But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast — the future tense introduces the first clear anticipation of Jesus' death in Mark. The bridegroom will be taken from them — the passive taken implies external force rather than voluntary departure, pointing to the violent death that will end the Galilean ministry. On that day they will fast: the disciples' fasting will not be a religious performance but a genuine mourning for genuine loss. The verse communicates that fasting has its place — not as a performance of piety but as an authentic response to loss and grief. The resurrection is not mentioned here; the focus is the death that will make fasting appropriate again.

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