“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. The fasting section follows the same structure as giving and prayer: the hypocrites signal their fasting through visible physical suffering (disfiguring their faces, unkempt appearance) to ensure that their discipline is recognized and admired. They have received their reward — the recognition is real and it is all they get. Fasting is intended to be the most private of disciplines, between the practitioner and God alone; public fasting inverts its purpose by making it an act of social display.
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