9:14
It wasn’t only the Pharisees who were concerned about Jesus, John the Baptist’s disciples were also questioning His behaviour. For Jesus and His disciples were not fasting. Fasting was seen as an important part of spiritual discipline, it was a good discipline (if done for God and not for show), and still is. But any discipline can become an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. John’s disciples, and certainly not the Pharisees, did not understand the full enormity of what was happening, of who Jesus was.
9:15
Jesus puts them right on what was happening, and who He is. Jesus is the bridegroom, He is the king of kings. The marriage metaphor has been used throughout the Old Testament, often in the context of the wife being unfaithful and being divorced. In Revelation the church is seen as being married to Christ. Before a wedding when the bridegroom is with the guests is no time for mourning. Those who rejoiced over Jesus were nearer to the truth than those who wanted to fast. However, fasting is not out of the window, for Jesus says that a time would come when He would be taken away, and the disciples would fast.
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