Matthew 6:16-18 “Craving God, Not Applause”

November 16, 2025

Matthew 6:16-18

“Craving God, Not Applause”

Service Overview: Jesus assumes His followers will fast, but He warns against turning it into a performance. True fasting isn’t about looking spiritual, it’s about seeking God with focus and humility. This passage reminds us that kingdom discipline is between us and the Father, who rewards what is done not for approval, but for intimacy.

Memory Verse for the Week:

Matthew 4:4 – Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Background & Technical Insights:

• Fasting, or occasional abstinence from food in order to bring the body into subjection to the spirit, is a practice frequently mentioned in the Bible, and generally in connection with prayer. David fasted when his child was sick; Daniel fasted when he sought special light from God; Paul and Barnabas fasted when they appointed elders; Esther fasted before going in to Ahasuerus. (J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 38)
• The Bible records no teaching or practice of fasting for practical reasons. Legitimate fasting always had a spiritual purpose and is never presented as having any value in and of itself. (John MacArthur, Matthew 1-28, 461)
• By the time of Christ, fasting, like almost every other aspect of Jewish religious life, had been perverted and twisted beyond what was scriptural and sincere. Fasting had become a ritual to gain merit with God and attention before men. Like praying and almsgiving, it was largely a hypocritical religious show. (John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1-28, 463)
• To anoint the head with oil was commonly done as a matter of good grooming. The oil was often scented and used partly as a perfume. Like washing the face, it was associated with day-to-day living, but especially with more formal or important occasions. Jesus’ point was that a person who fasts should do everything to make himself look normal and do nothing to attract attention to his deprivation and spiritual struggle. (John MacArthur, Matthew 1-28, 467)
• The only fast that God actually required of the Jewish people was on the annual day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27). The Pharisees fasted each Monday and Thursday (Luke 18:12) and did so in such a way that people knew they were fasting. Their purpose, of course, was to win the praise of men. As a result, the Pharisees lost God’s blessing. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 23)
• Fasting was a prominent element in Jewish religious life, both at statutory times (Day of Atonement, and other prescribed fasts with historical significance) and occasionally, either by corporate or individual decision. Strict Pharisees fasted at least twice a week (Lk. 18:12), and made sure that others knew it. (R. T. France, The Gospel According to Matthew, 139)

 

What does this text reveal about Jesus’ view of fasting?

1. Fasting is assumed; a normal practice for spiritual health.

(v. 16a, 17a cf. Ezr 8:23; Neh 1:4; Ps 35:13; Joel 2:12–13; Dan 9:3; Matt 9:15; Acts 13:2–3)

It is accurate to say that Jesus does not command His followers to fast, but He certainly did expect fasting to be a part of their lives. Matthew 6 records His instructions about…fasting. The references to…“when you fast” clearly show His expectation that [this discipline] would be practiced by His people. In fact He plainly stated that after His departure from earth His followers “will fast” (Matthew 9:15). (Bill Thrasher, A Journey to Victorious Praying, 145)

As with almsgiving and prayer, it is assumed that disciples will fast; the issue is not whether to do it but how. (R. T. France, Matthew, 270)

Almsgiving, prayer and fasting were central elements in Jewish religion, and all are assumed to be valid for Jesus’ disciples. The issue is not whether you should do them, but how and why. (D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary, 912)

 

2. Fasting is to be hidden; an act of devotion, not display.

(vv.16b–17a cf. Ps 51:17; Isa 58:3–4; Zech 7:5–6; Luke 18:11–14; Gal 1:10; Col 3:23–24)

Righteousness is something you are and do, not something you show off like a new car. The problem in Jesus’ day was that the ostentatiousness had been accepted as the real thing. (Stuart Briscoe, The Sermon on the Mount, 146)

Fasting is a way of showing how earnest you are about hearing from God. It contains an implicit hope—never a guarantee—that if we fast, just maybe God will step in. When you fast, you do so fully knowing that it is no guarantee it will work. And yet Jesus attaches a condition: that we fast for His honor, not ours, and that we will keep quiet about it. (R. T. Kendall, The Sermon on the Mount, 278)

Never let us forget that there is no religion in looking melancholy and gloomy. Are we dissatisfied with Christ’s wages and Christ’s service? Surely not! Then let us not look as if we were (J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 38)

 

3. Fasting is rewarded; deepening intimacy with the Father.

(vv.17–18 cf. Deut 8:3; Ps 63:1–5; Jer 29:13; John 14:21; John 15:4–5; Heb 11:6; Jas 4:8)

Fasting is not an end in itself—it is the means to the end. The purpose is to get God’s attention. (R. T. Kendall, The Sermon on the Mount, 278)

Fasting does not ensure the certainty of receiving clear guidance from God. Rightly practiced, however, it does make us more receptive to the One who loves to guide us. (Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 168)

If you are in a situation that is extremely difficult—in which you are needing a lot of wisdom or a breakthrough of some sort—could it be that fasting is the next step forward for you? (R. T. Kendall, The Sermon on the Mount, 278)

 

Conclusion: How do we take this discipline and practice it in a way that honors God and shapes our souls today?

1. We start with the why; to seek God, not to impress Him.

(Deut 4:29; Ps 27:8; 42:1–2; Isa 55:6–7; Jer 29:13; Hos 6:3; Matt 5:6; 6:33; Heb 11:6)

Fasting in the biblical sense is choosing not to partake of food because your spiritual hunger is so deep, your determination in intercession so intense, or your spiritual warfare so demanding that you have temporarily set aside even fleshly needs to give yourself to prayer and meditation.  (Wesley Duewel, Touch the World Through Prayer, 97)

Fasting helps to discipline the appetites of the body (Luke 21:34) and keep our spiritual priorities straight. But fasting must never become an opportunity for temptation (1 Cor. 7:7). (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 23)

 

2. We keep it quiet; as an act of worship, not performance.

(Ps 131:1–2; Prov 27:2; Matt 6:1–4; 6:6; Luke 18:13–14; Rom 12:1; Col 3:17; 1 Pet 5:5–6)

The one who sincerely wants to please God will studiously avoid trying to impress men. (John MacArthur, Matthew 1-28, 467)

There’s no denying that disciples of Jesus will continue to struggle with wanting man’s approval. At times we desire the applause of men and we seek to win their approval, but there should at least be combat against those sinful desires in a heart changed by God. (David Platt, Exalting Jesus in Matthew, 111)

 

3. We pair it with prayer; deepening our intimacy with the Father.

(2 Chr 7:14; Neh 1:4–6; Ps 145:18; Dan 9:3–4; Luke 5:33–35; Phil 4:6–7; 1 Thess 5:16–18)

Fasting is not the suppression of desire but the intense pursuit of it. We fast because we want something more than food. We say No to food for a season only to fill ourselves with something far more tasty, far more filling, far more satisfying. That is to say, if one suppresses the desire for food it is only because he or she has a greater and more intense desire for something more precious – something of eternal value. (Sam Storms, Pleasures Evermore, 169)

Christian fasting is a test to see what desires control us. Fasting reveals the measure of food’s mastery over us – or television or computers or whatever we submit to again and again to conceal the weakness of our hunger for God. A real lived-out human act of preference for God over His gifts is the actual lived-out glorification of God’s excellence for which He created the world. Fasting is not the only way, or the main way, that we glorify God in preferring Him above His gifts. But it is one way. (John Piper, A Hunger for God, 18)

 

Gospel Connection:

Because Jesus is the Bread of Life, our fasting ends not in emptiness but in Him.

(Deut 8:3; Isa 55:1–2; Matt 4:4; John 4:14; 6:32–35; 6:48–51; 10:10; Rom 8:32; 2 Cor 8:9)

Bread magnifies Christ in two ways: by being eaten with gratitude for His goodness, and by being forfeited out of hunger for God Himself. When we eat, we taste the emblem of our heavenly food – the Bread of Life. And when we fast we say, “I love the Reality above the emblem.” In the heart of the saint both eating and fasting are worship. Both magnify Christ. Both send the heart – grateful and yearning – to the Giver. (John Piper, A Hunger for God, 21)

 

Spiritual Challenge Questions…

Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.

• Why do you think Jesus assumed His followers would fast rather than commanded it?
• In your own walk with God, what kinds of “hungers” compete most for your attention?
• How does fasting help us discern what truly satisfies our hearts?
• Why do you think Jesus values what is done in secret so highly?
• Have you ever experienced God’s presence or clarity during a time of fasting? What changed?
• What fears or misconceptions keep believers from fasting today?
• How can fasting and prayer together strengthen your dependence on God’s Word and Spirit?

 

 

HFM @ Home …

Discipleship resources from the Free Methodist and Heidelberg Catechisms, offering historic, Scripture-based teaching to help us grow in our shared faith.

From The Heidelberg Catechism

Q16. Why must the mediator be a true and righteous human?

1. God’s justice demands that human nature, which has sinned, must pay for sin;1 but a sinful human could never pay for others. (Rom. 5:12, 15; 1 Cor. 15:21; Heb. 2:14-16; Heb. 7:26-27; 1 Pet. 3:18)

Q17. Why must the mediator also be true God?

1. So that the mediator, by the power of his divinity, might bear the weight of God’s wrath in his humanity and earn for us and restore to us righteousness and life. (Isa. 53; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:21)

Q18. Then who is this mediator—true God and at the same time a true and righteous human?

5. Our Lord Jesus Christ,1 who was given to us to completely deliver us and make us right with God. (1 Matt. 1:21-23; Luke 2:11; 1 Tim. 2:5. 2 1 Cor. 1:30)

Q19. How do you come to know this?

15. The holy gospel tells me. God began to reveal the gospel already in Paradise; later God proclaimed it by the holy patriarchs and prophets and foreshadowed it by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law; and finally God fulfilled it through his own beloved Son. (1 Gen. 3:15. 2 Gen. 22:18; 49:10. 3 Isa. 53; Jer. 23:5-6; Mic. 7:18-20; Acts 10:43; Heb. 1:1-2. 4 Lev. 1-7; John 5:46; Heb. 10:1-10. 5 Rom. 10:4; Gal. 4:4-5; Col. 2:17)

 

“All That He Made … Was Very Good”

All that God does is good, and therefore all creation is good. The evil that is in our world, whether a natural evil (a tornado that might destroy a home) or a moral evil (murder), has arisen as a result of the fall of humanity from an original goodness. (Colossians 1:16; Genesis 1:31; 1 Timothy 4:3-5; Genesis 3:16-19; Romans 8:20-21)

 

November 16, 2025

Matthew 6:16-18

“Craving God, Not Applause”

Service Overview: Jesus assumes His followers will fast, but He warns against turning it into a performance. True fasting isn’t about looking spiritual, it’s about seeking God with focus and humility. This passage reminds us that kingdom discipline is between us and the Father, who rewards what is done not for approval, but for intimacy.

Memory Verse for the Week:

Matthew 4:4 – Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Background & Technical Insights:

• Fasting, or occasional abstinence from food in order to bring the body into subjection to the spirit, is a practice frequently mentioned in the Bible, and generally in connection with prayer. David fasted when his child was sick; Daniel fasted when he sought special light from God; Paul and Barnabas fasted when they appointed elders; Esther fasted before going in to Ahasuerus. (J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 38)
• The Bible records no teaching or practice of fasting for practical reasons. Legitimate fasting always had a spiritual purpose and is never presented as having any value in and of itself. (John MacArthur, Matthew 1-28, 461)
• By the time of Christ, fasting, like almost every other aspect of Jewish religious life, had been perverted and twisted beyond what was scriptural and sincere. Fasting had become a ritual to gain merit with God and attention before men. Like praying and almsgiving, it was largely a hypocritical religious show. (John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1-28, 463)
• To anoint the head with oil was commonly done as a matter of good grooming. The oil was often scented and used partly as a perfume. Like washing the face, it was associated with day-to-day living, but especially with more formal or important occasions. Jesus’ point was that a person who fasts should do everything to make himself look normal and do nothing to attract attention to his deprivation and spiritual struggle. (John MacArthur, Matthew 1-28, 467)
• The only fast that God actually required of the Jewish people was on the annual day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27). The Pharisees fasted each Monday and Thursday (Luke 18:12) and did so in such a way that people knew they were fasting. Their purpose, of course, was to win the praise of men. As a result, the Pharisees lost God’s blessing. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 23)
• Fasting was a prominent element in Jewish religious life, both at statutory times (Day of Atonement, and other prescribed fasts with historical significance) and occasionally, either by corporate or individual decision. Strict Pharisees fasted at least twice a week (Lk. 18:12), and made sure that others knew it. (R. T. France, The Gospel According to Matthew, 139)

 

What does this text reveal about Jesus’ view of fasting?

1. Fasting is assumed; a normal practice for spiritual health.

(v. 16a, 17a cf. Ezr 8:23; Neh 1:4; Ps 35:13; Joel 2:12–13; Dan 9:3; Matt 9:15; Acts 13:2–3)

It is accurate to say that Jesus does not command His followers to fast, but He certainly did expect fasting to be a part of their lives. Matthew 6 records His instructions about…fasting. The references to…“when you fast” clearly show His expectation that [this discipline] would be practiced by His people. In fact He plainly stated that after His departure from earth His followers “will fast” (Matthew 9:15). (Bill Thrasher, A Journey to Victorious Praying, 145)

As with almsgiving and prayer, it is assumed that disciples will fast; the issue is not whether to do it but how. (R. T. France, Matthew, 270)

Almsgiving, prayer and fasting were central elements in Jewish religion, and all are assumed to be valid for Jesus’ disciples. The issue is not whether you should do them, but how and why. (D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary, 912)

 

2. Fasting is to be hidden; an act of devotion, not display.

(vv.16b–17a cf. Ps 51:17; Isa 58:3–4; Zech 7:5–6; Luke 18:11–14; Gal 1:10; Col 3:23–24)

Righteousness is something you are and do, not something you show off like a new car. The problem in Jesus’ day was that the ostentatiousness had been accepted as the real thing. (Stuart Briscoe, The Sermon on the Mount, 146)

Fasting is a way of showing how earnest you are about hearing from God. It contains an implicit hope—never a guarantee—that if we fast, just maybe God will step in. When you fast, you do so fully knowing that it is no guarantee it will work. And yet Jesus attaches a condition: that we fast for His honor, not ours, and that we will keep quiet about it. (R. T. Kendall, The Sermon on the Mount, 278)

Never let us forget that there is no religion in looking melancholy and gloomy. Are we dissatisfied with Christ’s wages and Christ’s service? Surely not! Then let us not look as if we were (J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew, 38)

 

3. Fasting is rewarded; deepening intimacy with the Father.

(vv.17–18 cf. Deut 8:3; Ps 63:1–5; Jer 29:13; John 14:21; John 15:4–5; Heb 11:6; Jas 4:8)

Fasting is not an end in itself—it is the means to the end. The purpose is to get God’s attention. (R. T. Kendall, The Sermon on the Mount, 278)

Fasting does not ensure the certainty of receiving clear guidance from God. Rightly practiced, however, it does make us more receptive to the One who loves to guide us. (Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 168)

If you are in a situation that is extremely difficult—in which you are needing a lot of wisdom or a breakthrough of some sort—could it be that fasting is the next step forward for you? (R. T. Kendall, The Sermon on the Mount, 278)

 

Conclusion: How do we take this discipline and practice it in a way that honors God and shapes our souls today?

1. We start with the why; to seek God, not to impress Him.

(Deut 4:29; Ps 27:8; 42:1–2; Isa 55:6–7; Jer 29:13; Hos 6:3; Matt 5:6; 6:33; Heb 11:6)

Fasting in the biblical sense is choosing not to partake of food because your spiritual hunger is so deep, your determination in intercession so intense, or your spiritual warfare so demanding that you have temporarily set aside even fleshly needs to give yourself to prayer and meditation.  (Wesley Duewel, Touch the World Through Prayer, 97)

Fasting helps to discipline the appetites of the body (Luke 21:34) and keep our spiritual priorities straight. But fasting must never become an opportunity for temptation (1 Cor. 7:7). (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 23)

 

2. We keep it quiet; as an act of worship, not performance.

(Ps 131:1–2; Prov 27:2; Matt 6:1–4; 6:6; Luke 18:13–14; Rom 12:1; Col 3:17; 1 Pet 5:5–6)

The one who sincerely wants to please God will studiously avoid trying to impress men. (John MacArthur, Matthew 1-28, 467)

There’s no denying that disciples of Jesus will continue to struggle with wanting man’s approval. At times we desire the applause of men and we seek to win their approval, but there should at least be combat against those sinful desires in a heart changed by God. (David Platt, Exalting Jesus in Matthew, 111)

 

3. We pair it with prayer; deepening our intimacy with the Father.

(2 Chr 7:14; Neh 1:4–6; Ps 145:18; Dan 9:3–4; Luke 5:33–35; Phil 4:6–7; 1 Thess 5:16–18)

Fasting is not the suppression of desire but the intense pursuit of it. We fast because we want something more than food. We say No to food for a season only to fill ourselves with something far more tasty, far more filling, far more satisfying. That is to say, if one suppresses the desire for food it is only because he or she has a greater and more intense desire for something more precious – something of eternal value. (Sam Storms, Pleasures Evermore, 169)

Christian fasting is a test to see what desires control us. Fasting reveals the measure of food’s mastery over us – or television or computers or whatever we submit to again and again to conceal the weakness of our hunger for God. A real lived-out human act of preference for God over His gifts is the actual lived-out glorification of God’s excellence for which He created the world. Fasting is not the only way, or the main way, that we glorify God in preferring Him above His gifts. But it is one way. (John Piper, A Hunger for God, 18)

 

Gospel Connection:

Because Jesus is the Bread of Life, our fasting ends not in emptiness but in Him.

(Deut 8:3; Isa 55:1–2; Matt 4:4; John 4:14; 6:32–35; 6:48–51; 10:10; Rom 8:32; 2 Cor 8:9)

Bread magnifies Christ in two ways: by being eaten with gratitude for His goodness, and by being forfeited out of hunger for God Himself. When we eat, we taste the emblem of our heavenly food – the Bread of Life. And when we fast we say, “I love the Reality above the emblem.” In the heart of the saint both eating and fasting are worship. Both magnify Christ. Both send the heart – grateful and yearning – to the Giver. (John Piper, A Hunger for God, 21)

 

Spiritual Challenge Questions…

Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.

• Why do you think Jesus assumed His followers would fast rather than commanded it?
• In your own walk with God, what kinds of “hungers” compete most for your attention?
• How does fasting help us discern what truly satisfies our hearts?
• Why do you think Jesus values what is done in secret so highly?
• Have you ever experienced God’s presence or clarity during a time of fasting? What changed?
• What fears or misconceptions keep believers from fasting today?
• How can fasting and prayer together strengthen your dependence on God’s Word and Spirit?

 

 

HFM @ Home …

Discipleship resources from the Free Methodist and Heidelberg Catechisms, offering historic, Scripture-based teaching to help us grow in our shared faith.

From The Heidelberg Catechism

Q16. Why must the mediator be a true and righteous human?

1. God’s justice demands that human nature, which has sinned, must pay for sin;1 but a sinful human could never pay for others. (Rom. 5:12, 15; 1 Cor. 15:21; Heb. 2:14-16; Heb. 7:26-27; 1 Pet. 3:18)

Q17. Why must the mediator also be true God?

1. So that the mediator, by the power of his divinity, might bear the weight of God’s wrath in his humanity and earn for us and restore to us righteousness and life. (Isa. 53; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:21)

Q18. Then who is this mediator—true God and at the same time a true and righteous human?

5. Our Lord Jesus Christ,1 who was given to us to completely deliver us and make us right with God. (1 Matt. 1:21-23; Luke 2:11; 1 Tim. 2:5. 2 1 Cor. 1:30)

Q19. How do you come to know this?

15. The holy gospel tells me. God began to reveal the gospel already in Paradise; later God proclaimed it by the holy patriarchs and prophets and foreshadowed it by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law; and finally God fulfilled it through his own beloved Son. (1 Gen. 3:15. 2 Gen. 22:18; 49:10. 3 Isa. 53; Jer. 23:5-6; Mic. 7:18-20; Acts 10:43; Heb. 1:1-2. 4 Lev. 1-7; John 5:46; Heb. 10:1-10. 5 Rom. 10:4; Gal. 4:4-5; Col. 2:17)

 

“All That He Made … Was Very Good”

All that God does is good, and therefore all creation is good. The evil that is in our world, whether a natural evil (a tornado that might destroy a home) or a moral evil (murder), has arisen as a result of the fall of humanity from an original goodness. (Colossians 1:16; Genesis 1:31; 1 Timothy 4:3-5; Genesis 3:16-19; Romans 8:20-21)