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In Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus continues His teaching on religious practices by addressing fasting. As with giving and prayer, the issue is not whether the practice itself is wrong. The issue is the heart. Fasting can be a sincere act of humility before God, but it can also become another way to draw attention to our own spirituality.
This message explains that Jesus warns against making fasting visible for the sake of human praise. The hypocrites wanted others to notice their sacrifice. Jesus calls His disciples to a different way – one where the Father is the audience, and the heart is seeking Him rather than recognition. True fasting is not performance, but dependence.
The passage invites us to think carefully about spiritual disciplines. They are not tools for pride, nor marks of superiority over others. They are ways of humbling ourselves before the Lord, seeking Him, and remembering that we live by more than bread alone. The Father who sees in secret knows the heart, and that is where the real matter lies.