Tag Archives: bridegroom

THE BRIDEGROOM’S FRIEND

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THE BRIDEGROOM’S FRIEND

“An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan – the one you testified about – look, He is baptising, and everyone is going to Him.’

“To this John replied, ‘A person can receive what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but am sent ahead of Him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.'” John 3:25-30.

What beautiful imagery and what a gracious response!

John was a hugely popular preacher. He had drawn crowds into the desert to hear his fiery sermons, and the people were not even offended when he said some rather derogatory things about them. “Basket of snakes! Fatherless people!” A polite way of insulting them! He baptised many, initiating them into repentance and an expectation of the Messiah whose arrival he had been sent to announce.

Popularity could have gone to John’s head like it has to many preachers whose charisma has gathered a large following. Slowly but surely, they lose their focus, bask in their fame and begin to gather a following around themselves. They subtly alter the message to suit the ears of their followers and the scene is set for yet another cult.

John’s popularity was a test for him. What was he preaching and teaching while his ministry ran parallel with the ministry of Jesus? Did he still point people to the Messiah and away from himself? He was a rabbi. It was legitimate for him to have a following of disciples. It seems that they were more protective of John than he was of himself.

On this occasion, some of them got into an argument about baptism (ceremonial washing) with a Jew, probably one of the religious leaders because John, the author, put a certain connotation on the word “Jew”. We don’t know what the argument was about, but to settle it, they asked their rabbi, John. We can gather from his reply that it was probably about the increasing popularity of Jesus.

Both Jesus and John were baptising their followers. Which one was right? Should they follow John or should they follow Jesus? Using the imagery of a wedding from the culture of his day, John put their query into perspective. After their betrothal, the bride and bridegroom have preparations to make before the wedding. The bride’s task was to separate herself from all other men and to prepare her bridal gown (Revelation 19:6-8). The bridegroom was to return home to his father’s house to build the bridal chamber in preparation for the consummation of their marriage (John 14:2, 3).

Both the bride and the groom had attendants who waited for the groom to return, and attended them during the wedding ceremony. John saw himself as the attendant or friend of Jesus, the bridegroom, who was there to announce His arrival and to see to His needs during the celebrations. The attention was not to be on him but on the bridegroom. His was only a support role.

John’s ministry was unique. No one else has ever been assigned the role of “groomsman” in the history of the church. Believers in Jesus together form the corporate bride, but we do well to take note of John’s attitude, especially those of us who are in the limelight because of our position as leaders in the church. How easy it is to be carried away by popularity and to forget that we are not the bridegroom!

Throughout John’s short ministry, he had only one passion – to point people to Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” ‘I am not the Messiah,’ he insisted when he was questioned about his identity. He did not even see himself as a person but as a “voice” calling in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord.”

To those who were debating his and Jesus’ popularity, John’s firm response was, ‘He must become greater; I must become less.’  It was fitting that he disappear off the scene, even in an ignominious way, so that all the focus would be on Jesus, the Messiah, whose arrival he had faithfully declared.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – NEW CLOTH, NEW WINE

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NEW CLOTH, NEW WINE

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wine-skins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wine-skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wine-skins.” Mark 2:18-22

The people who came to Jesus with their question about fasting are unspecified: perhaps observant, perhaps curious, perhaps interested, or perhaps critical; who knows? They were looking in on a situation of religious observance from the outside. Perhaps they were more impressed by the discipline of the disciples of John and the Pharisees than by the happy-go-lucky attitude of Jesus and His disciples. These were frivolous compared with the religious austerity of the other men.

Jesus’ reply is surprising, exactly reflecting the scenario these people were questioning. What was He saying? “Haven’t you people got it yet? Don’t you recognise that it’s party time? The bridegroom is here and He has come to claim His bride. This is not time for austerity. It’s time to enter into the celebration.”

He adds two earthy but cryptic observations – new cloth, new wine; old garment, old wine-skins. This should have alerted the listeners that something big is going on here; a big upheaval in their thinking and in their system is happening. New cloth and new wine are not yet in a static and inflexible state. They have to be connected to something that will move with them.

The old system, represented by statutory fasting and all the other disciplines attached to it, has lost its heart. It is no longer flexible, elastic and living, able to move and grow. It cannot hold the new wine of the Spirit, the dynamic, mysterious life of God, without being ruptured by its power. God’s life cannot flourish in a rigid form. Jesus said that the life of the Spirit is like the wind, invisible, unpredictable but dynamic in its outcome. If we try to pour it into a rigid system of rules and ritual, it will explode the system and dissipate.

Like every other aspect of life in the Spirit, fasting must be of the heart, motivated by love and obedience and directed towards a higher purpose – seeking fellowship and oneness with the Father, flowing in harmony with the unpredictable life of the Spirit.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – THE BRIDEGROOM IS HERE

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THE BRIDEGROOM IS HERE

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wine skins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wine skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wine skins.” Mark 2:18-22

In this short passage, Jesus was questioned about fasting. Why did the disciples of John fast but not His disciples, as disciples of a rabbi with authority, not as a religious discipline? Is there a difference between fasting as a discipline and fasting as setting aside physical needs to seek the Lord as Jesus did in the wilderness?

Jesus’ response to the question throws some light on the purpose of fasting. Because He was with His disciples in the flesh, there was no need to put eating aside to seek the Lord. In fact, according to Jesus, for the disciples it was a time of celebration as joyful as a wedding party. His physical presence with them made life a perpetual celebration. But, like a wedding, it would only be for a short time and then the bride and groom would leave.

Fasting is not an end in itself. It plays a part in reaching a goal. There is no merit in fasting unless it serves a greater purpose – to seek and enjoy the presence of Jesus. The appetites of the body and the humanness of the mind obscure the manifest presence of God. They form the veil which separate us from seeing and enjoying the greater glory of God’s presence. The more we learn to subdue our bodies and enrich our minds with the truth of God’s powerful and creative word, the more we will “see” Him.

Fasting has no merit other than a change of focus. We must not mix the purpose of fasting for its physical benefits with the spiritual benefit of giving God our undivided attention. Fasting does have definite physical benefit, cleansing of the system and the weight loss that goes with it. However, unless that is our focus and purpose, keep the goal of meeting with God in mind and don’t let any other motive distract.

The Bridegroom’s Friend

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THE BRIDEGROOM’S FRIEND

“An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan – the one you testified about – look, He is baptising, and everyone is going to Him.’

“To this John replied, ‘A person can receive what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but am sent ahead of Him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.'” John 3:25-30.

What beautiful imagery and what a gracious response!

John was a hugely popular preacher. He had drawn crowds into the desert to hear his fiery sermons, and the people were not even offended when he said some rather derogatory things about them. “Basket of snakes! Fatherless people!” A polite way of insulting them! He baptised many, initiating them into repentance and an expectation of the Messiah whose arrival he had been sent to announce.

Popularity could have gone to John’s head like it has many preachers whose charisma has gathered a large following. Slowly but surely they lose their focus, bask in their fame and begin to gather a following around themselves. They subtly alter the message to suit the ears of their followers and the scene is set for yet another cult.

John’s popularity was a test for him. What was he preaching and teaching while his ministry ran parallel with the ministry of Jesus? Did he still point people to the Messiah and away from himself? He was a rabbi. It was legitimate for him to have a following of disciples. It seems that they were more protective of John than he was of himself.

On this occasion some of them got into an argument about baptism (ceremonial washing) with a Jew, probably one of the religious leaders because John, the author, put a certain connotation on the word “Jew”. We don’t know what the argument was about, but to settle it, they asked their rabbi, John. We can gather from his reply that it was probably about the increasing popularity of Jesus.

Both Jesus and John were baptising their followers. Which one was right? Should they follow John or should they follow Jesus? Using the imagery of a wedding from the culture of his day, John put their query into perspective. After their betrothal, the bride and bridegroom has preparations to make before the wedding. The bride’s task was to separate herself from all other men and to prepare her bridal gown (Revelation 19:6-8). The bridegroom was to return home to his father’s house to build the bridal chamber in preparation for the consummation of their marriage (John 14:2, 3).

Both the bride and the groom had attendants who waited for the groom to return, and attended them during the wedding ceremony. John saw himself as the attendant or friend of Jesus, the bridegroom, who was there to announce His arrival and to see to His needs during the celebrations. The attention was not to be on him but on the bridegroom. His was only a support role.

John’s ministry was unique. No one else has ever been assigned the role of “groomsman” in the history of the church. Believers in Jesus together form the corporate bride, but we do well to take note of John’s attitude, especially those of us who are in the limelight because of our position as leaders in the church. How easy it is to be carried away by popularity and to forget that we are not the bridegroom!

Throughout John’s short ministry, he had only one passion – to point people to Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” ‘I am not the Messiah,’ he insisted when he was questioned about his identity. He did not even see himself as a person but as a “voice” calling in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord.”

To those who were debating his and Jesus’ popularity, John’s firm response was, ‘He must become greater; I must become less.’  It was fitting that he disappear off the scene, even in an ignominious way, so that all the focus would be on Jesus, the Messiah, whose arrival he had faithfully declared.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

The Bridegroom Is Here!

Bible Study, , ,

THE BRIDEGROOM IS HERE!

“They asked Him, ‘John’s disciples are well-known for keeping fasts and saying prayers. Also the Pharisees. But you seem to spend most of your time at parties. Why?’ Jesus said, ‘When you are celebrating a wedding, you don’t skimp on the cake and wine. You feast. Later you may need to pull in your belt, but this isn’t the time. As long as the bride and groom are with you, you have a good time. When the groom is gone, the fasting can begin. No one throws water on a friendly bonfire. This is Kingdom Come.

‘No one cuts up a fine silk scarf to patch old work clothes; you want fabrics that match. And you don’t put wine in old cracked bottles, you get strong, clean bottles for your fresh vintage wine. And no one who has ever tasted fine aged wine prefers unaged wine.'” Luke 5:32-39 (The Message).

What was that all about? Weddings; wine; mending old clothes? How did that answer their question about fasting and prayer?

John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, who had faithfully practised and taught his disciples the requirements of the religious system he represented. Part of the ritual was the daily prayers and the required fasting which he and his disciples had engaged in while he was alive. He had not been a disciple of Jesus in the sense of following Him as the Twelve were doing.

Although Luke did not record the circumstances of John’s death, we can assume that by this time Herod had killed him, and that his disciples were continuing where he left off.

Those who questioned Jesus had noticed the difference between John’s and Jesus’ disciples. While John’s followers were practicing their religion, Jesus and His disciples seemed to be a happy-go-lucky lot, going to banquets and feasting instead of fasting.

Jesus answered, using the imagery of the Old Testament Scriptures. Wine and weddings were familiar pictures of Israel and her relationship with God. At Sinai after their deliverance from Egypt, God invited His people into a marriage relationship with Himself, using wedding talk to engage their understanding of how He viewed the union He desired to have with them.

The life He offered them to return to, in spite of their persistent waywardness and spiritual adultery, was like spicing up their lives with wine. “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Isaiah 55:1 (NIV).

On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came, the followers of Jesus were accused of being drunk, and they were — on the new wine of the Holy Spirit! Jesus had not come to patch up an old, worn-out religious system with “a silk scarf”. He had come to bring something altogether new, so radical in its newness that it could never be poured into the old wineskins of rules and ritual, which is what Judaism had become, another “ism” of performance which most of them could not keep up.

The kingdom of God is a kingdom of joy and celebration. They had to learn that their God is a joyful, glad God, not a mad or sad God. This was all about a wedding and at a wedding no one fasts! When Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding, He made enough of the best quality wine to keep the celebration going for many days.

Jesus had lit a fire because the kingdom of God had arrived, and He wanted no one to put it out by dousing it with old rigid practices that extinguished its joy. The wedding feast had begun, the new wine was flowing, hearts were being set ablaze because the Bridegroom had finally come!

Where do you fit in? Are you still clinging to the old stuff that makes you want to abstain? Come, join the party because the Bridegroom is here.