Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
Parallel translations
- WEB Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?”
- BSB At that time John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
- NKJV Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
- NASB Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
- NLT One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, “Why don’t your disciples fast like we do and the Pharisees do?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
John's disciples ask why Jesus' followers do not fast as they and the Pharisees do. The question opens Jesus' teaching on the newness of his coming.
Overview
Fasting was a mark of pious devotion, so the absence of it among Jesus' disciples seemed strange. The question, sincerely posed, gives Jesus occasion to explain how his presence changes the time. It introduces the theme that his arrival inaugurates something new that cannot simply be poured into old forms.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Luke 5:33–39And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?
- Mark 2:18–22And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?
- Matt 6:16Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
- Matt 11:18–19For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
- Prov 20:6Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?
- Luke 18:9–12And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
- John 3:25Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying.
- John 4:1When therefore the LORD knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
- Matt 11:2Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
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Original language
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