses a wedding metaphor: you don't fast at a wedding party. The bridegroom is here. This is a celebration. Mourning during the feast would be absurd. But — the bridegroom will be taken away. And then they'll fast.
The answer is both pastoral and prophetic. Pastoral: the disciples' experience of Jesus' presence calls for celebration, not mourning. Prophetic: the taking away of the bridegroom (the crucifixion, the ascension) will produce seasons where fasting is appropriate. Joy and grief have their proper times.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What season are you in — celebration (the bridegroom is near) or fasting (the bridegroom feels absent)?
- 2.How does the wedding metaphor change your view of spiritual disciplines like fasting?
- 3.Why does Jesus acknowledge both joy and coming grief in the same answer?
- 4.Where are you fasting when you should be feasting — or feasting when you should be fasting?
Devotional
You don't mourn at a wedding. The bridegroom is here. The feast is happening. The celebration is the only appropriate response to the presence of the one everyone was waiting for. How can you fast when the party is in full swing?
Jesus compares himself to a bridegroom — and his disciples to wedding guests. The image is intimate, joyful, and temporary. The wedding feast is the most celebratory event in Jewish culture: days of eating, drinking, dancing, and communal joy. Fasting during a wedding would be insulting to the groom and absurd to the guests.
The bridegroom is with them. The presence is the reason for the joy. Not a doctrine about the bridegroom. Not a memory of the bridegroom. The bridegroom himself — in the room, at the table, pouring the wine. When the person you've been waiting for is physically present, the only response is celebration.
But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them. Jesus names the coming grief inside the current joy. The wedding party has an ending. The bridegroom won't always be at the table. The taking away — forceful, involuntary, against the will of the guests — is coming. And when it comes, the fasting that's inappropriate now will become appropriate then.
And then shall they fast. The grief will have its season. The celebration and the mourning are both valid — just not at the same time. The disciples will fast after the crucifixion, after the ascension, during the seasons when the bridegroom's physical absence produces the ache that calls for fasting.
The spiritual life has seasons. Joy when the presence is near. Fasting when the presence is withdrawn. Celebration when the bridegroom is at the table. Mourning when the bridegroom is taken. Both are faithful responses to different realities. The person who fasts during the feast has missed the point. The person who feasts during the famine has missed it equally.
What season are you in? Is the bridegroom at the table — and are you celebrating? Or has he been taken — and is it time to fast?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
No man putteth a piece of new cloth,.... These words are, by Luk 5:36 called a "parable", as are those in the following…
Then came the disciples of John ... - This narrative is found also in Mar 2:18-22; Luk 5:33-39. The reference here is to…
The objections which were made against Christ and his disciples gave occasion to some of the most profitable of his…
the children of the bridechamber See note, Mat 9:9. "The children of the bridechamber" were the bridegroom's friends or…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture