Good morning, friends. As we continue our focus on Advent, we are also pressing forward on our study of the Gospel of Matthew.
This week’s pericope is found in Matthew 9:14-17. In this passage, Matthew shows us that fasting isn’t about ritual, but about presence, longing, and new wine.
Matthew 9:14-17 ESV
Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
The disciples of John come to Jesus with a sincere question. Their spiritual lives were shaped by an ancient rhythm of repentance, longing, and preparation. But now Jesus has arrived, and His disciples feast instead of fast.
Everything feels out of sync.
Jesus responds with three images: a wedding, a cloth patch, and new wine in new wineskins. Together, these images help us understand Advent in a fresh way.
Advent Reminds Us the Season Has Changed
At a wedding, no one fasts.
They celebrate.
They rejoice.
They enjoy the presence of the bridegroom. They don’t fast.
Jesus is saying:
“You’re not waiting for Me anymore. I’m here.”
For us, Advent holds a beautiful tension:
- Christ has already come (joy).
- Christ is still coming again (longing).
So, for us, Advent fasting isn’t about sorrow. It’s about hope-filled yearning.
Have you considered fasting during Advent?
Fasting Makes Room for New Wine
Jesus continues:
No one patches old garments with unshrunk cloth. No one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Why?
Because the new will tear the old apart.
Jesus isn’t condemning old traditions.
He’s pointing to a deeper truth:
You can’t force the new thing God is doing into old habits, old structures, or old expectations.
Fasting for Advent is a way of clearing space for Christ’s new work. When we fast, we make room for Jesus.
Fasting for Advent is less about restricting our appetites and more about making room for what Jesus wants to pour in.
If you’re considering fasting for Advent then you are discovering a way of letting the Spirit renew your inner “wineskins.”
Advent Holds Honest Longing
Jesus observes:
“The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
This is where we live today:
- Jesus has ascended.
- The Spirit is with us.
- The world is still broken.
- Our hearts still ache.
Advent helps us name this ache we experience.
Our fasting becomes a prayer:
“Come, Lord Jesus.”
It is not mourning. It is expectation.
Fasting Prepares Us for Celebration
Interestingly, fasting in the Kingdom always leads to feasting, just like suffering precedes glory.
We fast not to earn something from God but to awaken our hunger for Him.
During Advent, fasting prepares our hearts to celebrate the Christ who has come and the Christ who will come again.
This year, consider fasting from:
- noise
- hurry
- excess
- comparison
- unhealthy rhythms
- or even one weekly meal
It doesn’t have to be anything drastic. No one is asking you to be a martyr. Just let the space you create through fasting become a place the Spirit fills.
Reflection Questions
- Where do you sense “old wineskins” in your life this Advent?
- What longing rises in you as you anticipate the Bridegroom’s return?
- What kind of “new wine” might Jesus be preparing to pour into you for 2026?
A Prayer for Advent Fasting
Lord Jesus,
Renew our hearts this Advent.
Strip away the old wineskins that no longer serve Your Kingdom,
and make us ready for the new wine You long to pour into us.
Teach us to fast with hope,
to long with expectation,
and to rejoice that the Bridegroom has come and is coming again. In Your holy and mighty name we pray.
Amen.
Participating Bloggers include:
Bridget A. Thomas – Every Day Is A Gift
Loring Schultz – Word For The Soul
Alan Kearns – Devotional Treasure
Nathan R Dooley – Time For Providence
David Duncan – David’s Daily Dose
Cindi West – God Still Speaks
Barb Hegreberg – My Life in our Father’s World
Rainer Bantau – The Devotional Guy™
This Advent, let us not fast out of sorrow, but out of expectation:
“Come, Lord Jesus. Make us new.”
Until my next post…
Be salty, stay lit.
Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™
You can now find my articles in The Christian Grandfather Magazine.
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The Devotional Guy™ 
Wonderful and thanks! I had to look up what “pericope” meant! Learn something new every day!
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Thank you, Rosie. It’s a nugget of wisdom I learned from a young man named Zane who fasts regularly and has taught me much about the subject through modeling it faithfully in real life.
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“Just let the space you create through fasting become a place the Spirit fills.” Good perspective! ~ Rosie
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You have given me much to think about today. I will have to come back later to soak it all in.
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Absolutely, 100 percent. Thanks for reading, Loring. Have a blessed Sunday.
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Yes, may we be making room for what Jesus wants to pour in.
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