Jesus Questioned About Fasting^(A)

³³ They said to him, “John’s disciples^(B) often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

Jesus Questioned About Fasting^(A)

¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.^(B) Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

¹⁹ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. ²⁰ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them,^(C) and on that day they will fast.

²¹ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. ²² And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

Jesus Questioned About Fasting^(A)

¹⁴ Then John’s^(B) disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often,^(C) but your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?^(D) The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.^(E)

¹⁶ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. ¹⁷ Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

¹² I fast^(A) twice a week and give a tenth^(B) of all I get.’

² For I can testify about them that they are zealous^(A) for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. ³ Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.^(B)

¹¹ The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus^(A) named Saul, for he is praying.

²⁵ An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.^(A)

John’s Disciples Follow Jesus^(A)

³⁵ The next day John^(B) was there again with two of his disciples.

⁴⁷ They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”