Fasting Unto God

Jesus concludes the middle section of the sermon with a discussion of the last of 3 spiritual practices: fasting. Again, Jesus emphasizes the heart posture of the one who fasts, reminding us that the true purpose is to commune with God. Fasting—"a Christian's voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes"—engages the whole person (body, spirit, desires and on and on) in a way that few other disciplines do. In this teaching we receive an invitation to fast as Jesus envisions, not to earn our favor with God, but to respond to His grace with our whole selves.