Moreover 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. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly, MAT 6:16-18.

ISA 58:1 begins by saying, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." At that point, what sin was the prophet Isaiah redressing? It was the same sin that Jesus was dealing with in our text, that of a false fast. It was a fasting that was not acceptable to the Lord.

Mat 6:1-18 deals with Godliness, i.e., the posture of the heart in true worship. Jesus is teaching us there is a harmony between true, acceptable fasting and prayer. We see how a true fast is necessary for success in prayer. Let's look at ISA 58:9 which is speaking of an acceptable fast, "Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity."

When there is an acceptable fast, our heart is in the proper posture, a Godly posture, before the Lord. Then prayer is acceptable before God. He will say, "Here I am," meaning, "I hear you." Do we want our prayers to be heard? Then the posture of our heart in the form of an acceptable fast is a very essential element of prayer.

The Lord Jesus Christ has been teaching us the meaning of true worship in MAT 6:1-18. It includes a Godly posture of heart and a spirit of Godliness. The first reference to the giving of alms is in MAT 6:1; it is dealing with the same issue Jesus taught in Matthew 5 about the proper posture of our heart in our attitude toward our neighbour. The word alms in MAT 6:1 means acts of mercy which we do to our neighbour which are for God's glory. Godliness is the observance of the first table of the law, i.e., to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind.

The Lord is saying, in the way of Godliness, the posture of the heart must be right: "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven," MAT 6:1. What is the motive or the moving force that causes you to give these alms? Is it to blow a trumpet before you, saying, "Look, everyone. See what I am doing; praise me for all this."? The Lord wants a motive of love: love for God, for His honor, that it might honor His name in the Spirit of Christ. Our motive must also be love for our neighbour in order to please God.

The most appropriate way to do something for our neighbour is to do our acts of mercy in such a way that he would not even know who did it. However, we always want a thank you, don't we? The Lord is looking at the posture of our heart. What motivates us to do these things? Would we do these alms to a sworn enemy, are we doing what we can for his welfare, because he is a neighbour? Is it done from a motive of love?

The Lord Jesus is teaching a spirit of Godliness in MAT 6:1-18, i.e., the spirit of and the posture of the heart, in true worship. He is teaching this in the giving of alms. MAT 6:2 says, "Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward." When we do alms, it must not be with the motive of getting a thank you. If that is our motive, then we have our reward; we have received the recognition we wanted.

A person with the right motive of heart gives alms in secret. Watch what it says in MAT 6:3-4, "But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." If we make a contribution in money, do we want people to know we gave it? We are not to give our donations and alms in such a way that we will receive gratitude or a thank you; then our motive is wrong, and we have received our reward. It isn't the glory from the neighbour who saw what was done or the thank you we get; it is what the Lord sees in our heart that is rewarded by Him.

These acts of charity to our fellow man must be motivated by Godliness and not pride. "Moreover 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." In other words, the posture of the heart is not concerned with what people think or with what recognition can be gained from other people; the motive of the heart must be that we are fasting before the Lord. That motive is seen here: "But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly," MAT 6:17-18. The Godly principle Jesus is teaching is a religion, or posture of the heart, of brokenness before God and not self-exaltation before men. The Lord wants a proper fast in the way of brokenness.

First, He is showing how we must watch the posture of our heart when we give alms, in our attitude toward our fellow man, i.e., the second table of the law. The second part is a heart of Godliness in prayer. We need to see the harmony in these teachings, in the context in which they are given by the Lord. Now He is also saying we must watch the posture of our heart in our attitude in prayer; using prayer to seek favorable recognition from men is the wrong attitude.

MAT 6:5-6 tells us, "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. [If one's goal is to receive honor, the reward is the honor and praise given by men. This kind of prayer does not please God.] But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." This is in harmony with our text on fasting. Are we doing this to be seen of men or are we seeking and searching before the Lord in private where others do not even realize we are going through a struggle?

Let's bring this a little closer to home. We have such a deceitful heart; sometimes Satan comes into our hearts in this very area with treachery. I'd like to share with you how Satan tried to snare me. I had a phone call from one of my children who had a very serious problem. I emphasized to her that the concern of my heart was that the name of God would not be blasphemed. My heart was so struggling before the Lord all day that He would deliver her so that His name would not be blasphemed on that account. In the afternoon I talked to my daughter. She said the Lord had sent deliverance in a miraculous way.

Should I say, "The Lord answered my prayer."? Do you see how tricky Satan is? I was not the only person praying. The Lord answered prayer--not my prayer, not their prayer--the Lord answered prayer. The first thing Satan whispered in my ear was, "The Lord heard your prayer." How easy it would have been to tell my daughter that the Lord had answered my prayer. Then I would be getting part of the glory. Satan is so crafty, but the Lord is showing us how to fast and pray. The Lord spared me the sin of being revealed because I was able to share with her how we all struggled at the same throne.

The Lord sent deliverance because He said, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them," MAT 18:20. We were gathered together before the same throne, but we were not together in the same building. He answered our prayer. That is the important thing to understand. It isn't for us to make a personal claim how we had power in prayer; from experience I see how Satan tries to snare my heart.

The substance of Godly prayer can be detected by its content. MAT 6:7-8 tells us, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."

One of the most powerful prayers God answered for me was, "Lord, help me." I didn't have one thing more to say. He knew everything; He knew what I was struggling with and my needs. He knew I saw that He was the only source of help. Do you know what He did? He helped me; He came to me so sweetly in ISA 41:10-15. In four verses, He said four times "Fear thou not; for I am with thee." In fact what the Lord spoke to my soul went on to say, "...be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." He did help me; He delivered me from that trial. When we seem to come to the end of ourselves, the most powerful prayer before the Lord is comprised of those few words, "Lord, help me."

We don't need a prayer of great repetitions; we don't need to put everyone on alert to pray about a certain thing. It is good, occasionally, to call a few individuals for prayer requests, but that is not like blowing a trumpet before ourselves as we stand and pray in public to be seen of men. The Lord is so jealous that He wants us to pray in secret; we are to go into the closet and shut the door. That means to exclude ourselves from every other person, bringing ourselves to the Lord on a one to one basis. He wants prayer between Himself and our own soul. The same principle applies to fasting; "Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites [and put on a big show for the whole world to see], 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."

After He built this foundation in the first 8 verses of Chapter 6, Jesus said, "After this manner therefore pray ye..." MAT 6:9. At this point Jesus gave the Lord's prayer to illustrate the manner in which true, Godly prayer is offered. He is showing the posture of the heart that brings good success saying, "After this manner therefore pray ye...;" He set forth the Lord's Prayer to show this manner of prayer.

After this teaching of Godly principles concerning the posture of our hearts toward God in observing the second table of the law in prayer, our text begins with the word Moreover, which means "Another example is." It is important to notice the connecting words used by Jesus when He is speaking. He is now showing us another example of the true posture of heart before the Lord. In motive fasting and prayer go hand in hand; they go together. We must understand this if we are to have good success in prayer. Jesus says, "Moreover when ye fast..." as another example; He is showing us the harmony of purpose.

This third example begins as the first two: First--"When thou doest alms," second--"When thou prayest," and third--"When ye fast." It is not a matter of whether or not we do alms, or pray, or fast, but WHEN. It isn't IF you do alms; you either do alms or you are disobeying the Lord. That is the second table of the law; it is the posture of the heart to our fellow man. The Lord Jesus doesn't say IF you pray, but WHEN you pray. Now we come to fasting; it is not a matter of fasting or not fasting; it is a matter of WHEN you fast.

The ceremonial law required many fasts which were abolished when the ceremonial law was abolished. However, in the time that Jesus was speaking to the scribes and Pharisees, He was also dealing with the fact that the ceremonial law was still in effect. So we see in LEV 23:26-32, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath."

This Scripture speaks of a single day, once a year. Those particular fasts were a commandment under the ceremonial law. Those fasts were terminated when the ceremonial law was terminated. That doesn't mean the issue in our text is abolished. There is yet proper fasting before the Lord. He sets forth clearly in His Word what that fasting is.

We must follow up on this; we are not looking at a specific fast on a specific day under the ceremonial law. Jesus is teaching us that which is applicable to the New Testament church. In our text Jesus is speaking especially of the private fasts.

This is not a ritual or a prescribed fast done once a year. Jesus was not coming against the fact that they were fasting; He was coming against HOW they were fasting. They disfigured their faces; they looked sad. Their hearts were filled with hypocrisy, envy, hatred, and bitterness, but their faces held a pretense of something to be seen of men. Christ was not telling them to stop fasting; He was telling them to stop their show. He was telling them how to fast in a manner pleasing to God.

The Pharisees commonly fasted twice in a week as we read in LUK 18:11-12, "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. [Do you see the pride?] I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess." He claimed a merit in his fasting to establish his own righteousness. The posture of his heart showed a self-righteous spirit that held himself higher and better than the publican. At the same time the Pharisee was condemning the publican. It was not his fasting twice in a week that Jesus condemned; it was his boasting of it.

Fasting and praying secretly before our Father in heaven is very well-accepted with God; we must realize that.

Anna fasted and prayed. We see this in LUK 2:37, "And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day." Stop and analyze something; does this mean she abstained from food for forty years, night and day? No. Jesus is not speaking of abstinence from food. We must see that fasting which is a pleasure unto the Lord does not necessarily mean abstaining from food.

Cornelius' fastings and prayer were remembered before God. ACT 10:30-31 says, "And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God."

Cornelius was fasting and praying; his prayer and his alms, i.e., his attitude towards his neighbour, were pleasing to God. These are the alms we do which are spoken of in MAT 6:1-2; they are the acts of mercy to our fellow man. This was his fasting; Cornelius was abstaining from those things which pleased his flesh. He was that were acceptable in the sight of God. His prayers were heard, and his alms, or acts of mercy, to his fellow man over a period of years, were held in remembrance. That is not speaking of abstaining from food.

Private fasting is an act of self-denial and mortification of the flesh. 1CO 7:5 says, "Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency." Fasting is a mortification of the flesh; we are given permission to abstain from the relationships with our spouse, whether it be husband or wife, while our heart is united with the Lord in prayer and meditation. The abstinence in this instance is not limited to abstaining from food. It means abstaining from everything that pleases the flesh; it is pleasing to the Lord because it brings the heart into total devotion to the Lord.

Jesus cautioned against hypocritical fasting when there was no true contrition or humility. The fasts of the hypocrites were mock fasts; they were mocking God because they were all show without substance while making a pretense of humility out of pride. Remember the Pharisee who said, "...I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess." He held himself far above the publican, but the publican went home justified rather than the Pharisee. See the difference in the publican's prayer; "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner," LUK 18:13.

The Lord Jesus is pointing out to us that the pretense of humility that came out of a proud heart was rewarded by honor bestowed by men who thought he put on a good show.

God reproves fasting without Godliness and contrition as a great sin in ISA 58:1-5, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. [What sin was God addressing? The sin of hypocritical fasting!] Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? [They did all the mechanical things. It is like the person who gave up cigars for Lent because he had to give up something for his fast. Other people give up this or that; it is all mechanical. That is what they are saying in this verse; they are fasting and afflicting their soul, but the Lord doesn't hear.] Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high."

Their fasting was not acceptable before the Lord; this was the sin that Isaiah had to proclaim and cry out to show the people. They had done the mechanics of a fast, the physical things, but their hearts weren't right because they were still finding pleasures. They were abstaining, but it wasn't from the heart. They were abstaining from their wickedness temporarily; there were no acts of mercy!

Now watch how the Lord reasons with them in V:5, "Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?" Do you think the Lord is looking for His people to perform some mechanical maneuver? Contemplate afflicting your soul. Does it involve abstaining from food or a certain habit or action? Is that the proper posture of the heart the Lord wants? Under these circumstances, there is no fasting or turning from wickedness.

Fasting before our Father in heaven is not found in abstinence from food or other comforts of nature, but a proper and acceptable fast is in the acknowledgment of sin and the abstinence from that sin. That is the fast the Lord is looking for in us.

God tells us in the following verses that self-denial is the fast that is acceptable to Him. It is beautifully laid out for us in ISA 58:6-10, "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?"

In other words, we are not to be selfish; we are to have a heart for our fellow man. We may not consider just our own pleasures; we must sacrifice ourselves, give ourselves, and die unto ourselves for our fellow man. Do you see the blessed harmony in these three illustrations of alms, prayer, and fasting? The Lord is pleased when we show love to our fellow man; giving alms and doing acts of mercy is the fast that is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord.

Verse 8 continues, "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning [Then the Lord will hear and answer prayer.], and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward." When we have the proper posture of heart, being able to sacrifice self for our fellow man and condescend to men of low estate, we will have an acceptable fast which brings success in prayer. Then, we come before the Lord as Cornelius, and our prayers are heard, our alms are remembered.

"Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. [See that word IF!] If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not," ISA 58:9-11.

We are not always to be pointing our finger at the next person; we are to point home. We must see that we need to confess our own sins and the weaknesses of our own heart. When we see how unclean we are within ourselves, we do not have a finger to point at the next person. When we are in the right posture of heart, the Lord will say "Here I am," when we call to Him in prayer. He will guide us continually. What more can we ask for in the way of an answer to prayer? He will satisfy our soul, even in a spiritual drought, He will satisfy our soul with the fat things. What is more precious than understanding a proper fast before the Lord?

This fast is giving alms to our fellow man with a contrite spirit before the Lord; we must keep it so it is not to be seen of men. We must keep this principle in harmony with the illustrations that Jesus gave to us in their context. Our text says, "Moreover 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. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." MAT 6:16-18.

When we do our alms, we do them with cheerfulness, with our face washed, not grudgingly. We do these acts of mercy out of love because our hearts are united with God in love. We do these alms because it is our pleasure to do them for others.

The proper use of the Sabbath day is the fast that God has chosen. Think about how this all lays in the context of ISA 58. It is a great wonder. There is a difference between righteousness and Godliness that was explained previously. Briefly, righteousness is right acts and attitudes towards our neighbour; Godliness is the posture of our heart before the Lord whereby we love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind.

Quite often we find that Scripture goes into righteousness first. This is the case of ISA 58; if our heart is in the right posture in the area of righteousness, i.e., a right attitude toward our fellow man under the second table of the law of love, then it follows with a right attitude toward God under the first table of the law of love. If we harbor a wrong attitude toward our neighbour, we are already in violation of the first table of the law. "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God," 1JO 4:7.

Our love toward God is expressed in our right observance of the Sabbath day. The first four commandments deal with Godliness, the last six deal with righteousness.

Jesus has dealt with righteousness in the six contrasts set forth in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 begins teaching Godliness. Where is our delight? What brings joy, love, and peace in our soul? It is to be in oneness with God, to have God's presence and to delight in Him.

The fast that is acceptable before God is to depart from iniquity, and show love unto our fellow man. ISA 58:12 continues, "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. [What paths? Follow the next verse.] If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words."

Many people say they are keeping the Sabbath by not working, but they go to ball games and are entertained by worldly things. Scripture says we may not do our pleasure on His holy day. The Lord wants us to devote and dedicate the Sabbath to Him and sanctify it in His name; to do otherwise is to steal from the Lord.

Before the fall of man, the Sabbath was set aside as holy and sanctified. Turn to EXODUS 20 and follow how the Sabbath day was set apart before the fall, in the creation; the Sabbath was sanctified and He hallowed it as a day to be devoted wholly unto Him. We are not to dilute that with our own pleasures. That is the sacrifice, the fast, which is in the right posture of the heart between us and the Lord.

"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways [He re-emphasizes this], nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words," ISA 58:13. Is this setting aside the day for the Lord when a group of people who claim fellowship in Christ spend the Lord's day speaking of the entertainments of this world or their next day's business or even transacting business? We are not to pollute the Sabbath day; it was hallowed and sanctified from the beginning. This is taught in both the Old and New Testament. The Lord is jealous of His day.

The next verse teaches us what a reward God has in store for those who sacrifice their own pleasure, who delight themselves in the Lord on His holy day. The Lord is teaching us such a rich lesson. The rewards of obedience are found in the next verse, "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

ISA 58:1 says, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Their sins are the very things that Jesus is dealing with in our text. A hypocritical fast is not acceptable to the Lord. We set aside the Sabbath day, but only partially. We stop working, but we still want our own pleasures. That is a partial fast. An acceptable fast is to depart from iniquity and to show love to God under the first table of the law and unto our fellow man under the second table of the law.

ROM 8:12-13 tells us, "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." That is the fast we must sacrifice before the Father. The sacrifices which please the Father are spiritual. He wants a spiritual sacrifice because "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth," JOH 4:24.

JAM 4:7-11 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." Jesus is teaching us to draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to us. We cannot serve God and the flesh.

Before men we wash our faces and anoint our heads with oil, but when we draw nigh to God, James said, "Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge." The spiritual fast is an affliction, but it is not one of abstaining from food. It is abstaining from sin. We must mourn and weep over our sins because we see the sinfulness of sin.

Cheerfulness and proper use of our temporal blessings best becomes us before the world. We must not go out before the world with a long face and an "I am holier than thou" attitude.

There are some groups of people who wear black clothing as a symbol of mourning; they appear before the world wearing the symbol of mourning over sin, but they can stand on the street corner blaspheming God's name in this black clothing. That is hypocritical fasting. They are coming before men with sackcloth, black, to show they are mourning over sin. There is nothing wrong with wearing black clothing to a funeral because it demonstrates a spirit of mourning over a death. That is not the same as wearing black every day, twenty-four hours a day, to mourn sin when their hearts show no such sign as they laugh, mock, and blaspheme God in their black clothing.

That is what our text meant by "Moreover 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," MAT 6:16. Our text does not say we are not to fast, but "when ye fast..." The Lord means we must come with cheerfulness, washing our faces, and anointing our heads so we do not come before the world with a "holier than thou" attitude. An acceptable fast is to come with alms that help a needy one, taking away every yoke, and not pointing a finger at the sins of others. The Lord delights in that kind of fast, but we don't need to wear black clothing or any other outward symbol to do it.

Jesus commanded the exact opposite in appearance before men in MAT 6:17-18, "But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." This appearing unto our Father to fast is a spiritual fast which is sincere, and deeply affected over our sin. When we see the sin of our own heart, we don't have any stones to throw at other people.

In JOE 2:12-17 we read, "Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments [That is the key to fasting; it is the heart which is rent, not the garments.], and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." The Lord will show mercy if He sees a repentant spirit with sorrow over sins; that is to rend our hearts. This is the fast which God will accept.

Jesus intended the glory of God, i.e., the mortification of sin in man, and the reformation of a nation. The Lord looked at the mortification (Webster's Dictionary says, "control of physical desires by fasting, self-denial") of sin in themselves and others. JOE 2:14-17 goes on to say, "Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?"

This harmonizes with the instance I cited earlier where there was a situation concerning more than one person, and we did not want God's name to be blasphemed. In such an instance, one does contact other people so that they may fast and pray and come before the throne of grace together. We see this same concept in the verses just cited. It was a rending of the heart, a confession of sin, and a pleading for mercy. The conclusion is found in JOE 2:18. "Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people."

When we can come before the Lord to plead for the honor of His name, for His name's sake, He will deliver us and spare us so we will not bring reproach upon His name. Then we have an acceptable fast. The Lord Jesus is teaching us in our text that we are not to fast before men, but we are to be anointing our head and washing our faces, i.e., appearing to be of a cheerful countenance. Therefore, we do not give the impression of fasting to others; it is a right fast before the Father "...which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." Amen.

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