Question #419

What about fasting?

I quickly glossed over your questions and answers page. You may have an answer to my question imbedded in the masses already. Ok, Jesus mentions in the Sermon on the Mount, "when you give...when you pray...when you FAST." Fasting is expected. I want to know more about the historical and Biblical accounts of fasting. How did this practice start in Jewish and Christian culture? How do we do a successful fast today? How do we know it is successful and pleasing to God? How often should one fast? I just want a little guidance in doing a fast because I don't want to miss any opportunity to be in deep fellowship with my Father. Any advice about this subject will be greatly appreciated.

The Answer:

This answer is taken from Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1995). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (632–633). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans. Since the question is basically inquiring about the history of fasting, this source is a good source for that information.

Note that in the Old Testament God commanded only one fast per year and that on the Day of Atonement. Fasting was sometimes practiced but never commanded in the New Testament. That does not mean that it cannot be a good practice. It means only that it is not a required practice. My mother quietly fasted one day a week for much of her life. It was never known until some of her writings were discovered after her death.

nestis [hungry, fasting], nesteuo [to hunger, fast], nesteia [suffering hunger, fasting]

1. The Meaning of the Word. nestis means “one who has not eaten,” “who is empty,” then “who fasts.” nesteuo means “to be without food or hungry,” but mostly “to fast.” The noun nesteia means “suffering hunger,” usually “fasting.”

2. Fasting in Antiquity. Fasting is found in all religions. It is the temporary abstention from nourishment on religious grounds. At first it is more common among the Greeks than the Romans, but it spreads over the whole of the ancient world. Fear of demons plays a role in it; it is also seen as a means of preparing for dealings with deity. The mourning fast is due to fear of demonic infection. Egyptian priests fast before entering the sanctuary. Fasting also prepares the way for ecstatic revelations. There is little relation between fasting and ethics in antiquity.

3. Fasting in the OT and Judaism. The OT uses various terms for fasting. Many aspects of OT fasting are the same as elsewhere. There is a mourning fast for the dead that expresses sorrow (1 Sam. 31:13). Moses fasts before receiving the commandments (Ex. 34:28), as does Daniel before receiving his visions (Dan. 9:3). Fasting also expresses submission to God, whether in the case of individuals (2 Sam. 12:16ff.) or the people (Judg. 20:26 etc.). Prayer accompanies fasting (Jer. 14:12), especially penitential prayer (1 Sam. 7:6). The one who fasts often takes the posture of a mourner (cf. 1 Kgs. 21:27). Fasts last one day (Judg. 20:26); three days in Esth. 4:16. In the seven-day fast of 1 Sam. 31:13 the actual fasting is only during the day. The only cultic fast is on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29ff.). Special fasts are set up to remember the fall of Jerusalem (Zech. 7:3, 5; 8:19). The prophets protest against the view that purely external fasting gains a hearing with God (cf. Jer. 14:12; Is. 58:1ff.). For them true fasting is a bowing down of the soul that leads to moral action. Judaism finds an important place for fasting. Apocalyptists prepare for revelation by it. Fasting confirms vows and prayer. It has efficacy with God for forgiveness, healing, and exorcism, although true fasting necessarily involves repentance. The devout make the second and fifth days of the week into additional fasts, but there is never fasting on special feast days, days of preparation, or the Sabbath. Longer fasts of up to 40 days occur, and much stress is laid on gestures of mourning in fasting. The Pharisees, the disciples of the Baptist, and the Therapeutae all observe fasts. Philo extols nēsteía as ascetic restraint. Rules are set up for the public fasts, and individual fasting tends to replace sacrifice after the destruction of the temple, since it grants expiation, guarantees a divine hearing, and produces sanctity. Yet there are warnings that penitence is also required, and students are advised against excessive fasting.

4. Fasting in the NT. Jesus opens his ministry with a 40-day fast corresponding to that of Moses. But Jesus as the Mediator of the new covenant has already received God’s revelation, and he fasts in order to be equipped to confirm his messianic dignity and power. He seems not to engage in special fasting during his ministry, but he would naturally observe the public fasts, and he does not forbid his hearers to fast. For Jesus, however, fasting is service of God and a sign of true conversion. It must be done in secret and not accompanied by open signs of mourning. His disciples do not fast like those of the Baptist (Mk. 2:18ff.), for the presence of the Messiah means rejoicing as at the presence of a bridegroom. The new age is an age of joy. Only the age of waiting (which will begin again after his death) is a time of fasting (cf. Jn. 16:20). The eschatological message of Jesus transcends fasting, but since there is a gap between the dawn of salvation and its consummation there is room for fasting, not as a pious work, but as the sign of an inner attitude. The sayings about the patch and the wineskins are linked to the question of fasting in Mk. 2:18ff. This link preserves the insight that the new age has come as an age of joy. Yet fasting goes hand in hand with prayer in Acts 13:2–3 and 14:23, when missionaries are sent out and elders are appointed. The epistles do not mention fasting; it is not listed even in Heb. 13:16.

5. Fasting in the Early Church. Voluntary fasting on specific days returns in the early church (Wednesday and Friday in Did. 8.1). The Easter fast is laid on all Christians in the second century (Eusebius Ecclesiastical History 5.24. 12ff.). Fasting before baptism also comes into vogue (Did. 7.4), as does fasting before communion. Reasons given for fasting are to strengthen prayer, to prepare for revelation, to express sorrow, to help the poor with the food saved, and to reconcile penitents with God. Criticisms of fasting are based on the OT prophets (Barn. 3. 1ff.), and there is a tendency to subordinate the rite to inwardness and to the ethical (Hermas Similitudes 5.3.5ff.). But the early church shows little awareness of Jesus’ distinctive approach to fasting.