The Question about Fasting: An ESL Bible Study on Luke 5:33-39

This Bible study series is for people who are learning English. It is designed for advanced beginner and intermediate learners, but children or adults who prefer simple English may also enjoy it. I also have a Sunday School lesson on Luke 5:33-6:11 that may work better for native English speakers.

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Luke 5:33-39 Printable Discussion Questions

Luke 5:33-39 Printable ERV Passage

Lesson Icebreaker Question

What is one of your favorite foods to eat when you celebrate something happy?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn about a time when people asked Jesus why his disciples did not fast. We will hear Jesus’ kind answer and a story he told to help people understand something new about God’s work.

Vocabulary Lists for the ERV Bible Translation

Key Vocabulary Words (10 words)

bridegroom: (noun) A man who is getting married.
cloth: (noun) Material used to make clothes or covers.
fast: (verb) To go without food for a time to pray and honor God.
fine: (adjective) Good enough or satisfactory.
Pharisee: (noun) A religious leader who was very strict about rules.
pour: (verb) To make a liquid flow out of a container.
ruin: (verb) To spoil or destroy something.
spill: (verb) To accidentally let liquid flow out of a container.
wedding: (noun) A party where a man and a woman get married.
wineskin: (noun) A bag made of skin used to hold wine.

Important Words to Know (20 words)

all the time: (phrase) Happening very often or always.
break: (verb) To separate something into pieces.
bridegroom: (noun) A man who is getting married.
cloth: (noun) Material used to make clothes or covers.
coat: (noun) A piece of clothing worn over other clothes to keep warm.
fast: (verb) To go without food for a time to pray and honor God.
fine: (adjective) Good enough or satisfactory.
follower: (noun) A person who learns from and obeys a teacher.
groom: (noun) A man who is getting married.
hole: (noun) An opening or an empty space in something.
John the Baptizer: (noun) A man sent by God to tell people that Jesus was coming.
leader: (noun) A person who is in charge of a group.
Pharisee: (noun) A religious leader who was very strict about rules.
pour: (verb) To make a liquid flow out of a container.
religious: (adjective) Relating to religion or the worship of God.
ruin: (verb) To spoil or destroy something.
spill: (verb) To accidentally let liquid flow out of a container.
story: (noun) A description of people and events that happened.
wedding: (noun) A party where a man and a woman get married.
wineskin: (noun) A bag made of skin used to hold wine.

Complete Lesson Word Bank

all the time: (phrase) Happening very often or always.
always: (adverb) Every time or at all times.
break: (verb) To separate something into pieces.
bridegroom: (noun) A man who is getting married.
cloth: (noun) Material used to make clothes or covers.
coat: (noun) A piece of clothing worn over other clothes to keep warm.
cover: (verb) To put something over another thing.
ever: (adverb) At any time.
fast: (verb) To go without food for a time to pray and honor God.
fine: (adjective) Good enough or satisfactory.
follower: (noun) A person who learns from and obeys a teacher.
groom: (noun) A man who is getting married.
hole: (noun) An opening or an empty space in something.
Jesus: (noun) The Son of God and the Savior of the world!
John the Baptizer: (noun) A man sent by God to tell people that Jesus was coming.
just: (adverb) Only or simply.
leader: (noun) A person who is in charge of a group.
like: (preposition) Similar to something else.
off: (adverb) Away from a place.
often: (adverb) Happening many times.
other: (adjective) Different from the one already mentioned.
out: (adverb) Not inside.
Pharisee: (noun) A religious leader who was very strict about rules.
pour: (verb) To make a liquid flow out of a container.
pray: (verb) To talk to God.
put: (verb) To move something to a specific place.
religious: (adjective) Relating to religion or the worship of God.
ruin: (verb) To spoil or destroy something.
same: (adjective) Not different.
spill: (verb) To accidentally let liquid flow out of a container.
still: (adverb) Continuing until now.
story: (noun) A description of people and events that happened.
take off: (phrase) To remove a piece of clothing or cloth from something.
taken: (verb) To have been carried away.
time: (noun) The period when things happen, measured in hours or days.
told: (verb) To have given information to someone.
wedding: (noun) A party where a man and a woman get married.
when: (adverb) At what time.
while: (conjunction) During the time that something is happening.
will: (verb) A word used to talk about the future.
wine: (noun) A drink made from the juice of grapes.
wineskin: (noun) A bag made of skin used to hold wine.
would: (verb) A word used to talk about something that might happen or something someone wanted to do.

Summary of the Passage

This passage tells about a time when some people asked Jesus a question about religious rules. They noticed that the followers of John the Baptizer and the Pharisees would often stop eating food for a time to pray. This act is called fasting. These people wanted to know why the disciples of Jesus were eating and drinking all the time instead of fasting.

Jesus answered them by talking about a wedding. He said that when a bridegroom is with his friends at a party, the friends are happy and do not fast. Jesus was explaining that he is like the groom. While he was still with his followers, it was a time for joy and celebration. A time would come when the groom would be taken away, and then his friends would fast.

Jesus then told a story, called a parable, to explain that his teachings were new. He said that no one takes a piece of cloth off a new coat to cover a hole in an old coat. Doing this would ruin the new coat. Also, the new cloth would not match the old.

Jesus also said that no one pours new wine into old wineskins. In those days, a wineskin was a bag made of animal skin used to hold wine. New wine stretches as it sits, but old skins are dry and hard. The new wine would break the old skins, the wine would spill out, and the bags would be ruined. Jesus was teaching that his new way of life could not just be added to old, strict rules.

This passage shows us that Jesus came to bring joy and a new way to live. He teaches us that following him is not just about following old rules. It is about a new heart and a new life.

Read The Passage

Most English learners should use the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), or the Good News Translation (GNT). If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions.

Jesus Is Not Like Other Religious Leaders
33 They said to Jesus, “John’s followers often fast and pray, the same as the followers of the Pharisees.
But your followers eat and drink all the time.”
34 Jesus said to them,
“At a wedding you can’t ask the friends of the bridegroom to be sad and fast while he is still with them.
35 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them.
Then his friends will fast.”
36 Jesus told them this story:
“No one takes cloth off a new coat to cover a hole in an old coat.
That would ruin the new coat, and the cloth from the new coat would not be the same as the old cloth.
37 Also, no one ever pours new wine into old wineskins.
The new wine would break them.
The wine would spill out, and the wineskins would be ruined.
38 You always put new wine into new wineskins.
39 No one who drinks old wine wants new wine.
They say, ‘The old wine is just fine.’”
Luke 5:33-39 (ERV)

Very Easy: Easy-to-Read Version: Luke 5:33-39 (ERV)
Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 5:33-39 (NIRV)
Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 5:33-39 (GNT)
Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 5:33-39 (NLT)
Hard: New International Version: Luke 5:33-39 (NIV)
Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 5:33-39 (ESV)

Luke 5:33-39 Printable ERV Passage

Comprehension Questions

Which two groups of followers were fasting and praying?
What were the disciples of Jesus doing instead of fasting?
Who did Jesus compare himself to in his answer about the wedding?
Why did Jesus say the friends of the bridegroom were not sad?
When did Jesus say his friends would eventually fast?
What happens if someone uses a piece of a new coat to fix an old one?
What did Jesus say people used to hold wine in his time?
What happens to the wine and the bags if new wine is put in old wineskins?
What kind of wineskin is needed for new wine?
What did the people say about the old wine at the end of the story?

Application Questions

How do you feel when you are at a happy party with your friends?
Why is it important to have joy when we think about Jesus?
How do you feel when you have to change a habit and learn something new?
Who can you share some of your joy with this week?
What is one way you can be ready to listen to the new teachings of Jesus?

Theological Insights

Jesus is the bridegroom who brings joy to his followers.
We can celebrate because Jesus is with us.
Jesus teaches us a new way to live that is better than old rules.
We need to be ready to change our hearts to follow Jesus.
Following Jesus brings a new life that is full of his love.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father,
We praise you because you are the God of joy and new life.
We confess that we often hold on to our old ways instead of trusting you.
Thank you for the new teachings Jesus gave us to help us grow.
Please help us to be like new wineskins that are ready for your work.
Amen.