The Groom
Matthew 9:14-15 Then
John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the
bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom
will be taken from them; then they will fast.”
MARRIAGE is so holy to God, he creates marriage in the very
beginning (Genesis 2), and it is a consistent picture of Jesus’ relationship to
his church. He is the groom and the church is his bride. As his bride, we are
to live with a joyous pleasure of honoring the groom.
This celebratory
relationship is the focus of Jesus’ conversation with John the Baptist’s
disciples. Fasting was a God-ordained means of worship, sacrifice and humility.
John’s disciples functioned appropriately to obey the spiritual discipline of
fasting. But as they asked Jesus why his disciples didn’t fast, Jesus response
was, “How can the guests of the
bridegroom mourn while he is with them?” In other words, Jesus reminded
John’s disciples that no one fasts at the wedding feast. People celebrate the groom and rejoice in the marriage
union.
Jesus was always
moving his people’s thinking toward the new covenant. It was incomprehensible
to imagine being so intimately connected with the Lord God as a bride to her
husband, but that is exactly what Jesus was teaching. He would later convey
that relationship with the words of the new covenant, “This cup is the new
covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22;20)
This was a betrothal
toast as a Jewish father of the groom sealed a covenant with the father of the
bride. Marriage, indeed, is a holy relationship to be honored in the law and
grace of God.
LIFE Link: Jesus has betrothed himself to you.
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