But days will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them, and in those days they will fast.
This verse is a prophetic allusion to Christ’s sufferings and the cross. The taking away of the bridegroom points to the time when the disciples would see their Lord’s rejection, suffering, and death. In those days fasting would have its proper place as grief, prayer, and deep dependence on God. Thus, Christ does not reject fasting, but sets it within its right spiritual framework. Fasting has value when it flows from a true movement of the heart and corresponds to God’s guidance. Here we also see that the Christian life includes times of both joy and sorrow, and both must be lived in relationship with the Lord.