Matthew 6:16-18 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
How contrary this focus is to the nature of people. Leaders in every institution and in every cause sometimes desire for people to recognize their importance. In religious circles, many times the heads of the group must dress in a certain garb. They are to be recognized as leaders of a religious community by how they dress. Of course, there can be some good reasons for them looking different from the lay people in their congregations, but there are also some bad reasons in being different from the general parishioners or followers. Of course, one negative outcome is that religious clothing can do what Jesus said about fasting for show: special clothing separates and points out the “spiritual superiority" of the wearer. When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly, neither fasting to be seen or wearing religious clothes indicates spirituality, for pious character comes from the heart. Rather than displaying dedication to God, such behavior may indicate a person’s concern about what people think of them. Fasting so others notice, wearing special clothing, even engaging in religious activities for others to see, might be a means of manipulating people for your own purposes. In today’s verses, Jesus faults the priests of his time. They want to be seen, identified as spiritual, but they were not true shepherds of God’s sheep, for they made a show of themselves to garner admiration. Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. (Matthew 23:5-7) We might consider these errant, deceiving priests of Jesus’ times as an aberration, something that existed only in his culture. But sadly, corruption and deception by leaders in every time and in every culture is part of the condition of mankind. Not all leaders are corrupt, not all leaders serve others for their own benefit, but endemic to mankind is the desire to be recognized. People do not want to go through this world nondescript, part of the dust of mankind; instead, every man or woman has a desire to be precious, considered to be of value to other people. This basic desire to be loved, to be considered as important, is part of being human. But, when this innate desire becomes manipulative, problems can arise. Over the years, we have seen a trend in Christian broadcasting for some of the leaders to become more and more outlandish in their attire until the men are wearing white suits with gold epaulets and shiny buttons with golden badges of honor. The women wear designer clothing with elaborate hair-dos and everything else a copy of a worldly standard of beauty. Jesus rejected the idea of people fulfilling their roles in society or religion primarily for their benefit. He cried out: Woe to you, scribes, and Pharisee, hypocrites! (Matthew 23:15) People who show a sign of religiosity by fasting, who do not fast for the right reasons want others to recognize their efforts to please God. But this recognition will be their only reward, for God knows the true reasons for their fasting and supposed dedication to God. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. Man’s desire for praise from men should not enter the domain of serving God, for God reads the heart, not actions. God well understands an unclean heart, a deceptive heart. We join with the psalmist: My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. (Psalm 51:17)
True spirituality in appearance or action comes with honesty from intimacy with God. We move away from the crowd, to bow or kneel before the King of kings in our prayer closets. He alone needs to hear us. He alone needs to know our petitions, the concerns of our hearts. Everything that we do such as fasting, we do for him, not for others to see. He will reward our efforts. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. When we see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, we see him moving away from the three apostles: John, James, and Peter. He goes into the inner part of Gethsemane to petition God alone. There in the Garden, He pours out his heart. They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:32-36) Here we see Jesus before God, probably crying, maybe even sobbing, for his soul was deeply distressed and troubled to the point of death. We picture Jesus as tearful, emotional, sorrowfully speaking to the Father; but He was alone, not acting a part for show, not functioning as the Son of Man before the world. No, He and God were sharing this time of preparation and agony. God’s heart must have broken to see Jesus before him, imploring him to provide another way to fulfill his purpose for coming to Earth. Jesus knew He must die for the sins of man, but ahead of him lay the suffering to endure before the death. He anticipated the humiliation, his nakedness, cruel men playing with him as a cat with a mouse caught in his piercing claws. The Roman legions would torture Jesus until they tired of the ordeal. Jesus knew this was ahead of him, so he prayed, if possible the hour might pass from him. We see Jesus on the ground alone with God, beseeching the Father with tears. My friends this is how we should be before God, not necessarily beseeching him in tears, but in sincerity and honesty, caring about our words, not using perfunctory words as if He is not there, but believing God hears us. Jesus knew God was with him, listening. With the fulness of the Spirit in him, Jesus heard God answer him. He must have communed with God for some time because the disciples fell asleep—they could not stay awake even knowing Jesus’ great distress. If your friend was greatly stressed, you probably would not fall asleep; but they did, so Jesus must have been in his closet with God for some time. At the end as his tears dried, Jesus said in the faith that comes from intimacy, Yet not what I will, but what you will. Do we stay in the closet long enough to end our petitions with, not my will but yours? Or do we go away with our will strongly imprinted on our souls and minds. We must hear God to know and to accept his will.
Are we saying in this breakfast, Why fast, why do any spiritual activity in the name of the Lord? No, certainly not. The Bible speaks of fasting and praying, and we do so to help us know God’s purpose and will in our lives. Jesus said, For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. (John 6:38) Without a spiritual orientation, we become sheep without a shepherd. Without the leading of the Holy Spirit we suffer confusion and harassment in a world steeped in wickedness and selfishness. We become disoriented, unable to know the reason for living, not understanding that there is a God, One who will make life worth living and lead us as his dear children. Rather than becoming servants to the world, we will wander the hills of life seeking our own wills, trying to the mine the world for our good and not for others. When Jesus saw the crowds, he saw people without direction, without a purpose in life, caught in the hands of the Evil One. Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:35-38) Fasting orients us toward God, placing us in the right frame of mind so that we can become servants of the Most High. Prayer and meditation also draws us toward God. Confessing Christ and his goodness puts us in right relationship with God and his purposes on Earth. Spiritual activity such as giving to the poor, helping people who are in need, caring for the weak and disadvantaged makes us God’s servants. All earnest spiritual work and worship identifies us as children of God, not of man. But anything that we do in our relationship with God should be wholeheartedly, totally involved with an all-seeing, almighty God. Anything done without that consideration will be fruitless and useless in the heavenly realm of God. He rewards those who are intimate with him with a sincere heart. Jesus was warning the people not to fast for other people’s recognition. This kind of attitude leads to sin, self-will, lust, and selfish aims. Fasting for other people is at best considered hypocritical, but it is also at worst lining up with the devil’s intentions: to lead people away from God, not toward God. In all we do, our plans and goals for God should begin in the closets of our hearts, a place where we dedicate everything to God. Not our will, but yours be done, O God. When we begin in the Spirit, He will lead us to the end as we trust in him and not in ourselves.
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