Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 6:17
Anoint thine head and wash thy face - These were forbidden in the Jewish canon on days of fasting and humiliation; and hypocrites availed themselves of this ordinance, that they might appear to fast. Our Lord, therefore, cautions us against this: as if he had said, Affect nothing - dress in thy ordinary manner, and let the whole of thy deportment prove that thou desirest to recommend my soul to God, and not thy face to men. That factitious mourning, which consists in putting on black... read more
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 6:16
When ye fast - A fast is termed by the Greeks νηϚις , from νη not, and εσθειν to eat; hence fast means, a total abstinence from food for a certain time. Abstaining from flesh, and living on fish, vegetables, etc., is no fast, or may be rather considered a burlesque on fasting. Many pretend to take the true definition of a fast from Isaiah 58:3 , and say that it means a fast from sin. This is a mistake; there is no such term in the Bible as fasting from sin; the very idea is... read more