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.” While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.
the disciples of John - "That John's disciples continued as an entity is evident from the fact that they approached Jesus with a question about fasting (Matt 9:14). John had demanded repentance in connection with his baptism, and fasting coupled with prayer was sign of that repentance. With this practice the Pharisees were in full agreement. Neither the Pharisees nor the disciples of John could understand why the disciples of Jesus did not practice fasting with prayer since Jesus like John had called for repentance." (Pentecost)
the Pharisees fast - "The Pharisees fasted twice a week—conspicuous piety. John's followers were probably fasting in mourning for him. The required public fasts were only three in number: the Day of Atonement; the day before Purim; and the ninth of Ab, commemorating the fall of Jerusalem." (Ryrie)
Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? - "This is Christ's defense of the right of His people to be merry; and that right to be merry is the fact that He is with them. If that be true, then we have the right o be merry always. What He said about sorrow was fulfilled. He was taken away from them, and they fasted and were sad through those of days of darkness; but He came back, and, standing on the slope of Olivet, He said, 'Lo, I am with you always.' Then there is no more room for mourning; no more room for the sad face of agony; but there is room for mirth, room for joy, and room for gladness." (Morgan)
"Christ said that just as it would be inappropriate to expect the guests at a wedding feast to fast, so it was inappropriate for His disciples to fast. Messiah's millennial kingdom is often likened in Scripture to a wedding feast. Messiah is the Host. He is pictured as having invited guests. When the feast is set, His guests do not assemble to fast but to rejoice. In the Gospels, Christ is seen as offering Himself as Messiah. He offered to bestow the millennial blessing covenanted by God upon the nation that had been summoned to the feast. John and Jesus both proclaimed, 'The kingdom of heaven is near' (Matt 3:2; 4:12). It was inappropriate that those who had responded to this invitation and had been persuaded that Jesus is the Messiah should give themselves to fasting (cf. Matt 9:15)." (Pentecost)
Neither is new wine put into old wineskins - "The old and new cannot be combined. Wineskins were used as containers for liquid. If filled with new wine, old skins lost elasticity and burst when the wine fermented." (Ryrie)
"Thus the King said in effect to these questioning men, Do not attempt to measure this new thing by that old thing. The old was right as long as it lasted; but this is new. There are new motives, new forces, new impulses coming into play; and you must not try to place the new within the narrow limits of the old. It is Christ's clear declaration that the new covenant which He had come to initiate, demanded new methods of expression; the purpose of royalty, instead of the sackcloth of sorrow; the laughter of triumph, instead of the weeping of defeat; Easter morning instead of the day of Crucifixion." (Morgan)
"To the Pharisees He said one cannot make an old garment acceptable by superimposing something new on it. And to John's disciples He said that what He was offering could not be superimposed on Pharisaism so as to reform it. What He offered also could not be contained in the old system. Rather, what He was introducing had to be entirely separated from the old. The incident closed with Christ's word that if men would taste His wine, that is, if they would accept what He was offering them, they would not want the old. However, the Pharisees, having tasted the old, were satisfied with it; they had no desire for what He was offering them." (Pentecost)
a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him - "First, by reason of her trouble, she was excommunicated religiously. The Hebrew economy did not permit a woman so suffering to take any part or place in the worship of God. She was shut out from temple and synagogue worship. She was divorced from her husband by the same law. She was ostracized from society." (Morgan)
and touched the fringe of his garment - "Probably the fringes or tassels at the corners of Christ's mantle. These were religious reminders to the wearer to observe the commandments (Num 15:37-39)." (Ryrie)
"The woman's action was significant. A subject knelt to touch the hem of a king's robe to show loyalty and submission to his authority. Such an action preceded the presentation of a request to the king by the subject. Hence the woman's act showed her recognition of the royal authority that belong to Christ. This was basis of her request for help. This was the touch of faith, and it is recorded that 'immediately her bleeding stopped' (v 44). A tradition says she was a Gentile woman, which seems reasonable enough since a Jewess would scarcely have ventured forth into the midst of the crowd, contaminating all whom she touched with her ceremonial pollution." (Pentecost)
flute players - "It was customary, even among the very poor, to hire two or more flute players at times of mourning." (Ryrie)
the disciples of John - "That John's disciples continued as an entity is evident from the fact that they approached Jesus with a question about fasting (Matt 9:14). John had demanded repentance in connection with his baptism, and fasting coupled with prayer was sign of that repentance. With this practice the Pharisees were in full agreement. Neither the Pharisees nor the disciples of John could understand why the disciples of Jesus did not practice fasting with prayer since Jesus like John had called for repentance." (Pentecost)
the Pharisees fast - "The Pharisees fasted twice a week—conspicuous piety. John's followers were probably fasting in mourning for him. The required public fasts were only three in number: the Day of Atonement; the day before Purim; and the ninth of Ab, commemorating the fall of Jerusalem." (Ryrie)
Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? - "This is Christ's defense of the right of His people to be merry; and that right to be merry is the fact that He is with them. If that be true, then we have the right o be merry always. What He said about sorrow was fulfilled. He was taken away from them, and they fasted and were sad through those of days of darkness; but He came back, and, standing on the slope of Olivet, He said, 'Lo, I am with you always.' Then there is no more room for mourning; no more room for the sad face of agony; but there is room for mirth, room for joy, and room for gladness." (Morgan)
"Christ said that just as it would be inappropriate to expect the guests at a wedding feast to fast, so it was inappropriate for His disciples to fast. Messiah's millennial kingdom is often likened in Scripture to a wedding feast. Messiah is the Host. He is pictured as having invited guests. When the feast is set, His guests do not assemble to fast but to rejoice. In the Gospels, Christ is seen as offering Himself as Messiah. He offered to bestow the millennial blessing covenanted by God upon the nation that had been summoned to the feast. John and Jesus both proclaimed, 'The kingdom of heaven is near' (Matt 3:2; 4:12). It was inappropriate that those who had responded to this invitation and had been persuaded that Jesus is the Messiah should give themselves to fasting (cf. Matt 9:15)." (Pentecost)
Neither is new wine put into old wineskins - "The old and new cannot be combined. Wineskins were used as containers for liquid. If filled with new wine, old skins lost elasticity and burst when the wine fermented." (Ryrie)
"Thus the King said in effect to these questioning men, Do not attempt to measure this new thing by that old thing. The old was right as long as it lasted; but this is new. There are new motives, new forces, new impulses coming into play; and you must not try to place the new within the narrow limits of the old. It is Christ's clear declaration that the new covenant which He had come to initiate, demanded new methods of expression; the purpose of royalty, instead of the sackcloth of sorrow; the laughter of triumph, instead of the weeping of defeat; Easter morning instead of the day of Crucifixion." (Morgan)
"To the Pharisees He said one cannot make an old garment acceptable by superimposing something new on it. And to John's disciples He said that what He was offering could not be superimposed on Pharisaism so as to reform it. What He offered also could not be contained in the old system. Rather, what He was introducing had to be entirely separated from the old. The incident closed with Christ's word that if men would taste His wine, that is, if they would accept what He was offering them, they would not want the old. However, the Pharisees, having tasted the old, were satisfied with it; they had no desire for what He was offering them." (Pentecost)
a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him - "First, by reason of her trouble, she was excommunicated religiously. The Hebrew economy did not permit a woman so suffering to take any part or place in the worship of God. She was shut out from temple and synagogue worship. She was divorced from her husband by the same law. She was ostracized from society." (Morgan)
and touched the fringe of his garment - "Probably the fringes or tassels at the corners of Christ's mantle. These were religious reminders to the wearer to observe the commandments (Num 15:37-39)." (Ryrie)
"The woman's action was significant. A subject knelt to touch the hem of a king's robe to show loyalty and submission to his authority. Such an action preceded the presentation of a request to the king by the subject. Hence the woman's act showed her recognition of the royal authority that belong to Christ. This was basis of her request for help. This was the touch of faith, and it is recorded that 'immediately her bleeding stopped' (v 44). A tradition says she was a Gentile woman, which seems reasonable enough since a Jewess would scarcely have ventured forth into the midst of the crowd, contaminating all whom she touched with her ceremonial pollution." (Pentecost)
flute players - "It was customary, even among the very poor, to hire two or more flute players at times of mourning." (Ryrie)
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