Matthew 6:16-24 On Fasting and Lasting
The one word I would use to describe what Jesus is teaching in the beginning of Matthew 6, I would use the word "Focus." When we focus on something we are doing at least two things, 1) we are choosing to give our attention to a particular thing. 2) We are choosing to not allow other things to have our attention.
Jesus is saying that our focus, in all our acts of piety, should be squarely on God. When we give we learn to focus on God through the discipline of secrecy. When we pray we focus on God by paying attention to what God is doing in the world, and approaching him on the basis of his acceptance of us.So it is actually possible for two people to do the same thing, but if their focus is on different things, their results will be different. Not, mind you, the external results primarily, but the internal results will be drastically different. One will become the cup that is clean on the outside only, the other will become the cup who cleansing begins on the inside. It all starts with our focus in giving, in prayer, and now we will see how it is in fasting.Fasting, as we all know, is when a person abstains from all or some food or drink for a select period of time. Biblical fasting includes this standard definition, it is abstinence from food and/or drink, but it is more. Biblical fasting is a way of learning how to not have my own way, so that I might learn how to live in the Way of God. Therefore, to fast in the manner of Jesus is to learn how to say no to my self, that I might focus on what God wants, and say yes to him.The hypocrites referenced in Matthew 6:16 fasted in such a way that they denied themselves what they wanted (food) in order that they might get something else they wanted (a good reputation). Therefore, in their fasting their focus remained squarely on themselves! They wanted people to think a certain way, the people thought it, and thats the reward they got. Big deal!That way of fasting amounts to little. But there is a way of fasting that leads to life. It is fasting in the manner of Jesus. He introduces this way of fasting by contrasting the look of gloom that the hypocrites painted on their faces with a different look. "But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face..." Now, is Jesus just giving another external action for us to do? I don't think so, for our wily hearts would simply have another way of letting other sees how righteous we are. Is he simply telling us to "act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face" as the Message translation says? Well, yes, but he is saying much more.If we remember that the primary audience of Matthew was a Jewish community, that would lead us to consider which words or phrases would have extra meaning to them. I think the mentioning of oil on the head would've caused his listeners ears to pique. For oil was poured on the head of priests in order to consecrate them and prepare them to serve God in his temple (Leviticus 8:12; Exodus 29:7). But the more famous example emerges from Psalm 23, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows."So oil on the head, for the Jewish listeners, means time spent before the Lord God Almighty. Therefore fasting, according to Jesus, is not simply a time of not receiving physical nutrition, but it is a time of receiving your sustenance directly from God. Fasting is a time when we learn to say with Jesus, "Humans don't live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." It was the discipline of fasting and self-denial that enabled Jesus to say on one occasion, "Not my will, but thy will be done."
And if we would make God the focus of our fasting, we will slowly but surely become the kind of people who have a shift occur in our lives, whereby we now see the values of God's kingdom being more important than the values of the kingdom of this world. We will truly begin to want what God wants, more than wanting what our "self" wants.Through the discipline of kingdom fasting, a person will slowly begin to realize that the true place that upholds their life is not the physical, but the eternal. It’s the spirit of God. And as the kingdom of God becomes more of a reality, we will begin to desire the things of the kingdom, more than the shiny objects that moth and rust destroy.This leads to the remainder of the passage. Here it is in summary:When we learn to focus on God in all of our activities, we will begin to experience a divine reversal in the way they we see and live our life. 1) We will see that it makes more sense to store treasures in heaven, by investing our time and talents in what God is doing, rather than the things that we want.2) If we learn to focus on God in all things we will begin to see things in the light of God. Our eyes, as it were, will become healthy and full of light. We will be like the song that says, “turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things on earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace."And finally number 3) We will no longer serve money. The desire for earthly wealth will no longer be the driving force of our life. Rather, we will come to see that God is our master, and instead of being subservient to the almighty dollar, we will happily be subservient to the Almighty God, and use money to bring glory and honor to him.