The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 9 Part 3 The Folly Of Corrupt Religion

Jesus' disciples critiqued by John's disciples for not fasting like they did.

Matthew 9:14  Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 

Remember that scribes and Pharisees criticized and condemned the ministry of Jesus Christ.

They hated Jesus because He exposed the lies of Judaism's traditions that were elevated over the authority of scripture.

This is true in every generation.

There will be people who are fiercely hostile to the fact that the Bible is a book of absolute truth from God. 

God's truth is binding upon all humanity, whether they acknowledge it or not and it's truth must be held up for the world to see and read and hear.

Each generation must mount a strong fight speaking truth into a world shaped by Satan, the father of lies.

In this case, some of John's disciples came to Jesus with a question about fasting since John was imprisoned at this point in time.

They asked why Jesus' disciples did not fast but both the Pharisees and John's disciples fasted frequently.

The way that they framed their question seems to be in the form of a rebuke, saying "We are fasting as we ought to and so should your disciples."

John used the bridegroom and bridegroom's friend to illustrate Christ as Messiah. 

John 3:25-30  Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. 26)  And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27)  John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28)  Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29)  He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30)  He must increase, but I must decrease. 

It is possible that John the Baptist's disciples forgot what he said when they asked him a question about purification which may have been related to the issue of fasting. 

They had a concern that Jesus was now baptizing and multitudes were coming to Christ.

Their question seems to indicate that they were concerned for John's ministry, missing the point that he was the forerunner who announced the Messiah's arrival.

John reminded them that he was sent before Messiah to proclaim His coming and to prepare people's hearts for Him.

Notice the specific's of John's reply as he speaks of his relationship to Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the bridegroom and John the Baptist was a friend of the bridegroom who stands with the bridegroom and rejoices to hear His voice.

As Jesus' ministry began having a widespread impact John's joy greatly increased.

Then, John specifically said he (Jesus) must increase while the forerunner's ministry  (John) decreases.

Jesus gave three illustrations to answer John's disciples and His first point directly connects with what John told his followers.

Jesus is the "bridegroom" and His disciples are the children of the bridechamber.

 In Jewish marriages the children of the bridechamber  accompany the bridegroom to the bride's father's home. 

Marriage was a time of great feasting, joy and blessing for the Jewish people.

Fasting as the Pharisees did would be most inappropriate for Christ's disciples as long as Jesus walked with them.

Jesus answer was that He was the bridegroom which is why His disciples could fast.

Matthew 9:15  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. 

The "bridegroom" means Christ Himself.

Jesus stands in such a relation to His church, and to all believers whom He secretly betrothed to Himself before anything was created.

Jesus is the head of the church and His church is called the bride of Christ.

Jesus also taught about His future marriage to His bride in Matthew 25:1-10, but we will come to that text later in our studies.

Fasting to draw close to God was corrupted into a man centered exercise by the Pharisees.

Matthew 6:16-18  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17)  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18)  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 

The bigger picture to follow in Jesus' reply is the question of fasting that had been corrupted by the Pharisee's hypocrisy. 

Jesus exposed how Pharisees fasted in order to be noticed as "religious" men (See Matthew 6:1-7; 6:16-18).

They distorted their faces, grimacing in such a way that all who saw knew they were fasting.

Not only did they "disfigure" their faces, they also assumed a sad, melancholy look as if to say "pity me for I am doing my required fasting."

Jesus rightly condemned their hypocrisy because it dishonored His Father.

Scriptural fasting was (and still is) entered into by the believer specifically to draw closer to God, to seek His will or guidance in life.

Scriptural fasting is designed to take our eyes off the world in order to focus exclusively upon the God of all glory.

Pharisees changed the beauty of fasting into a doleful spiritual drudgery done to please a demanding God. 

Thus, Jesus condemned their hypocrisy for polluting something beautiful that draws us closer to God and making it man centered and prideful.

What was Jesus' instruction concerning fasting?

Anoint your head with oil and bathe, so that no one observing you would know that your are fasting. 

This reminder from Christ's Sermon on the Mount helps us grasp what Jesus is teaching John's disciples.

A husband and wife are a picture of Jesus Christ and His holy bride, the church.

Ephesians 5:22-27  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23)  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24)  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25)  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26)  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27)  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 

Paul describes the church body of believers as a bride and he used the marriage covenant as an illustration.

Christ is the head of His church just as a husband is designated by God to be the head of his wife.

The church as a whole is to submit to the commandments of it's Head, Jesus Christ, just as a wife is to follow her husband's lead in the home.

Christ bought His church with His own blood in a demonstration of sacrificial and unconditional love, just as husbands are to love their own wives.

Jesus sanctifies and cleanses His church through the preaching of the Word of God so that He will present the church, His bride as glorious and pure without spot or blemish.

2 Corinthians 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 

Thus, Paul tells us that his main goal is teaching and instructing each church so that they remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why? Because Christ's church will one day be given to her Lord at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

God's goal for each man and woman is that they live a pure life so that when they marry, they are presented as chaste and pure to each other.

This is what Christ is doing in His church, purifying and cleansing it in an ongoing sanctification process (See also Colossians 1:12-23).

The marriage of the Lamb of God in heaven weds Christ and His church.

Revelation 19:6-9  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7)  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8)  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9)  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 

All saints and angels in heaven shall rejoice when this great day arrives.

It will be a day of worshiping God and praising Him for all His mighty works throughout all ages.

It will be a day of greatest rejoicing in heaven because the church, the bride of the Lamb, is now made ready for Christ.

The church is purified and cleansed and arrayed in fine, white linen, a symbol of holiness. 

Revelation 21:1-4  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2)  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3)  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 ) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 

John described the new Jerusalem as descending from heaven as a holy city, arrayed as a bride walking down the aisle to her soon to be husband.

There is worship, great joy and anticipation for the marriage of the Lamb (See also Revelation 12:9-10).

Revelation 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 

Notice the posture of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the bride of Christ in heaven.

It is a posture of inviting, calling sinners to repentance through gospel preaching here and now, so that many more souls are added to the church, the bride of Christ.

Therefore, Jesus' disciples cannot mourn because Christ is the Messiah, Emmanuel, God with us. 

Matthew 9:15  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. 

Thus, we see that Jesus reminded John's disciples that marriage is a time of great joy and a time that honors God.

Therefore, it is not possible that Jesus' disciples could be soberly fasting while the bridegroom, Christ was with them.

As Jesus said, when He was take from them through his arrest, trial, suffering, death and burial.

Jewish corruption of fasting is illustrated by putting new material into an old, torn garment. 

Matthew 9:16  No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 

The spiritual picture is that Pharisees focused on doing external religious things so that they received the praise and commendation of men.

They wanted others to see them publicly when they prayed.

They loved having a trumpet sound before all the people when they gave their tithes or offerings.

They wanted others to know that they were fasting by calling attention to themselves.

All of the religious activities associated with Judaism left their hearts unchanged.

Pharisees and scribes were sinners who needed to be born again. 

Judaism taught them that they were righteous before God because of engaging in polluted, man centered religious practices. 

Therefore, Jesus said fasting as the Pharisees did was like sewing a new piece of cloth on a torn old garment.

The word "new" refers to cloth that is unprocessed by a "fuller."

A fuller would take new cloth and clean it by beating, trampling, and agitating it in a mixture of water and alkaline chemicals, such as urine, to remove grease and dirt. 

The new cloth was then rinsed, and mechanical stamps were used to pound the fabric, causing the wool fibers to felt, shrink, and become denser, softer, and stronger. 

Finally, the fabric was finished by raising its "nap" with thistle heads, trimming or sometimes smoking it to achieve a smooth, white surface ready for dyeing or sale.

Any new cloth not processed by a fuller would shrink and if it was used to patch a tear in a garment, shrinkage would tear it even worse than it was before. 

Thus, Jesus taught that fasting as the scribes and Pharisees did was like putting a new, unprocessed piece of cloth as a patch on an old garment.

Pharisees were trying to enter the kingdom of God by their own polluted works which Isaiah said were "as filthy rags" in the sight of God (See Isaiah 64:6).

I have known people who are like the Pharisees, thinking that doing some religious thing will gain God's favor.

I witnessed to a co-worker many years ago about the need to be born again, and God's offer of salvation through repentant faith in Jesus Christ.

His reply was that he hoped to do enough good works that it would outweigh his sins in the scales of God's judgment.

This is exactly the posture of the Pharisees and scribes.

Please remember, God did everything necessary to bring sinners to Himself through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

It is a grave offense to the Father when anyone tries to add their own works to the cross of Christ and the saving work of His Son.

New wine into new bottles pictures the new birth God offers to all who repent and believe.

Matthew 9:17  Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

It is still the custom in the eastern countries, to make their bottles of goat skins.

If a bottle of skin was old, and new wine was put into it, the heat and pressure of fermentation would cause them to burst and the wine be lost. 

Therefore newly made bottles were used for holding new wine that needed to ferment. 

The spiritual picture is that man always tries to add something to the gospel of Christ so that man is doing some works to gain God's favor.

The pure doctrines of Christ can never be brought into agreement with the Pharisees' man centered religious system.

Any attempt to combine Christ's teaching about fasting with the Pharisee's polluted practice of fasting would be destructive. 

Our "old man" cannot be made better by applying a Band-Aid of religious activities, for the heart is still defiled and desperately wicked.

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

Jesus foreshadowed what He spoke to us through His apostle Paul.

When a sinner repents and trusts Jesus Christ for salvation, he or she is regenerated by the Spirit of God (See Titus 3:4-6).

This fulfills God's promise made to each person who responds by faith in Christ after hearing the gospel (See Ezekiel 11:19-20; 18:31-32; 36:23-28).

This is what Jesus referred to when He told the religious leader, Nicodemus that "Ye must be born again" (See John 3).

A Christian still has the "old man" sin nature that we are all born with but that "old man is separate and distinct from the "new man" God's Spirit created in us.

The "new man" and the new heart given to us by the Holy Spirit seeks and longs for the things of God.

Our "old man" and "new man" live in a state of conflict within us until God calls us home to heaven (See Galatians 5:16-23).

However, The Spirit of God dwells in each believer's heart and He seeks to lead us on the paths of righteousness.

The Holy Spirit seeks to produce His holy fruit in our lives such that we are daily being conformed to the image of Christ.

Our duty is to feed our inner man with the scriptures, reading, studying, thinking about what we read and asking God's Spirit to instruct us (See John 16:13-15).

We must do as Jesus commanded and worship God in Spirit and in truth, that we might draw close to Him each day (See John 4:23-24).

We must spend time and energy coming to the throne of God in prayer, communing with our Father, and casting our cares upon Him because He welcomes and loves His redeemed children (See Hebrews 4:15-16; 1 Peter 5:7).

We need a new heart and a new spirit from God because we cannot "earn" His favor no matter how moral we may be in the sight of others.

This is what God promised to give all sinners who hear the gospel of Christ and exercise repentant faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Let us flee corrupt religious practices and follow hard after Christ.

Let us eagerly seek to know God better by studying His Word and asking His Spirit to guide us as He promises to do.

Bob