Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 9:15

"And Jesus said unto them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast." — Matthew 9:15 (ASV)

And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?

Could Christ's disciples fast while Christ fed them with heavenly foods? While his presence was to them like heaven begun below, it would have been inconsistent for them to be mourning and fasting.

Here our Lord answered the second part of their inquiry. The first part they must answer for themselves. They knew, or should have known, why they and the Pharisees fasted. He proceeds to explain why His disciples did not fast. He is “the Bridegroom” who came to woo and win His bride. Those who followed Him were the guests, the Bridegroom’s best men, and attendants. It was for them to rejoice while the Bridegroom headed their company, for sorrow is not suitable for wedding feasts.

Our Lord is that Bridegroom of whom Solomon sang in the Song of Songs, and we who enjoy His fellowship are one with Him in His joy. Why should we fast while He is near? Can we allow little things to kill our great joy? Can we, in consistency with reason and in harmony with respect for our Lord, mourn as long as the Bridegroom is with us?

But Jesus was to go. He says Himself, “The Bridegroom shall be taken from them.” Here for the first time He speaks about His death. Did His disciples note the warning word? When their Beloved was gone, they would have fasting enough. How true this was! Sorrows crowded in on them when He was gone.

It is the same with us. Our Lord is our joy. His presence makes our banquet. His absence is our fast, black and bitter. All ritualistic fasting is the husk. The reality of fasting is known only to the child of the bridechamber when his Lord is no longer with him. This is fasting indeed, as some of us know full well.

There is no wedding without a Bridegroom, no delight without Jesus. In His presence is fullness of joy. In His absence is depth of misery. Let the heart but rest in His love, and it desires nothing more. Take away a sense of His love from the soul, and it is dark, empty, and near death.

But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

And nobody would say that they were turncoats if, when their circumstances had so greatly altered, they acted in harmony with their changed circumstances. The disciples could not mourn while Christ was with them; can you, believer, fast while Christ is with you? It cannot be; but when he has gone from you, then you will sorrow fast enough. So we must neither judge others by ourselves, nor judge ourselves at one time by what we were at some other time.