Fasting as Spiritual Discipline

In Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus addresses three outworkings of righteousness, almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. For each one, the emphasis lays on uniting act and intention in the direction of glorifying God rather than oneself. Consistent with the first two, the third outworking of righteousness, is a positively good work, a good exercise of righteousness. Indeed, Jesus assumes that his disciples will fast, and so this teaching is not directed at abrogating the practice of fasting but putting to death the false piety of fasting to be seen. At the same time, one may wonder what the proper relationship of the Christian is to the spiritual discipline of fasting. In Jesus’ day, controversy would arise later over the fact that Jesus’ disciples have bucked the trend of fasting, over against both the Pharisees and the followers of John the Baptist, but Jesus indicates that this lack of fasting is a temporary state of affairs. As Jesus says, when the bridegroom departs, it will once again be appropriate for his people to fast (cf. Matt 9:14-17).

So, then, this reflection is focused on addressing fasting as a spiritual discipline in the Christian life. The first step is to reflect on the biblical data on fasting. In the Old Testament, the word for fasting does not appear prior to the book of Judges, but a related concept, that of afflicting oneself, is specifically commanded on the Day of Atonement and more likely than not included the practice of fasting as an outward expression.[1] More generally, fasting was a religiously and culturally acceptable expression of sorrow and lament. So, for example, Israel fasted in the days of the judges to mark their grief over the godlessness of the tribe of Benjamin (Judg 20:26); they fasted in the days of Samuel on account of their sins against God (1 Sam 7:6); Nehemiah fasted at the news of the trouble and shame of the returned exiles and the sorry state of Jerusalem in his days (Neh 1:4).

In the New Testament, we see that Jesus fasted (Matt 4:2), the followers of John the Baptist fasted (Matt 9:14-17), and the Pharisees fasted (Luke 18:12). At the same time, we have already seen that Jesus’ followers did not fast during his earthly ministry. Moreover, Jesus uses the Pharisee’s boast about fasting twice a week in Luke 18 as an indictment against him for self-righteousness. This underscores the importance of motivation, consistent with Jesus’ discussion of other ways in which his disciples practice their righteousness. Finally, we read in Acts 13 that the church in Antioch was worshiping and fasting when the Holy Spirit set apart Paul and Barnabas to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth. That said, fasting, as a genuine spiritual discipline, continued to be practiced after the ascension of Jesus and for largely similar reasons as presented in the Old Testament.

Herman Bavinck summarizes nicely the broader motivations and occasions for fasting: “Fasting is very good, quieting passions and desires in us, warding off temptations, in times of mourning and sorrow, when the church is declining and deteriorating, in times of plague and war.”[2] The Westminster Confession of Faith similarly commends fasting “upon special occasions” (21.5) and the Westminster Larger Catechism includes fasting as one of the religious ordinances that the second commandment requires us to receive, observe, and keep pure and entire (108). John Stott thus comments, “So whether for penitence or for prayer, for self-discipline or for solidary love, there are good biblical reasons for fasting. Whatever our reasons, Jesus took it for granted that fasting would have a place in our Christian life.”[3]

To conclude, it is worth considering which of the above motivations or occasions might readily apply to your life and also to consider how a partial or total abstinence from food for a fixed amount of time might contribute to your progress in sanctification. Insofar as you fast with the intention to glorify God, it can be a profitable spiritual discipline that pleases God and prepares you for deeper communion with him.

[1] TWOT, ענה.

[2] Herman Bavinck, Reformed Ethics, ed. John Bolt (Baker Academic, 2019), 1:490.

[3] John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, The Bible Speaks Today (InterVarsity Press, 2014), 138–39.