Matthew 6:16-18
These three verses are part of a famous
sermon by Jesus. It is part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Jesus taught
the disciples and other of His followers important things - how to pray, how to
give, how to fast, how to have a relationship with Yahweh. This week, God
caught my attention with the fasting part of the passage, verses 16-18. The
verses say,
16 Whenever
you fast,
do not put
on a gloomy
face
as the hypocrites
do, for they neglect
their appearance
so
that they will be noticed
by men
when they are fasting.
Truly,
I say
to you, they have
their reward
in full.
17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face
16 Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed my men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
I
always read this part of the sermon as not to be as the Pharisees who seek
attention. That is one of the lessons taught here though not the only lesson.
In the fifteen verses before this, Jesus taught His disciples how to give and
pray. He preceded this with His thematic statement in verse 1, “Beware of
practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them otherwise you
have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”
Jesus
told His disciples to give in secret so that no one other than God knew who
gave. He said to pray to the Father in their inner/secret room so that no one
other than God knew they were praying. In these verses, 2-8, Jesus contrasted
those who gave and prayed in the open so other people would see and hear them
to the redeemed, righteous ones of God. He told them the people who acted so
others saw sought acclamation from other people; thus, they already received their
reward on earth. These hypocrites did not do these things from their heart for
God, but from their need of approval by people. Jesus, in verses 9-13, taught His
disciples how to pray. The prayer He taught put God’s will first, their
relationship with God second, and their relationship with other people third.
God is to be the priority if you are a disciple of Christ. Later in chapter 6,
Jesus taught God’s love and provision for His children by showing them how much
He cared for the sparrow. The analogy is that if God cares even for a sparrow,
how much more does He care for His creation made in His image.
With
this setting placed before us, in this week’s study, God brought my attention
to verses 16-18. These verses are on fasting. I have never studied fasting, nor
have I ever fasted for my faith. When I read this, God piqued my interest. I
delved into the Biblical history of fasting. My questions were: 1) What is
fasting, 2) Why do we fast, 3) How do we fast, and 4) Does God mandate fasting
as a part of the religious life of a church, to be on the church calendar.
As I began my study, I looked
up every instance of fasting in the Bible. I found that the words “fast” and “fasting”
in the Old Testament Hebrew are tsowm
and tsuwm. These Hebrews words mean
abstaining from foods (Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon). The prophets, priests, and
kings/queens called fasts for their people. Individuals sometimes chose to fast
of their own accord. These leaders called fasts to humble themselves or their
people before God, to confess their sins, and to pray to God because of their need
for forgiveness, guidance, God’s presence, to know God’s will, and to express their
grief to God. We find these passages in Judges 20:26; 1 Samuel 7:6 and 31:13; 2
Samuel 1:12 and 12:16; 1 Kings 21:9, 12, and 27; 1 Chronicles 10:12; 2
Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21 and 23; Nehemiah 1:4, and 9:1; Esther 4:3,16, and 9:31;
Psalm 35:13, 69:10, and 109:24; Isaiah 58:3-6 and 10; Jeremiah 14:12, 36:6 and
9; Daniel 9:3; Joel 1:14, 2:12, and 15; Jonah 3:5; and Zechariah 7:5 and 8:19.
In the New Testament, fasting and fasts, in Greek, are nesteuo and nesteia. These
Greek words mean to abstain as a religious exercise from food and drink as a part
of private or public religious devotion (New Testament Greek Lexicon and Baker’s
Evangelical Dictionary). These words are found in Matthew 4:2, 6:16-18, 9:14-15;
Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35, 18:12; and Acts 13:2-3, 14:23. These passages show
the reasons people fasted in the New Testament era – to be in commune with God,
to know His will, to be in His presence, and to bless and send out God’s called
messengers, such as Saul and Barnabas in Acts 13:3 and 14:23.
In one of the above passages
it seems God mandated a fast. Zechariah 8:19 stated the LORD declared a fast four
different times a year. These fasts appear to commemorate times when the
Israelites fasted previously because they were being attacked, Jerusalem
destroyed, and people taken into captivity. God told the Jews that historically
these four fasts were because of sadness and desperation, but now they would be
for joy and gladness. Jewish rabbis, priests, and historians stated that God
mandated a fast before the time of Zechariah on the Day of Atonement in
Leviticus 16:29. The Hebrew word used in that instance is ‘anah and means to humble oneself, be downcast, and be afflicted. ‘Anah can be used for “humble” and other
words, such as “afflicted.” The Jewish leaders stated this affliction could be the
afflicting of the soul by abstaining from food, drink, anointing of the head,
or bathing. The Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) does not explain
specifically what this “affliction” should be though. Since the Hebrew words tsowm and tsuwm specifically mean a fast or to fast, abstaining from food for
a purpose, 'anah of Leviticus 16 is not the same. As evidence to this interpretation, that afflicting is fasting and thus
fasting is required for the Day of Atonement, Jewish leaders refer to Psalm 35.
Yet, when I study Psalm 35, David used ‘anah
in verse 10, “Lord, who is like You, Who delivers the afflicted from him Who is
too strong for him.” Later in verse 13, David used the word tsowm to speak of fasting. Since David
differentiated the two words, afflicted and fasting, I do not believe we can
say ‘anah in Leviticus 16:29,
Leviticus 23:27-32, and Exodus 30:10 refers to a God mandated fast for the Jews
on the Day of Atonement. Fasting is a purposeful humbling of one’s self before
the great and majestic Yahweh. We will see, though, in Matthew 6, Isaiah 58,
and Zechariah 7 that performing a fast does not make a person acceptable before
God. Humbling oneself does not come from the act of fasting. Being humble
before God comes from being in a relationship with Him so that our actions on
earth glorify Him.
In studying the passage, the word for fasting used in Matthew 6:16-18 is nesteuo. Jesus explained to the people that when they fast they
were to “anoint their heads and wash their faces so their fasting would not be
noticed by men, but by their Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees
what is done in secret will reward you” (vs. 17-18). The hypocrites purposely neglected
their appearance so men would notice them. Jesus said the hypocrites already received
their reward, which was recognition by men of their supposed devotion to God. He
implied the Father does not recognize hypocrites. This continued Jesus’ theme from giving and praying in the preceding verses.
There is more to fasting than
the act of giving, praying, or fasting. Isaiah 58 gives council on fasting. God
spoke through Isaiah to the house of Jacob in this chapter. God told them it
was because of their sins that He did not heed their prayers nor acknowledge their
fasting. The Israelites’ lack of confession kept Him from hearing and acting
for them. Jews not seeking His righteousness made Him turn His ear from them. The
house of Jacob fasted and on the same day, they drove their workers hard (vs.
3). God told them He desired a fast where a person humbled himself or herself
(vs. 5). God wanted a fast where the “bonds of wickedness were loosed,” “the
bands of the yoke” were undone, and “the oppressed went free” (vs. 6). The “house
of Jacob” was to “divide their bread with the hungry, bring the homeless poor
into the house,” and cover the naked (vs. 7). God desired their righteous actions
and then He would be “their rear guard” (vs. 8). He would answer when they
called and their light would shine in the darkness. God would be the light of the
Israelites if they sought to follow Him and His righteousness (vs. 9-10). God
promised He would guide them, satisfy their desires in desolate places, give them
strength, and provide them with everything they need, if they made Him their
light (vs. 11).
Matthew 6 and Isaiah 58 say that acts
performed out of duty while fasting is not what God accepts as humility and
righteousness. God requires His righteousness to show through by His children giving
to the hungry, sheltering the homeless, releasing the captives, and clothing
the naked, without drawing attention to themselves. By being in such a relationship
with God that His love is enacted by His children for the less fortunate and
hurting, people show God’s righteousness and their faithful following of Him. Our
care of others and humility of self is what God requires even today. (As an
aside, ‘anah does not show care of
others, just concern of self before God.) When we are in a relationship with
God, then our fasting as a method to humble ourselves and seek Him will be accepted
by Him. James wrote on faith in action in James 2:18. He stated that faith is what
you do for others because of God living in you.
Jesus spoke on hypocrites in
Matthew 6. They gave, prayed, and fasted to be seen by other people. God did
not give mandated fast days during Bible times since the time of Zechariah. God
does not mandate fasting for the church calendar. When we want to come before God,
we must humble ourselves, be penitent, and seek to follow God’s will on earth.
One way to remind us to be humble is fasting, abstaining from food or drink. Some
Christians, during Lent, choose to fast from a food or drink that does not help
their bodies, the temple of God. When they think of or want to consume that
item, fasting reminds them to focus on God, be humble before Him, and seek His
will. Fasting at Lent also reminds each of us of God’s great love for us as expressed
through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son so that we can be forgiven
of our sins and live with Him forever in heaven. We fast to humble ourselves
before almighty God, to be in His presence, and receive His acknowledgement.
Jesus summed up the Sermon
on the Mount in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Whether you believe fasting should be on
the religious calendar or not, what is most important is your relationship with
God. Are you coming humbly before God? Are you seeking Him and His
righteousness and acting it out on earth? As God said in Matthew 6, and Isaiah 58,
if you are not living a righteous life, secret from the eyes of other people,
then your act of fasting is not done with humility and will be rejected and go
unheard by God.
This Lenten season, whether you
fast or not, are you in a right relationship with God? Is it obvious by your
heart actions of caring for the “least of these” that you act because of submission
to God’s will? Or, do you act as if by remote? Fasting is a state of mind and includes
actions that acknowledge your humility before God. This humility shows as
actions lived out toward other people because of your relationship with God – actions
of giving clothes, food, shelter, and freeing the oppressed and enslaved. These
actions glorify God. Christ is the supreme example of living a righteous life
and having a relationship with the Father. Christ showed us how to pray to God
(Matthew 6:9-13), how to be humble (John 13:12-17), and how to care for the “least
of these” (Matthew 25:34-40, Isaiah 61:1-3, and Matthew 11:5).
Seek God with utmost
humility, confession, and prayer. Be genuine and He will hear and respond to you.
Enact out of obedience God’s righteousness, which comes from a relationship
with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, and you will be heard by God and have your
reward in heaven (vs. 1).
Are you seeking God, His kingdom, and His
righteousness?
