Matthew: Time for a Fast?

Listen in as we look at Matthew 6:16-24 and see how Jesus evaluates what we truly treasure, trains us toward healthy eyes, and teaches us how to trust a better master.

 

Notes/Quotes:

Reading: Matthew 6:16-24

 

(Lev. 16:29–31; 23:27–32)

 

(Neh. 9:1–2; Ps. 35:13; Dan. 9:2–20)

 

“Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them.” (Jeremiah 14:12)

 

“Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." (Matthew 9: 14&15)

 

“Don’t just fast with your mouth, but also with your eyes, and your ears, and your feet, and your hands, and all the members of your body. Let the hands fast by being cleansed of plunder and greed. Let the feet fast by ceasing to run to immoral shows. Let the eyes fast by refusing to stare lewdly at lovely faces. After all looking is the food of the eyes. If what we look upon is immoral or forbidden, it mars our fast and upsets the whole safety of our soul. But if what we look upon is moral and safe, it adorns our fasting. Wouldn’t it be most absurd to abstain from lawful food because of a fast, but at the same time to touch with the eyes what is unlawful” -John Chrysostom

 

1. What occupies our thoughts when we have nothing else to do? What do we fret about? What occupies our daydreams? Is it our investments, our position? If so, those are the things we treasure, and that is where our hearts really are.

 

2. Apart from our loved ones, what or whom do we most dread losing?

 

3. What is it we measure others by? (This question is a very revealing mirror because we measure other people by that which we treasure.) Do we measure others by their clothing? Their education? Their homes? Their athletic prowess? Do we measure others by their success in the business world? If so, we know where our treasure lies.

 

4. Lastly, what is it that we know we cannot be happy without?

 

“When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don’t make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won’t make you a saint. If you ‘go into training’ inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn’t require attention-getting devices. He won’t overlook what you are doing; he’ll reward you well. (The Message)