Mark 2:18-22: When The Bridegroom Comes, The Old Ways Cannot Hold The Gospel

Our text this morning is Mark 2:18-22, “Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, ‘Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ 19 And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.’” 

Last week we considered Mark 2:13-17 where Jesus called Matthew to follow Him. After this, that evening Jesus and His disciples reclined at Matthew’s house and had dinner. When the religious leaders saw this they went to Jesus’ disciples and asked, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (16)

Satan was behind this interaction between the scribes and Jesus’ disciples because he is always seeking an opportunity to separate Jesus disciples from Him and His gospel mission. In Mark 1:12-13 Jesus was tempted by Satan for 40 days and in the end Jesus came out of the wilderness victorious. Since then Jesus has been ministering powerfully to others and calling particular men to follow Him.

In Mark 2 we are seeing that Satan has turned his malicious attention toward Jesus’ disciples. Question: “Does Satan still try to separate Jesus’ disciples from their LORD and His mission?” (Philippians 4:2-3) Absolutely he still does this. Proverbs 16:28 describes what these men were doing when it says, “A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.”

Note: These religious leaders ask Jesus’ disciples this question but it is Jesus who answers it. Jesus responded quickly by affirming both who He was and what His mission was about, saying, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Galatians 1:6-9) This is an example of Jesus protecting His sheep from these wolves. (John 17:12; Mk. 16:14-18; Mark 1:17)

At the end of this encounter there was an opportunity to have a ‘mic drop moment’. However, as great as this moment was, it is not over. In the ESV translation that we use it would almost appear that Mark 2:18-22 is a separate unrelated story, but verse 18 begins with a conjunction which can be translated, “And John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, ‘Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’”

This conjunction creates a connection between these two texts. To strengthen the connection, all three of the synoptic gospels have these stories connected together. Luke 5:31-33 makes this connection clear with these words, “And Jesus answered them, ‘’Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. And they said to him, ‘The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.’”

In these two stories there are two questions asked that may appear to be unrelated. The first question is about how Jesus can associate with sinners and tax collectors. This question calls into question the wisdom of Jesus for reclining with sinners and tax collectors. The second question asks why Jesus and His disciples do not fast like the Pharisees and John’s disciples. This questions Jesus’ devotion and piety because He is not practicing fasting like so many o the others do. Although these questions appear to be different, the answers that Jesus gives are very similar. They both pertain to who Jesus is and the gospel mission that He is engaged in.

Let’s read verse 18 again, “Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, ‘Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’”

Consider two observations. First, the ‘people’ who ask this question reveal that when it comes to fasting the Pharisees and John’s disciples practice similar things. John the Baptist had testified about Jesus, but some of his disciples have not begun to follow Jesus. In other words, some of John’s disciples are fasting and acting as though the Messiah has not come.

Could it be that these disciples had not heard of John’s testimony regarding Jesus? Perhaps. Or maybe there is another reason. In Mark 2:13-17 the scribes tried to bring a division between Jesus and His mission but it did not succeed. Maybe this type of attack had succeeded with these men.

Even John’s disciples faced similar attacks as we have seen Jesus’ disciples experiencing. Luke 7:33-34, describes what this pressure might have sounded like. There we read, “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’” Such slanderous accusations against John the Baptist could have been enough to persuade some people to abandon the testimony of this godly and faithful man and the mission that He testified too.

Second, Mark 2:18-22 contrasts John’s disciples and the Pharisees who were fasting with Jesus and His disciples were not. This fact that Jesus and His disciples did not fast seemed bad enough, but Jesus and His disciples were also seen reclining with sinners and tax collectors while at a feast. (Luke 5:29) They weren’t even trying to hide this fact!

It is this sort of behavior that Jesus’ enemies used to defame and slander Jesus. In the text just mentioned, Luke 7:33-34, we read, “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

In verse 18 the words ‘were fasting’ are a combination of an imperfect tense verb, which expresses continuous action, and a present tense participle, which expresses an action that is done right now. This combination emphasizes the fact that these men practiced fasting regularly as a habit, but Jesus and His disciples did not have this habit.

There is only one commandment given to Israel that they should fast in the Old Testament. Israel was to fast when they observed the Day of Atonement. However, this did not meant that this was not a good devotional practice to engage in. No, there are many examples of Israel fasting for various reasons throughout their history. In fact, during the days of Jesus’ ministry the Pharisees fasted twice a week (Monday’s and Thursday’s).

Jesus speaks of this in Luke 18:10-12 where He tells a parable, saying, “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’”

In contrast to this description of the Pharisee, Jesus describes the tax collector in verse 13, “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” Observation: I wonder if this isn’t a good description of the condition of Matthew in Mark 2:13-17. I say this because Matthew had not left the tax booth and come near to Jesus to hear Him teach. Perhaps like the man in Jesus’ story, Matthew may not have felt worthy to do so. This is why it is important that Jesus came to Him with the Gospel invitation. (Luke 19:10)

In verse 14 Jesus says, “I tell you, this man (the tax collector) went down to his house justified, rather than the other (Pharisee). For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Observation: Did the tax collector know He was justified when he went home? Justification is not primarily about a feeling as much as it is about Gospel truths that we know and respond to by faith. We know we are justified when we look to Jesus and find mercy and grace. 

Jesus answers this question in Mark 2:19-20, saying, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.” Question: What is the most important truth conveyed by Jesus in this response? Is it the topic of fasting or is it found in the fact that Jesus is saying that the Messiah has come and will one day suffer to redeem sinners?

In regard to fasting, the Pharisees had made a rule that they could not fast during a wedding that they were attending. It would be inappropriate to fast during a time of celebration. Jesus speaks in a way that accomplishes two things. First, this would be a clear and understandable teaching for these men. They knew what their teaching was in regards to these things. Secondly, Jesus also spoke in a way that highlighted that He was Israel’s bridegroom.

These Jews would have understood the teaching of the Old Testament regarding the coming of the Messiah who had this relationship with His people.

• Isaiah 54:5- “For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.” Think of the LORD as Israel’s maker in two ways. First, the LORD is maker of all things. He is the creator of all things and rules over all things visible and invisible. Secondly, the LORD is maker in relation to the new creation regarding salvation. Salvation is of Him, by Him, through Him, and to Him. (Romans 11:36)

• Isaiah 62:5- “For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” This is a reminder that the coming of Christ has brought joy to the world, but the world which is being redeemed by Jesus is a great joy to Him. Jesus rejoices over His bride. What a thought to meditate upon. While the world despises God’s elect, Jesus rejoices over them in love.

• Hosea 2:16- “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’” (Zephaniah 3:17- “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”)

In these Old Testament verses we see Christ’s joy and love for His bride, but we also see that the day of Jesus’ suffering for the redemption of His bride was also connected to the coming of the Messiah. Relatively soon Jesus would redeem His bride (Isaiah 54:5) at great personal cost to Himself (1 Peter 1:18-21). Jesus speaks of this in verse 20, The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.” This is the first reference to the sufferings of Christ in Mark’s gospel.

Notice in v.20 that there are two different references to the word ‘day’. We read, “The days will come...and they will fast in that day”. The first reference is a plural noun, ‘days’. The second reference is ‘day’ which is a singular noun. Jesus’ suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension will set off a period of time where fasting will be an important means of grace for God’s people. In fact, those who have true saving faith will fast as an expression of that faith before God. They will not do this to be seen by men, but to be seen and rewarded by God both now and on the judgment day. (Mt. 6:1-18)

Jesus’ disciples did not fast while Jesus was with them, but there would be a time during the dispensation of grace when Jesus’ disciples will fast. This period begins on the day when Jesus is ‘taken away’ and will continue until that day when Jesus returns for His bride and they enjoy the marriage supper of the Lamb together.

Revelation 19:6-10 speaks of this event, saying, “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

In verse 8 we see the words, ‘It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen…’. The verb ‘it was granted’ is passive which means that God has granted that His bride, the church, be dressed in this way. The righteousness that God’s people are clothed, and which gives them access to God is not earned. No, it is graciously bestowed upon them by the LORD. (Zechariah 3:4-5)

The verb ‘is’ in the words, ‘fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints’ is a present tense active indicative verb. This emphasizes the outward manifestation of the Spirit’s inner work through the righteous deeds of the saints. I would also note the word ‘saints’ also emphasizes the inner work of justification because it speaks of someone whose been made holy, set apart to be sacred, consecrated, and blameless before God. All believers can say with Paul in Ephesians 2:8-10- “For by grace ou have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (19:6-7) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

I mention these things because this might help us appreciate what Jesus says in verses 19-22. Jesus says, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” The expected answer is, ‘No!’ To make this point Jesus gives two illustrations, saying, “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.’” (21-22)

Jesus did not come to give us a gospel patch to put on our old wretched and sinful life. He did not come to do what Israel’s false prophets did, gave them a band-aid and a light fix for a mortal problem. No, Jesus came to give us the fine linen of Christ’s righteousness which is bright and pure. Jesus took away our sins and then gave us His own perfect righteousness. We cannot add one thing to this completed work of Christ. We are new creations in Christ and everything has changed.

Indeed, Christ’s righteousness cannot tolerate the addition of one act of our own righteousness. To add one act of self-righteousness to the Gospel ruins the whole thing and makes faith void. That would be like sewing a new patch on old dirty clothes. It would be like putting new wine in an old wine skin which would ruin them both.

Jesus came to save sinners. He did not come for the healthy, but for the sick. He did not come for the righteous, but for the unrighteous. To do this, we needed a new covenant which was better than the old. Our saving faith looks to Christ for salvation. After that, it continues to look to Christ in all of the righteous deeds that the saints do by the Spirit’s ennoblement by grace through faith. (Rev.19:8)