Fasting

Dr. Couch, what do you think of fasting today? ANSWER:  Fasting is not commanded by the Lord. And if one traces all the various references out, you find that this was mainly a Jewish practice, though we have several mentions of those in the church fasting.    On some of the references we have a manuscript and a textual Greek issue. For example, the NAS rightly translates 2 Corinthians 6:5 and 11:27 as "hunger" rather than fasting. Where it is mentioned in Acts 27:9 it is very Jewish, though the apostle Paul seems to have been honoring it while on his trip by sea to Rome. Ger makes the brief comment: On Paul's trip, the celebration of "Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement ("the Fast, ten nesteian) had already come and gone."    Most of the references of fasting are found in the very Jewish context of the Gospels. There are only a few references made concerning those in the church fasting, as I have already mentioned. We find the church leaders fasting in Acts 14:23 and also in 13:2-3. This will shock many reading this question, but Christ and the disciples did not practice fasting regularly, or at all. The disciples of John the Baptist asked Christ why His own disciples did not fast. He answered: "The attendants of the bridegroom (Christ) cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast" (Matt. 9:14-15). This may imply that the disciples would indeed fast after His ascension!    The Bible does not make fasting mandatory, and, we find that only the church leaders in some occasions actually fasted. I do not want to judge anyone about this issue. Fasting is up to the conscience of the believer. But it is my experience that those who fast often do it with a little bit of legalism or extra spiritual piety thrown into the mix. They almost brag about their fasting. Of course, they do not have to do this, and I would not want to say that all who feel they should fast from time to time, are doing so from a super spiritualized position.    The main issue is how one walks in fellowship with his Lord. We all should be aware that if necessary, we can take that extra time to be in communication with Him. Fasting originally began be the fact that one was so burdened and convicted about certain issues in their life, they could not eat! Their hunger had left them and they just wanted to spend time speaking with the Lord. In time, fasting became a "ceremony" or a practice that showed how burdened one was over a problem or issue.    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch