In Matthew 9:14-15, Christ was questioned about why His disciples didn't fast as often as the Pharisees did. He explained that they would not fast as long as He was with them, but that they would fast after His death. There is not a single record in the gospels to demonstrate Christ fasting with them, which might lead one to conclude that they never fasted together - but is that view consistent with scripture?

Christ fasted before and during His temptation by Satan (Matthew 4:1-3). Also, there was an incident in which the disciples were not able to cast out a certain demon, and Christ told them that this was because some can only be driven out by "prayer and fasting" (Mark 9:28-29). The fact that Jesus made this statement right after driving the demon out indicates that He might have been fasting at the time. Aside from these instances, the gospels do not give examples of either Christ or His disciples fasting. With not a single scripture stating that the disciples ever fasted with Christ, how could we possibly hope to prove otherwise? The answer lies in the observance of one of God's commanded festivals: the Day of Atonement.

This Holy Day is the one day of the year on which God commands His people to fast before Him - failure to do so was a sin for which a person would be cut off from the assembly (Leviticus 23:27-29). Christ, having never sinned, would have fasted yearly on that day. Likewise, the disciples, being Jews and being instructed by Christ, would have also observed the Day of Atonement properly with fasting. Therefore, when Christ responded in Matthew 9:15, saying, "the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from [the disciples], and then they will fast," He was clearly referring to regular fasting in addition to the commanded yearly fast of Atonement, which they all would have celebrated.

Many scriptures throughout the New Testament indicate that the early Church actively fasted after Christ was "taken away from them," just as He said they would (Acts 10:30, Acts 13:2-3, Acts 14:23, 2 Corinthians 11:27) - check out this article on how Christians should fast for a more in-depth study. We should seek to be a continuation of that original, true Church of God that Christ founded. While fasting frequency is a matter of personal worship, God still expects His Church to fast once per year as Christ did! In Acts 27:9, we see that the Church had come to know the Day of Atonement as "the Fast" - indicating that they were still observing this Holy Day by fasting!

Far from mere ritualistic observances, God's Holy Days represent the landmark events of God's prophetic framework in His plan to offer salvation to mankind. The Day of Atonement pictures the binding of Satan during the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth, spoken of in Revelation 20:1-3. The Fast this year begins this Friday evening (October 7) at sunset and continues until sunset on Saturday (October 8) - will you honor the Day of Atonement as Christ, the disciples, and the early Church of God did? Take this opportunity to learn about God's plan through His appointed festivals and how you can benefit from observing them - read about it in our free online booklet "God's Holy Day Plan."