Luke 5:33-35 33But they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and likewise also d the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34But Jesus said to them, “Can you make sons of the wedding hall fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”
The Pharisees and their scribes had a comeback to Jesus in the form of another complaint. They had their expectations of what a rabbi should do and how his followers should act. They looked at John’s disciples and their own and saw a lot of religious piety in the form of fasting and prayer. In their interpretation of being holy and righteous, they had certain expectations and passed these on to their own disciples. They perpetuated their behaviors and beliefs on to the next generation. The disciples of John could be recognized by how they prayed, which must have been noticeable and impressive (11:1). The Pharisees and other Jews were known for their religious piety supposedly shown through fasting (see Matthew 6:16).
The problem as noticed by the Pharisees and scribes was that Jesus’ disciples acted differently and did not fit the same mold or meet their expectations. Jesus had already gathered a group of disciples, though they are not specifically all named yet. Jesus’ followers were eating and drinking along with him and the “tax collectors and sinners” (verse 30). They were guilty by association. They were doing the opposite of what the Jewish religious elite were doing.
Jesus responded with two stories. The first story comes from the context of a wedding. This short story makes the point that this was a time of celebration because the bridegroom was present. A wedding at that time was a grand occasion for feasting and celebration, especially when the bridegroom arrived usually at the home of the bride. All the family, friends, and even the entire village would come out in celebration. It was not a time of sadness, which fasting represents spiritually. Repentance may and should begin with sorrow but should end with joy. When the bridegroom leaves and the celebration is over, there is an emotional gloom and sadness. After a big celebration, reality comes back in view and life gets back to its drudgery.
The bridegroom in this story clearly represents Jesus, though the Pharisees and scribes missed the significance. Verse 35 is the first hint that Jesus would not be with his disciples for long. The verb is taken away (aparthē) has an ominous sense of force. The bridegroom does not leave on a honeymoon but is forcibly removed. After only a few short years, the same thing will happen to Jesus when he will be arrested, tried, and crucified. That will be a time of great sorrow and fasting. But while he was present, people should celebrate and enjoy his love, grace, and forgiveness. Discipleship should not be gloom and doom because forgiveness has come, and the promise of new life is a reality. For those who refuse to repent, like the Pharisees and scribes, living without Jesus can be characterized by the fasting. The Jews had misplaced priorities because of the growing hardness of their hearts.
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