Mark 2:18  And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?
19  And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
20  But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
21  No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
22  And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

The Pharisees could not fight their way out of a wet paper bag. They could not see the truth even though He was standing right before them. They had the opportunity to repent and be saved, but they were too proud to bow their hearts before the Only Saviour of mankind.
Fasting is an important means of drawing nigh to God. John the Baptist fasted because he needed to draw nigh to God. He needed to know what he needed to say to the people. He needed boldness to stand against the Pharisees. He needed to fulfil his duty as the forerunner of the Messiah.
Jesus was the Son of God. He spent hours with His Father every day. He knew the will of His Father. He had the boldness needed to stand against the Pharisees and to teach the people the truth.
As Jesus stated in verse 19, He is the bridegroom. A wedding is not the time to fast. It is the time to rejoice with the married couple. In God’s economy, a man and a woman come together in marriage after they have already come together in Christ. There are far more marriages that take place among the lost than those among the saved. Far too many couples do not even bother to get married. They just commit fornication or adultery, depending on their status before coming together.
There are some who see a judge and get a government “wedding”. The government does not know what a marriage is and they certainly do not walk in the fear of the Lord. They have no business conducting marriages. Lost people that get married are just heaping up the wrath of God upon themselves. They might have the worldly music to entertain them. They might use liquor or some other vice to try to loosen up, but they cannot function in the way that God intended for a married couple.
Godly pastors need to remind those who attend their services of the importance of marriage. The Bible teaches us that a marriage is a picture of salvation. It shows the eternal nature of salvation. That is why the couple needs to be saved and they need to be sure they are being led by God in this important decision. Divorce happens due to sin. It is never God’s will. A second marriage while the spouse is still alive is called adultery by God. God forbids it. There are many preachers and judges who do not care what God says. They will step over Him and condone what He forbids. They as well as those who commit adultery will answer to God. The Bible declares:

Hebrews 10:31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

God made the rules. His rules will work when He is in charge. He will also forgive the repentant sinner. When a sinner repents, he or she is leaving behind the life of sin. They cannot go on in sin and claim they have repented. God does not forgive sin when there is no repentance.
Jesus stated that there is no fasting while the bridegroom is present. There is rejoicing when a person humbles himself and receives God’s forgiveness and is saved.
In verse 20 Jesus reminded the Pharisees and the disciples that the time was coming when the bridegroom would not be here. It would not be long before Jesus would go to the cross. He would lay down His life, shed His blood, die, be buried and rise again. He would later ascend back to Heaven. After that time, there would be a need for fasting. There is a need to draw nigh to God in different ways. One of those ways is through Biblical fasting. Those who are saved need to know they are following God faithfully. Fasting is one way in which we can do that. True saved people are looking for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be rejoicing when the saints are in glory.
You notice in verse 20 that it speaks of the bridegroom being taken away from the people. Jesus laid down His life for the sheep. However, many people then and now have pushed Jesus away. Many want nothing to do with Him. They have their own agenda and Jesus Christ gets in the way of that agenda.
In verse 21 Jesus used the illustration of cloth to further explain what He was talking about. You do not take a piece of new cloth to sew into an old garment. The cloth of that time would not have been polyester. It would have been wool or cotton. Those materials shrink over time. If a tear needs to be repaired a new piece of cloth would shrink after it was sewn into the garment. As it would shrink it would tear the material around the hole. That material would no longer stretch and the garment would be in worse shape than it was before.
You cannot add Jesus into a life of sin. Salvation does not fit with a life of sin. It will never fit. The sinner needs to be forgiven and be given life. If that person has been given life, he then can grow in the Lord. Sin must be confessed and forsaken when committed after salvation. It cannot be shrugged off or ignored. The born again Christian cannot live in sin.
In verse 22, Jesus used the illustration of wine. Drunkards will automatically look at a verse like this to justify their use of liquor. The Bible uses the word “wine” in a generic sense. It can be alcohol or it can be grape juice. The context will make clear what is spoken of.
We know that Jesus was the eternal Son of God. He never sinned, nor did He encourage anyone else to sin. He never condoned sin.
In Bible times, grape juice was put into a leather pouch which was called a bottle. As the grape juice would be in that bottle, it would give off gases. When the juice is stored, it is put into a new leather bottle so that as the juice remains in that bottle, the leather can stretch as is needed. If the new “wine” is put into old bottles, the leather cannot stretch and it will tear and the juice will be lost.
Again, the picture is of salvation. It is of that union with the bridegroom. There will be a tension between the old man and the new man. The old man wants to dominate, but the new man wants to serve God. The Bible commands the saved to put the old man to death. We are told:

Colossians 3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

The old man needs to be put to death. The saved person cannot live in sin. The saved person will sin, but he cannot live in sin. He has been given life and the life in him wants to please God. That is only possible when the saved person chooses to obey his new Master. That is essential to the Christian life.
Those who read their Bibles honestly and are saved will understand that what is commonly passed off as modern day Christianity does not resemble Biblical Christianity. We must understand that we will all meet the Lord one day. The love of Christ dwelling in the saved person causes that person to want to help others to walk in truth. It can be painful to the flesh to walk in truth. It is natural to want to have a good relationship with family members and with neighbours and with co-workers. The born again Christian will not enter into the filthy talk of the lost. He or she will not sit down for a drink after work, etc. The saved person will want to attend a true church faithfully and will invite others to join him there.
Jesus called His disciples to follow Him. They would learn many things in those 3+ years. They would see that there were those who despised them because they despised Jesus. The true disciples learned to deal with that resistance and hatred. They did not shy away from it. They sought to be a true light that could help the lost to see the blessing of true salvation.
That is still the way it works today. Today is the Lord’s day. Be sure to attend a true local church. Come with an attitude of wanting to hear the truth. You will never do wrong in being exposed to the truth. What you do with the truth will make the difference.
Pastor Bartel