Introduction. Fasting is a subject many disciples know very little about. While most Christians have read Esther’s request for a three-day fast before she went to the king or Ezra’s fasting to seek God’s favor for a safe journey to Jerusalem, few sermons are preached on fasting today. If asked, what answers could we give about when to fast or if fasting can still be done today?
Israel was commanded to fast every year on the day of atonement. God knew fasting would help them to afflict their souls. So on this one day a year as the High Priest was to enter the Most Holy Place, God wanted them to fast. They were to afflict their soul (fast) from sunset to sunset. Thus, while the high priest was killing the bull and the goat, entering the most holy place, and confessing their sins over the scapegoat, the entire nation of Israel had begun their fasting the night before. God knew that as this day dawned, their growing hunger would help keep them focused. Each time they thought of eating, they would remember this was the day of atonement and they could not eat until sunset. As the hunger grew more and more acute, the truly holy and faithful ones went one step further as they used that hunger to heighten their feelings of persistent pleading along with godly sorrow, repentance, and true remorse over their own sins that were being confessed that day.
Israel was commanded to fast every year on the day of atonement. God knew fasting would help them to afflict their souls. So on this one day a year as the High Priest was to enter the Most Holy Place, God wanted them to fast. They were to afflict their soul (fast) from sunset to sunset. Thus, while the high priest was killing the bull and the goat, entering the most holy place, and confessing their sins over the scapegoat, the entire nation of Israel had begun their fasting the night before. God knew that as this day dawned, their growing hunger would help keep them focused. Each time they thought of eating, they would remember this was the day of atonement and they could not eat until sunset. As the hunger grew more and more acute, the truly holy and faithful ones went one step further as they used that hunger to heighten their feelings of persistent pleading along with godly sorrow, repentance, and true remorse over their own sins that were being confessed that day.
- In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work... For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you... you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, (Lev. 16:29-30; 23:26).
The first recorded example of fasting outside of the day of atonement occurred in Judges. After a terrible abomination was committed in the city of Gibeah belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, the Benjamites chose to protect those who had done evil. This led the other 11 tribes of Israel go to the tabernacle where God commanded them to go into battle. After the men of Benjamin cut down 22,000, the Israelites returned to the sanctuary weeping. But God sent them again and the Benjamites killed 18,000 more. The Israelites finally got the message that God was using Benjamin to punish them for their own wickedness. This time as they wept, they also added fasting and sacrifices for their sins. After this, God gave them a complete victory (Jdg. 20:12-46).
The second example was in the days of Samuel. Beginning in 1 Sam. 4, Israel went to fight against their neighbors, the Philistines. Israel’s sins had led God to allow the Philistines to win the first battle. Sinful Israel thought that by taking the ark of the covenant, it would force God to protect them. But the plan failed, Hophni and Phinehas who were the two sons of the prophet Eli were killed, and the ark was taken. Samuel later warned them that if they truly sought God’s deliverance nothing less than forsaking their idols and repenting to God would help them. He gathered all Israel to Mizpah and after they had fasted and confessed their sins, God gave them a great victory over the Philistines (1Sam. 7:3-12).
In the days of King Johoshaphat, it was Ammon and Moab that came to fight Judah. Then “Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” After a fervent prayer pleading for God to help them, God revealed that He would fight and win this battle for them. (2Chr. 20:1-17).
Joel’s message to Israel revealed God had sent a plague of locusts. As they brought great desolation to all vegetation in the land, God Himself proclaimed: “Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of the Lord your God, And cry out to the Lord” (Joel 1:14). Later, God again commanded them to fast, this time adding weeping and mourning. This would open the door for their return to Him.
In the days of Isaiah, Judah sought fasting to seek deliverance. Yet this time was different. Israel was in an apostasy so deep that God saw them as Sodom and Gomorrah. He warned: “Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me.” “Your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me.” “I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear.” (Isa. 1:2-15). Though God told them to “cease to do evil” and “learn to do good”, they refused. Their sins were “as scarlet” and “red as crimson”, yet they refused to repent or confess them.
When this fast did not move God to act, they blamed God. “Why have we fasted, they say, and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?” God sent Isaiah to “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.” It was not God’s fault! It was their own sin and transgression. Their fast and the affliction of their souls were meaningless because “your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” (Isa. 58:1-14; 59:1-2). Fasting must be joined with godly sorrow, repentance, genuine humility and true importunity and faith. Fasting without these things led God to warn them:
Fasting while sinning against God will never make a voice heard on high. This was not the manner of fast God had chosen. With rebellious hearts and sinful motives, this could not even be called a fast or an acceptable day of the Lord.
Jesus made a similar application about fasting. He also spoke of the motive for fasting as being the most important part of the fast. If the motive of fasting is tainted with a desire to impress others of their godliness and sacrifice, the only reward is the praise they might receive from men. Their sad countenance meant to show a true affliction of the soul was only hypocrisy. Only those who have no outward show, but only inward affliction kept secret to all but God is a true fast.
Jesus promised that God will openly reward those who fast! This is the most important thing His genuine disciples need to know about fasting. This is a promise that should not be taken lightly. There will be times in the life of every Christian where an acute need arises. When faced with disaster, Israel sought fasting as the means to “make their voice heard on high,” and time and again God rewarded them openly. Why would we ignore one of these great weapons of our warfare when Jesus promised we would be openly rewarded for using it?
Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther understood the power of fasting to move God to act for them. They used it in times of dire need. Ezra fasted and prayed for a safe journey to Jerusalem as they carried treasures for the temple and God “answered our prayer.” (Ezra 8:21-23). Nehemiah fasted and prayed for help to return to Jerusalem and God rewarded him openly (Neh. 1:4-11). Esther asked Mordecai to have all the Jews in Shushan fast for three days in order to overthrow the wicked plot of Haaman (Est. 4:13-17). As a result, God brought deliverance to all the Jews, rewarding them openly.
God left no doubt about the power fasting under the Old Covenant. It made their voice heard on high if done to truly afflict the soul, with weeping and mourning, rending the heart and crying out to God with godly sorrow. When done in this manner, God always rewarded them openly.
What about today? Will God do the same thing for those who serve Jesus under the New Covenant? Can fasting still make our voice to be heard on high? Will God reward Christians openly if they fast to Him? Jesus answered this question with a powerful affirmative. When asked why His disciples were not fasting while He lived, He strongly affirmed that after His death and return to heaven, His disciples would indeed fast. There is no way to misunderstand His words. The only question is whether we are among those disciples of Jesus who “will fast in those days.”
Can there be any doubt that when the circumstances are right, Jesus expects us to fast? The power of fasting passed from the Old Covenant into the New with no loss of power. In Antioch while ministering to the Lord, the prophets and teachers including Paul saw fasting as an important part of their work. Since Paul was among them and he later asked that his example be followed, there can be no doubt. It is emphasized yet again when after the Holy Spirit asked that Barnabas and Saul be sent to do the work He was calling them to do, they again fasted while they prayed, entreating God’s favor as Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther had done before them.
While on this journey, as they appointed elders in every church they again used fasting as part of their work. Why would we follow their example about having elders appointed in every church and completely ignore the example of fasting?
Conclusion. Fasting is not a command. It is an opportunity! There is no longer a day upon which Christians are required to fast. None of the examples above are binding commands, but they are clearly the fulfillment of Jesus’ words that His disciples would fast after He was taken away from them. The truth is clear and obvious to all. Fasting is still a powerful opportunity for a Christian to make his voice heard on high. When God sees fasting accompanied with true affliction of the soul, genuine godly sorrow and persistent pleading, He will still reward us openly. Thus, during times of crisis, important events or deep repentance, prayer and fasting will make our voice heard on high and God will reward us openly.
The second example was in the days of Samuel. Beginning in 1 Sam. 4, Israel went to fight against their neighbors, the Philistines. Israel’s sins had led God to allow the Philistines to win the first battle. Sinful Israel thought that by taking the ark of the covenant, it would force God to protect them. But the plan failed, Hophni and Phinehas who were the two sons of the prophet Eli were killed, and the ark was taken. Samuel later warned them that if they truly sought God’s deliverance nothing less than forsaking their idols and repenting to God would help them. He gathered all Israel to Mizpah and after they had fasted and confessed their sins, God gave them a great victory over the Philistines (1Sam. 7:3-12).
In the days of King Johoshaphat, it was Ammon and Moab that came to fight Judah. Then “Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” After a fervent prayer pleading for God to help them, God revealed that He would fight and win this battle for them. (2Chr. 20:1-17).
Joel’s message to Israel revealed God had sent a plague of locusts. As they brought great desolation to all vegetation in the land, God Himself proclaimed: “Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of the Lord your God, And cry out to the Lord” (Joel 1:14). Later, God again commanded them to fast, this time adding weeping and mourning. This would open the door for their return to Him.
- “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. (Joel 2:12-13).
In the days of Isaiah, Judah sought fasting to seek deliverance. Yet this time was different. Israel was in an apostasy so deep that God saw them as Sodom and Gomorrah. He warned: “Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me.” “Your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me.” “I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear.” (Isa. 1:2-15). Though God told them to “cease to do evil” and “learn to do good”, they refused. Their sins were “as scarlet” and “red as crimson”, yet they refused to repent or confess them.
When this fast did not move God to act, they blamed God. “Why have we fasted, they say, and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?” God sent Isaiah to “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.” It was not God’s fault! It was their own sin and transgression. Their fast and the affliction of their souls were meaningless because “your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” (Isa. 58:1-14; 59:1-2). Fasting must be joined with godly sorrow, repentance, genuine humility and true importunity and faith. Fasting without these things led God to warn them:
- 4 You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord? (Isa. 58:4-5)
Fasting while sinning against God will never make a voice heard on high. This was not the manner of fast God had chosen. With rebellious hearts and sinful motives, this could not even be called a fast or an acceptable day of the Lord.
Jesus made a similar application about fasting. He also spoke of the motive for fasting as being the most important part of the fast. If the motive of fasting is tainted with a desire to impress others of their godliness and sacrifice, the only reward is the praise they might receive from men. Their sad countenance meant to show a true affliction of the soul was only hypocrisy. Only those who have no outward show, but only inward affliction kept secret to all but God is a true fast.
- "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Mt. 6:16-18).
Jesus promised that God will openly reward those who fast! This is the most important thing His genuine disciples need to know about fasting. This is a promise that should not be taken lightly. There will be times in the life of every Christian where an acute need arises. When faced with disaster, Israel sought fasting as the means to “make their voice heard on high,” and time and again God rewarded them openly. Why would we ignore one of these great weapons of our warfare when Jesus promised we would be openly rewarded for using it?
Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther understood the power of fasting to move God to act for them. They used it in times of dire need. Ezra fasted and prayed for a safe journey to Jerusalem as they carried treasures for the temple and God “answered our prayer.” (Ezra 8:21-23). Nehemiah fasted and prayed for help to return to Jerusalem and God rewarded him openly (Neh. 1:4-11). Esther asked Mordecai to have all the Jews in Shushan fast for three days in order to overthrow the wicked plot of Haaman (Est. 4:13-17). As a result, God brought deliverance to all the Jews, rewarding them openly.
God left no doubt about the power fasting under the Old Covenant. It made their voice heard on high if done to truly afflict the soul, with weeping and mourning, rending the heart and crying out to God with godly sorrow. When done in this manner, God always rewarded them openly.
What about today? Will God do the same thing for those who serve Jesus under the New Covenant? Can fasting still make our voice to be heard on high? Will God reward Christians openly if they fast to Him? Jesus answered this question with a powerful affirmative. When asked why His disciples were not fasting while He lived, He strongly affirmed that after His death and return to heaven, His disciples would indeed fast. There is no way to misunderstand His words. The only question is whether we are among those disciples of Jesus who “will fast in those days.”
- Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?" 34 And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days." (Lk. 5:33-35).
Can there be any doubt that when the circumstances are right, Jesus expects us to fast? The power of fasting passed from the Old Covenant into the New with no loss of power. In Antioch while ministering to the Lord, the prophets and teachers including Paul saw fasting as an important part of their work. Since Paul was among them and he later asked that his example be followed, there can be no doubt. It is emphasized yet again when after the Holy Spirit asked that Barnabas and Saul be sent to do the work He was calling them to do, they again fasted while they prayed, entreating God’s favor as Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther had done before them.
- As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. (Acts 13:2-3)
While on this journey, as they appointed elders in every church they again used fasting as part of their work. Why would we follow their example about having elders appointed in every church and completely ignore the example of fasting?
- So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. (Acts 14:23-24)
Conclusion. Fasting is not a command. It is an opportunity! There is no longer a day upon which Christians are required to fast. None of the examples above are binding commands, but they are clearly the fulfillment of Jesus’ words that His disciples would fast after He was taken away from them. The truth is clear and obvious to all. Fasting is still a powerful opportunity for a Christian to make his voice heard on high. When God sees fasting accompanied with true affliction of the soul, genuine godly sorrow and persistent pleading, He will still reward us openly. Thus, during times of crisis, important events or deep repentance, prayer and fasting will make our voice heard on high and God will reward us openly.