The Question about Fasting

Free Bible Version (FBV)

Mat 9:14–17

14 Then the disciples of John came and asked, “Why is that we and the Pharisees fast frequently, but your disciples don't?”
15 “Do wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus responded. “But the time is coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
16 No one puts a new patch on old clothes, otherwise it will shrink and make the tear worse.
17 No one puts new wine in old wineskins either, otherwise the wineskins will burst, spilling the wine and ruining the wineskins. No, new wine is put into new wineskins, and both last.”

18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some of them came to Jesus, and asked him, “Why is it that John's disciples and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't?”
19 “Do wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus asked them. “No. While the bridegroom's with them, they can't fast.
20 But the day is coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they'll fast.
21 No one puts a patch that's not shrunk on old clothes. Otherwise the new piece will shrink away from the old, and make the tear worse.
22 No one puts new wine in old wineskins. Otherwise the wine will burst the wineskins, and both the wine and wineskins will be wasted. No. You put new wine in new wineskins.”

33 “Well, John's disciples often fast and pray, and the Pharisees' disciples do so as well. But your disciples don't—they go on eating and drinking,” they told him.
34 “Should the groomsmen fast while the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus asked.
35 “No—but the time is coming when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then they can fast.”
36 Then he gave them an illustration: “You don't tear out a patch from new clothes to mend old clothes. Otherwise you'd ruin new clothes, and the patch from the new wouldn't match the old.
37 You don't put new wine into old wineskins, because if you did the new wine would burst the wineskins. Then both wine and wineskins would be wasted.
38 You put new wine in new wineskins.
39 And nobody after drinking old wine wants new wine, for they say, ‘the old tastes good.’”