Luke 18:12

18:12 I fast twice ¹  a week; I give a tenth ²  of everything I get.’

Isaiah 58:3-6

58:3 They lament, ³  ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?

Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’

Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, ⁴ 

you oppress your workers. ⁵ 

58:4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by ⁶  arguments, brawls,

and fistfights. ⁷ 

Do not fast as you do today,

trying to make your voice heard in heaven.

58:5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want? ⁸ 

Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, ⁹ 

bowing their heads like a reed

and stretching out ¹⁰  on sackcloth and ashes?

Is this really what you call a fast,

a day that is pleasing to the Lord?

58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. ¹¹ 

I want you ¹²  to remove the sinful chains,

to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,

to set free the oppressed, ¹³ 

and to break every burdensome yoke.

Zechariah 7:6

7:6 And now when you eat and drink, are you not doing so for yourselves?’”

Matthew 9:14-17

The Superiority of the New

9:14 Then John’s ¹⁴  disciples came to Jesus ¹⁵  and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees ¹⁶  fast often, ¹⁷  but your disciples don’t fast?” 9:15 Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests ¹⁸  cannot mourn while the bridegroom ¹⁹  is with them, can they? But the days ²⁰  are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, ²¹  and then they will fast. 9:16 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, because the patch will pull away from the garment and the tear will be worse. 9:17 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; ²²  otherwise the skins burst and the wine is spilled out and the skins are destroyed. Instead they put new wine into new wineskins ²³  and both are preserved.”

Mark 2:18-22

The Superiority of the New

2:18 Now ²⁴  John’s ²⁵  disciples and the Pharisees ²⁶  were fasting. ²⁷  So ²⁸  they came to Jesus ²⁹  and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?” 2:19 Jesus ³⁰  said to them, “The wedding guests ³¹  cannot fast while the bridegroom ³²  is with them, can they? ³³  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast. 2:20 But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, ³⁴  and at that time ³⁵  they will fast. 2:21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse. 2:22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; ³⁶  otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be destroyed. Instead new wine is poured into new wineskins.” ³⁷ 

[18:12]  ¹ sn The law only required fasting on the Day of Atonement. Such voluntary fasting as this practiced twice a week by the Pharisee normally took place on Monday and Thursday.

[18:12]  ² tn Or “I tithe.”

[58:3]  ³ tn The words “they lament” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “you find pleasure”; NASB “you find your desire.”

[58:3]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps, “debtors.” See HALOT 865 s.v. * עָצֵב.

[58:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “you fast for” (so NASB); NRSV “you fast only to quarrel.”

[58:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and for striking with a sinful fist.”

[58:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “choose” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “wish.”

[58:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “a day when man humbles himself.” The words “Do I want” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “making [their] bed.”

[58:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[58:6]  ¹² tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[58:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “crushed.”

[9:14]  ¹⁴ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[9:14]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:14]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[9:14]  ¹⁷ sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

[9:15]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “sons of the wedding hall,” an idiom referring to wedding guests, or more specifically friends of the bridegroom present at the wedding celebration (L&N 11.7).

[9:15]  ¹⁹ sn The expression while the bridegroom is with them is an allusion to messianic times (John 3:29; Isa 54:5-6; 62:4-5; 4 Ezra 2:15, 38).

[9:15]  ²⁰ tn Grk “days.”

[9:15]  ²¹ sn The statement the bridegroom will be taken from them is a veiled allusion by Jesus to his death, which he did not make explicit until the incident at Caesarea Philippi in 16:13ff.

[9:17]  ²² sn Wineskins were bags made of skin or leather, used for storing wine in NT times. As the new wine fermented and expanded, it would stretch the new wineskins. Putting new (unfermented) wine in old wineskins, which had already been stretched, would result in the bursting of the wineskins.

[9:17]  ²³ sn The meaning of the saying new wine into new wineskins is that the presence and teaching of Jesus was something new and signaled the passing of the old. It could not be confined within the old religion of Judaism, but involved the inauguration and consummation of the kingdom of God.

[2:18]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[2:18]  ²⁵ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[2:18]  ²⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

[2:18]  ²⁷ sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

[2:18]  ²⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate that in the narrative this question happened as a result of the fasting of John’s disciples and the Pharisees.

[2:18]  ²⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:19]  ³⁰ tn Grk “And Jesus.”

[2:19]  ³¹ tn Grk “sons of the wedding hall,” an idiom referring to wedding guests, or more specifically, friends of the bridegroom present at the wedding celebration (L&N 11.7).

[2:19]  ³² sn The expression while the bridegroom is with them is an allusion to messianic times (John 3:29; Isa 54:5-6; 62:4-5; 4 Ezra 2:15, 38).

[2:19]  ³³ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “can they?”).

[2:20]  ³⁴ sn The statement the bridegroom will be taken from them is a veiled allusion by Jesus to his death, which he did not make explicit until the incident at Caesarea Philippi in 8:27ff. (cf. 8:31; 9:31; 10:33).

[2:20]  ³⁵ tn Grk “then on that day.”

[2:22]  ³⁶ sn Wineskins were bags made of skin or leather, used for storing wine in NT times. As the new wine fermented and expanded, it would stretch the new wineskins. Putting new (unfermented) wine in old wineskins, which had already been stretched, would result in the bursting of the wineskins.

[2:22]  ³⁷ sn The meaning of the saying new wine is poured into new skins is that the presence and teaching of Jesus was something new and signaled the passing of the old. It could not be confined within the old religion of Judaism, but involved the inauguration and consummation of the kingdom of God.