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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar_2:18-20
18John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they came and said to Him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" 19And Jesus said to them, "While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day."
Mar_2:18-20 "fasting" The Pharisees and John's disciples were culturally conditioned to fast twice a week, on Mondays, and Thursdays (cf. Luk_18:12). The Mosaic Law only had one fast day a year, the Day of Atonement (cf. Leviticus 16). These twice-a-week fasts are a good example of developed traditionalism (cf. Zechariah 7-8). Fasting loses its spiritual value when it becomes mandatory and draws attention to itself (cf. Mat_6:16-18).
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NASB, NKJV "they came"
NRSV "people came"
TEV, NJB "some people came"
Mar_2:18 starts out noting that John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting for some occasion. Some others took note of this and came and asked Jesus about why His disciples did not fast on this occasion.
Mar_2:19 Grammatically this question expects a negative answer.
▣ "'bridegroom'" There is so much OT imagery involved in the concept of "bridegroom." In the OT YHWH is the bridegroom or husband of Israel. In this context Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is the bride (cf. Eph_5:23-32). In Mar_2:20 "the bridegroom is taken away" refers to a time when a separation will occur.
Now, as interpreters we have two choices. First, we can see this as a cultural metaphor about a time of joy connected to a wedding. No one fasts during a wedding! Second, we can see it as parabolic of Jesus' time on earth and His coming crucifixion. Mark (Peter's interpreter) would have known the full implication of these metaphorically laden terms (in Judaism the bridegroom was a metaphor, not of the Messiah, but of the coming Kingdom of God). Is this a prediction of Jesus' death? He has clearly revealed His Messiahship and deity through His words and deeds (i.e., exorcisms, healings, forgiving sins). However, the Messianic Secret of Mark causes one to wonder! But the parabolic language and its implication of Mar_2:21-22 make me see the entire context in a vicarious, yet eschatological, setting (i.e., the bridegroom dies, but the Son of God returns and remains). Between the death and return (i.e., the Messianic banquet), His followers will fast in an appropriate way and at an appropriate time.
Mar_2:20 "'taken away'" This may be an allusion to Isa_53:8 in the Septuagint. After the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension Peter fully understood the significance of Isaiah 53.
▣ "'they will fast'" This is a future active indicative (a statement of fact), not an imperative (command).