Mark 2:18-22

1. Position yourself to hear God

2. Pore over the passage and paraphrase the main points

3. Pull out the spiritual principles

4. Pose the question

5. Plan obedience and pin down a date

Mark 2:18-22New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. 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, 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.”

Paraphrase

• People were being asked Jesus why His disciples were not fasting when John's and the Pharisees were
• Jesus explained that you only fast when the bridegroom is no longer present
• Jesus used the idea of wineskins to prove His point

Principles

• Enjoy the time in the Bridegrooms presence
• Fasting has a spiritual reward if done in the right way
• The new life that Jesus offers us cannot be put into a old form

Questions

• Am I enjoying the Bridegroom and all that He has for me?
• Is fasting something that incorporate into my life as a believer?
• Do I accept the new life Jesus has given me or do I hold onto the old?