Questions About Fasting

(Gospel of Mark 2:18 - 2:22)
When the disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came up to Jesus and asked him, "Why is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, and your disciples are not?"

Jesus answered, "Can the wedding party fast when the groom is still celebrating with them.  Of course not, so long as the groom is still among them.  But the time will come when he will be taken from them.  Then they will fast. 

"No one sews a patch of new cloth on an old garment.  For the patch would shrink and the new material would pull away from the old, making the tear worse.  Nor does anyone put new wine in old wineskins, for the wine would burst the skins and so both the wine and the wineskins would be lost.  New wine demands new wineskins." 

Notes
1. The Pharisees and the disciples of John were known to have regularly fasted two days a week, but this was not something demanded by religious law.  In his reply, Jesus suggests that whatever the merits of the practice, it is superseded by his presence: he is more important than any possible cause for fasting.  It is interesting what Jesus does not say in response, e.g., "I see no purpose in my disciples fasting.  But if John's disciples or those of the Pharisees wish to do so, that's fine."  In the answer Jesus gives, he asserts his independence of not only the Pharisees, but of the Baptist's followers.

2. As he is wont, Jesus, when he is not dodging the queries addressed to him, uses a inquiry to make an unrelated point.  Here, the analogy of patching an old garment with new, unshrunk material and putting new wine into old wineskins would seem to have nothing to do with whether his disciples should fast or not.  Several interpretations of the analogies suggest themselves.  One presumes, though, he is not dispensing practical advise on the mending of one's wardrobe or the storage of alcoholic beverages.  It is most likely the analogies refer to himself and his message.  He is the new piece of material, he is the new wine.  He cannot be contained within the current religious establishment; his message cannot be grafted upon the Pharisaical teachings of the time.  He is bringing something new into the world, something that will not fit into old parameters.  One might even surmise that Jesus is suggesting his followers found a new religion and discard Judaism, an old wineskin. 

3. Woolen garments tend to shrink a great deal when washed.  A new piece of woolen, if sewn onto an old, already well-shrunk garment would shrink upon washing.  The stitches of the patch would likely pull apart, enlarging the rip or hole in the old garment.

4. New wine is wine that has not yet thoroughly fermented.  The fermenting process would put a strain upon wineskins that are old and brittle, perhaps rupturing them.  Therefore, it would be foolish to put new wine into old wineskins.