Let us now go on to consider 2:18-22 in more detail. After the Lord told the scribes that He had come as a Physician to care for the sick, two groups of disciples—the disciples of John and of the Pharisees—came to Him: “And the disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting. And they come and say to Him, Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” (2:18). Both groups of disciples practiced fasting. This indicates that if we are in religion, we need to fast. Those in religion are empty and hungry; they do not have anything to satisfy them. To be a disciple in any kind of religion is to have trouble, hunger, thirst, weariness, and anxiety. In pointing this out I am not criticizing anything; rather, I am simply speaking the truth. Those in religion certainly have reason to fast. Religion requires and demands. It tells us that we cannot do this and that we cannot do that. However, religion does not enable us to fulfill its requirements. Because those in a religion cannot fulfill the requirements of their religion, they need to fast. Therefore, both the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees were fasting.
In contrast to the disciples of John and the Pharisees, who were fasting, the Lord’s disciples were full of joy. How could they fast when the Bridegroom, the most important factor of their joy, was with them? In 2:19 the Lord said to the disciples of John and the Pharisees, “Can the sons of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.” Here the Lord refers to His disciples as sons of the bridechamber. For them to fast when the Bridegroom is with them would be a shame to Him.
Suppose you are the best man at a wedding. While the wedding is taking place, you, the bridegroom’s best man, are fasting. That would be an insult to the bridegroom. No bridegroom wants to see his best man fasting during his wedding. Instead, he wants to see him joyful, properly dressed in good clothing, and enjoying the food provided. This is an illustration of the Lord’s word in 2:19. Here the Lord seems to be saying to the disciples of John and the Pharisees, “Why do you ask Me why My disciples are not fasting? I am the Bridegroom, and they are all the sons of the bridechamber, a corporate best man. Matthew the tax collector is one of the sons of the bridechamber. They cannot fast when I am with them.”
Are you a disciple of John or of the Pharisees, or are you one of the sons of the bridechamber, part of the corporate “best man” of the Lord Jesus? We all should testify strongly that we are part of the Lord’s corporate best man. All those who have had their sins forgiven by the Lord Jesus have become sons of the bridechamber. In the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark we see that even those who were tax collectors and sinners became sons of the bridechamber.
In 2:1-12 we see the forgiving God as a real Man in the form of a Slave. Deity was in humanity, and humanity contained deity. This One, the forgiving God as a real Man, is a wonderful Person. In Him we see the beauty of human virtue and the glory of the divine attributes, for in Him we see both humanity and divinity in one complete Person. The incident recorded in 2:1-12 portrays this Person, the One who is the true God and a real Man. What a lovely portrait of the Lord in His human virtue and with His divine attribute!
In the second incident (2:13-17) we see the same One as a Physician taking care of those who are sick. His “patients” are portrayed here as feasting with Him. Verse 15 says, “And it came about that He reclined at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were reclining at the table with Jesus and His disciples, for there were many, and they followed Him.” As they were reclining at the table with the Lord, they had a marvelous enjoyment with Him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that the Lord ate with sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “He is eating with tax collectors and sinners!” (v. 16). When the Lord heard this, He said to the scribes, “Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (v. 17). Here the Lord seems to be saying to the scribes, “I am the great Physician taking care of My patients. They have been healed, and now they are happy enjoying a feast with Me.”