MARK 2:18-22 MEDITATION - Part 1 FASTING AND THE LAW
Introduction
This episode, as presented here in Mark, seems to appear from nowhere. It seems detached from the episode at Levi’s house. The initial sentence “Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting” seems to constitute a clean break. There is also a change of subject, the issue of fasting. This is typical of Mark, whose Gospel is the shortest and most condensed, stressing more the actions of Jesus than his teachings.
The Aim of Fasting
Fasting was associated with humility, self-denial, repentance and the restoration of the relationship with God as is seen, for example, in Nehemiah 9:1-5 and in Joel 2:12, 13.
The Law of Moses only prescribed one day of fasting, on Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement, as a sign of repentance (Leviticus 16:29-34). It was the tradition to observe other days of commemorative fasting such as in remembrance of the destruction of the Temple at the hands of Nabuchodonosor (587). The prophet Zechariah mentions four of these annual days of fasting (Zechariah 8:19).
Fasting becomes a way of remembering a painful past event to communicate a sense of hope and trust in God. It is often a sign of mourning, purification or in preparation for a particular mission, none of these is relevant to the situation of Jesus and his disciples in this episode.
We do not fast for the sake of fasting. Fasting is a sign that we have not lost our freedom by being dependent on a need, however legitimate that need may be. We do not fast because we are on a diet. Fasting brings us closer to God by remembering a sorrowful event in the life of Christ and to bring us closer to God, as for example during Lent as we lead up to the passion and death of Christ.
Fasting has no importance in and of itself. It acquires importance only in so far as it gives expression to a loving relationship between he who fasts and the Lord. A legalistic approach is hardly appropriate.
Fasting and the Law: a Legalistic or Relational Approach?
Here there are three groups of people mentioned: the disciples of Jesus, the disciples of John and the Pharisees. Each one of these is seen in relation to fasting and it is their approach to fasting and the law in general that distinguishes them.
These three groups may be divided into two camps depending either on the surface reading of the text or on each group’s approach to fasting. The surface reading of the narrative suggests that the two camps are John's disciples and the Pharisees, on one hand, and Jesus and his disciples, on the other. This division aims at placing Jesus outside of what is acceptable and right. John's disciples and the Pharisees fast, the disciples of Jesus do not, hence Jesus is at fault, he is flouting the law.
The underlying reality, however, is very different. It is the approach or how each group relates to fasting that challenges this division and places the Pharisees in the minority and not in line with the spirit of the law, unlike the disciples of Jesus and John. This whole issue takes us well beyond fasting as it reflects the approach to the law and the approach to faith in general and this concerns us all. The question we need to ask is, ‘which is more appropriate, the legalistic or relational approach to fasting and to the law’?
--------------------
Part 2 > > > Mark 2:18-22 Meditation continue to read > > >
Mark 2:18-22 Text and Questions
© copyright R W
bsgbiblestudyguide@gmail.com
