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Mat_6:17. Dress thyself as if to go to a festive entertainment. Psa_23:5; Luk_7:46; Suicer, Thes. I. p. 185; Wetstein. Of course Jesus does not intend the anointing, and so on, to be taken literally; but under this form of requirement He expresses the sincerity which He desires in connection with the—of itself voluntary—practice of fasting. Comp. Chrysostom. The form is one that is suited to an attitude of radical opposition to Jewish formalism. Luther: “If thou so fastest between thyself and thy Father alone, thou hast rightly fasted in that it pleases Him; yet not as if one must not go on a fast-day with few clothes, or unwashed, but the additional ceremony is rejected, because it is observed for the sake of applause, and to hoodwink people with such singular demeanour.”