Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 9:14-17

"Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 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. And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment; for that which should fill it up taketh from the garment, and a worse rent is made. Neither do [men] put new wine into old wine-skins: else the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins perish: but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved." — Matthew 9:14-17 (ASV)

Glossa Ordinaria: After He had replied to them concerning eating and associating with sinners, they next challenged Him on the matter of fasting: Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but thy disciples fast not?¹

St. Jerome: What a boastful inquiry and a blameworthy display of fasting! Nor can John's disciples be excused for siding with the Pharisees, whom they knew had been condemned by John, or for bringing a false accusation against Him whom they knew their master had proclaimed.

St. John Chrysostom: What they are saying comes to this: Granted, you do this as a Physician of souls, but why do your disciples neglect fasting and approach such tables? To add weight to their charge, they mention themselves first and then the Pharisees. They fasted as they learned from the Law, as the Pharisee said, I fast twice in the week (Luke 18:12); the others learned it from John.

Rabanus Maurus: For John drank neither wine nor strong drink, increasing his merit by abstinence because he did not have power over nature. But the Lord, who has power to forgive sins, why should He avoid sinners who eat, since He has the power to make them more righteous than those who are not able to do so? Yet Christ does fast, so that you will not disregard the command; but He eats with sinners, so that you may know His grace and power.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Although Matthew mentions only the disciples of John as having made this inquiry, the words of Mark seem to imply instead that other people were speaking about others—that is, the guests spoke concerning the disciples of John and the Pharisees. This is even more evident from Luke (see Luke 5:33). Why then does Matthew say here, Then came unto him the disciples of John, unless it was because they were there among the other guests, all of whom unanimously raised this objection to Him?

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, Luke relates that the Pharisees said this, but Matthew that the disciples of John did, because the Pharisees had brought them along to ask the question, just as they later did with the Herodians. Observe how when strangers, like the tax collectors before, were to be defended, He heavily accuses those who blamed them; but when a charge was brought against His disciples, He answers with mildness. And Jesus saith unto them, Can the children of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? Before, He had styled Himself Physician; now, He is the Bridegroom, calling to mind the words of John, who had said, He that hath the bride is the bridegroom (John 3:29).

St. Jerome: Christ is the Bridegroom and the Church is the Bride. The Apostles were born from this spiritual union; they cannot mourn as long as they see the Bridegroom in the chamber with the Bride. But when the wedding is over, and the time of the passion and resurrection has come, then the children of the Bridegroom will fast.

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

St. John Chrysostom: He means this: The present is a time of joy and rejoicing, so sorrow should not be brought forward now. Fasting is naturally a hardship, especially for all those who are still weak; for to those who seek to contemplate wisdom, it is pleasant. He therefore speaks here according to the common understanding. He also shows that what His disciples did was not out of gluttony, but part of a specific divine plan (a dispensation).

St. Jerome: Hence, some think that a fast ought to follow the forty days of the Passion, even though the day of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit immediately bring back our joy and festival. Accordingly, from this text, Montanus, Prisca, and Maximilla enjoin a forty-day abstinence after Pentecost. However, it is the custom of the Church to approach the Lord's passion and resurrection through the humbling of the flesh, so that by physical abstinence we may be better prepared for spiritual fullness.

St. John Chrysostom: Here again, He confirms what He has said with examples from common life: No man putteth a patch of undressed cloth into an old garment; for it taketh away its wholeness from the garment, and the rent is made worse. This is to say, My disciples have not yet become strong but are in need of much consideration; they are not yet renewed by the Spirit. It is not fitting to lay a burden of precepts on people in such a state. In this, He establishes a rule for His disciples: that they should receive disciples from all over the world with leniency.

Remigius of Auxerre: By the "old garment," He means His disciples, who had not yet been renewed in all things. The "patch of undressed," that is, new cloth, signifies the new grace—the Gospel doctrine, of which fasting is a part. It was not fitting that the stricter ordinances of fasting should be entrusted to them, lest they be broken down by their severity and forfeit the faith they had. As He adds, It taketh its wholeness from the garment, and the rent is made worse.

Glossa Ordinaria: This is as much as to say that an undressed patch, a new one, ought not to be put on an old garment, because it often takes away the garment's wholeness, that is, its integrity, and then the tear is made worse. For a heavy burden placed on someone who is untrained often destroys the good that was in him before.²

Remigius of Auxerre: After making two comparisons—that of the wedding and that of the undressed cloth—He adds a third concerning wineskins: Neither do men put new wine into old skins. By the "old skins," He means His disciples, who were not yet completely renewed. The "new wine" is the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the depths of the heavenly mysteries, which His disciples could not bear at that time. But after the resurrection, they became like new wineskins and were filled with new wine when they received the Holy Spirit in their hearts. From this, some also said, These men are full of new wine (Acts 2:13).

St. John Chrysostom: In this, He also shows us the reason for the accommodating words He often addressed to them on account of their weakness.

St. Jerome: Alternatively, by the "old garment" and "old skins," we must understand the Scribes and Pharisees; and by the "piece of new cloth" and "new wine," the Gospel precepts, which the Jews were not able to bear, so the rent was made worse. The Galatians sought to do something similar: to mix the precepts of the Law with the Gospel and to put new wine into old skins. Therefore, the word of the Gospel is to be poured into the Apostles, rather than into the Scribes and Pharisees, who, being corrupted by the traditions of the elders, were unable to preserve the purity of Christ's precepts.

Glossa Ordinaria: This shows that the Apostles, who were hereafter to be filled with the newness of grace, ought not now to be bound to the old observances.³

St. Augustine of Hippo: Alternatively, everyone who fasts correctly either humbles his soul in the groaning of prayer and bodily discipline, or suspends the impulse of carnal desire through the joys of spiritual meditation. And the Lord here answers concerning both kinds of fasting. Regarding the first, which is in the humbling of the soul, He says, The children of the bridegroom cannot mourn.⁴

Of the other kind of fasting, which involves a feast of the Spirit, He next speaks when He says, No man putteth a patch of undressed cloth. Then we must mourn because the Bridegroom is taken away from us. And we mourn rightly if we burn with desire for Him. Blessed are those to whom it was granted to have Him present with them before His passion, to ask Him whatever they wished, and to hear what they needed to hear.

The fathers before His coming sought to see those days and did not, because they were placed in another dispensation—one in which He was proclaimed as coming, not one in which He was heard as present. For in us was fulfilled what He speaks of: The days shall come when ye shall desire to see one of these days, and shall not be able (Luke 17:22). Who, then, will not mourn this? Who will not say, My tears have been my meat day and night, while they daily say unto me, Where is now thy God? (Psalm 42:3). With reason, then, did the Apostle seek to die and to be with Christ.

The fact that Matthew writes "mourn" here, where Mark and Luke write "fast," shows that the Lord spoke of the kind of fasting that pertains to humbling oneself in discipline. In the following comparisons, He may be supposed to have spoken of the other kind, which pertains to the joy of a mind wrapped in spiritual thoughts and therefore turned away from the food of the body. This shows that those who are preoccupied with the body, and because of this retain their former desires, are not fit for this kind of fasting.⁵

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Figuratively, His answer—that His disciples did not need to fast while the Bridegroom was present with them—teaches us the joy of His presence and the sacrament of the holy food, which no one will lack while He is present; that is, as long as one keeps Christ in the mind's eye. He says they will fast when He is taken away from them, because all who do not believe that Christ has risen will not have the food of life. For the sacrament of the heavenly bread is received in the faith of the resurrection.

St. Jerome: Or, when He has departed from us because of our sins, then a fast is to be proclaimed, and mourning is to be put on.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: By these examples, He shows that neither our souls nor our bodies, being so weakened by the deep-rootedness of sin, are capable of the sacraments of the new grace.

Rabanus Maurus: The different comparisons all refer to the same thing, and yet they are different. The garment by which we are covered externally signifies our good works, which we perform externally. The wine with which we are refreshed internally is the fervor of faith and charity, which re-creates us internally.

1. ap. Anselm
2. ap. Anselm
3. non occ.
4. Serm., 210, 3
5. De Cons. Evan., ii, 27