“The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink.”
The disciples of Jesus did not seem to live a typically religious or ascetic lifestyle. The way they lived made others question them, or question Jesus about them. There was a surprising amount of freedom in the community of his followers. It seemed as though there was practically a party breaking out when they got together. Nothing irked the professionally religious like this spirit of freedom and joy. They insisted on being serious, aloof, and condescending. Only from such heights could they maintain the positions in which they took pride. The atmosphere around Jesus and his disciples seemed too wild, too chaotic, and too unpredictable for something as serious as growth in holiness to take place.
Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
Jesus and his disciples had good reason to celebrate. The Pharisees and the disciples of John had calibrated their religious activity to a time when the Messiah had not yet arrived. As such it was marked by longing and preparation. But now that he had arrived on the scene it was actually an insult to be unwilling to join the party. Like the elder son that didn't want to join the celebrate in honor of the homecoming of the younger brother, the Pharisees resisted the suggestion of a celebration. But the root cause of this reluctance was their lack of recognition of the identity of Jesus himself. They did not accept that he was the Messiah, because they assumed the Messiah would be a more precise match for their own expectations. They were not expecting the coming of a bridegroom. They had no idea of attending a marriage feast between heaven and earth, even though they were being invited to precisely this by God himself. But they could have been ready, because such a feast had been promised by the prophets.
For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
For the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you (see Isaiah 54:5-7).
It is altogether too possible to become content with old wine, sufficiently numbed that we aren't able to recognize when something better is poured out and set before us. Even if we have grown accustomed to something good, if the one offering something better is God himself, well, let us drink.
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