Feasting and Fasting in the Kingdom of God

It's interesting how frequently the theme of eating comes up in Scripture. It's the thing that Satan used to tempt Eve and Adam into sin. It's what caused the Israelites to grumble in the wilderness. It's the first temptation Satan used against Jesus.

And here in Luke 5, it's the center of a debate between Jesus and his antagonists. With whom should one eat? How often can we feast? How much should we fast? Are feasting and fasting mutually exclusive?

Now, we can often have a pretty cavalier attitude towards such things. But they're actually pretty important. Because eating isn't just some morally neutral physical activity. But it's profoundly spiritual.

And in a culture such as ours, where food isn't just a means of sustaining life, but is even a source of entertainment—where we even have whole TV networks devoted to food!—these are questions that are relevant for us as a church to consider.

And here's the main point I want us to see from this passage before us in Luke 5.27-39: The Kingdom of God is made up of repentant sinners, who in this present age both feast and fast in remembrance of Jesus and in anticipation of his return....