Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees often fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
Here their question concerned a kind of conduct that was considered customary at that time: fasting. The disciples of John and the Pharisees were faithful to strict rules of fasting, but Jesus’ disciples followed different practices, which confused them. Next we will see Jesus’ answer, in which He explains why fasting was not yet obligatory for His disciples.