The Bridegroom Comes

Last Sunday night I started preaching on the Parables of Jesus. It is my intention to preach through the parables of our Lord Jesus. If you were not here last Sunday, to recap a parable is a story that illustrates a spiritual principle. About one third of Jesus’ preaching is found in parables.

Word Study: The word “parable” is the Greek parabole, which means “to place or cast alongside”. When Jesus wanted to teach a spiritual principle, He would cast it alongside a physical thing that people were familiar with.

If you were a follower of Christ, the parable REVEALED spiritual truth. But if you were not a follower, and had a heart hardened to God, the parable hid spiritual truth.

You weren’t ready for a parable (see Matthew 13:10-15) until you were willing to submit to and follow Jesus. Jesus always spoke parables in response to things that people were saying and doing around Him. The first two parables deal with old coats and old wineskins.

Matthew 9:14-17 (KJV) Then came to him the DISCIPLES OF JOHN, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but thy disciples fast not? 15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. 16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

Jesus, Why Aren’t Your Disciples
As Religious As We Are?

This the the Parable of the Bridegroom’s Coming. The “DISCIPLES OF JOHN” were confused, and came asking questions of the Lord. There’s nothing wrong with that. I have heard people say, “You should never question God, or ask Him what is going on”. That’s not true. King David, a man after God’s own heart, questioned God:

Psalm 10:1 (AP) Why do You stand so far away, Oh Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?

Psalm 44:24 (AP) Why do You hide Your face, and forget our affliction and oppression?

The Prophet Jeremiah (12:1) questioned God, saying “Why do the wicked prosper?” Mary, the mother of the humanity of Christ, questioned God (Luke 1:34) “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”. Even our Lord Jesus questioned God while hanging on the Cross. (Matthew 27:46), “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The disciples of John heard their leader, John the Baptist, tell them …

John 1:29 Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world

John told his disciples that he was not worthy to tie Jesus shoes (Matthew 3:11). He affirmed that Jesus is “THE Son of God” (John 1:34). His disciples heard this, and believed him. However, the disciples who followed Jesus didn’t seem to fast – that is, to forego food in order to get closer to God. They asked:

Matthew 9:14-17 (KJV) THEN came to him the DISCIPLES OF JOHN, saying, Why do WE and the PHARISEES FAST OFTEN, but THY DISCIPLES FAST NOT?

What caused this questioning? You need to pay attention to the small words of the Bible. Look at the word “THEN”. “THEN came to Him {to Jesus} the DISCIPLES OF JOHN”. Something happened to trigger this. Go up to:

Matthew 9:1-2 (KJV) And {Jesus} entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into His own city {Capernaum}. 2 And, behold, THEY BROUGHT TO HIM A MAN SICK OF THE PALSY, lying on a bed: and Jesus SEEING THEIR FAITH said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; THY SINS BE FORGIVEN THEE.

This offended the scribes and the Pharisees (Luke 5:21) who were there to hear from this man from Nazareth, this Rabbi. They thought “this man blasphemes God” (Matthew 9:3). They thought, “who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7). Jesus knew what they thought, for Jesus is God Incarnate (Mark 2:8; Luke 5:22). But Jesus chose His words carefully. He wanted the Scribes and Pharisees to know He is the Messiah, the Only Begotten of God. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the prophesied “SON OF MAN” that the Prophet spoke of:

Daniel 7:13-14 (KJV) I saw in the night visions, and, behold, [one] LIKE THE SON OF MAN came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. 14 And there WAS GIVEN HIM DOMINION, and GLORY, and A KINGDOM, that ALL PEOPLE, NATIONS, and LANGUAGES, SHOULD SERVE HIM: HIS DOMINION IS AN EVERLASTING DOMINION, which SHALL NOT PASS AWAY, and HIS KINGDOM THAT WHICH SHALL NOT BE DESTROYED.

Jesus is the prophesied SON OF MAN, the Only Begotten of the Father, GOD THE SON. He is not just a backwater rabbi – He is the MESSIAH. So Jesus tells the man, the paralytic “your sins are forgiven you” (Matthew 9:2). This angered the Scribes and Pharisees.

But when Jesus healed this man with but a word, this in itself proved He is the Messiah. If He were not, the man would not have been healed.

Ending His Bible class and proving to anyone who would pay attention that He is the Messiah, Jesus continued onward. Walking from that home in Capernaum our Lord sees a man named Matthew, also called Levi:

Matthew 9:9-10 (KJV) And AS JESUS PASSED FORTH FROM THENCE, he saw a man, named MATTHEW, sitting at the RECEIPT OF CUSTOM (collecting taxes for Rome): and (Jesus) saith unto (Matthew), Follow me. And (Matthew) arose, and followed Him. 10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

When Matthew (the writer of this Gospel) writes of this, he doesn’t mention whose home they are in when the publicans and sinners came to eat with Jesus. But Luke tells us in his Gospel that, right after Matthew Levi followed Jesus, that he invited Jesus and all his old friends to his own home. We read:

Luke 5:29-32 (ESV) And Levi MADE JESUS A GREAT FEAST AT HIS HOUSE, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others RECLINING AT TABLE WITH THEM. And the Pharisees and their scribes GRUMBLED AT HIS DISCIPLES, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, THOSE WHO ARE WELL HAVE NO NEED OF A PHYSICIAN, BUT THOSE WHO ARE SICK. I HAVE NOT COME TO CALL THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT SINNERS TO REPENTANCE.

The Pharisees – often rebuked by Jesus for their self help religion – didn’t waste time going to the disciples of John the Baptist. Do you know who scares me? Not Christians indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God will correct His people. What scares me is self righteous pretenders to religion like these Pharisees. It is these people that cause Church splits, and hold Christ and His people up to a mockery.

The Pharisees went to the disciples of John and whispered, “Did you know that one of Jesus’ disciples was a tax collector? Did you know that Jesus loves to party with the sinners and publicans? And by the way, Jesus’ disciples DON’T FAST LIKE WE DO!”. So now they are coming to Jesus, a Man that their master told them was the Messiah, saying:

Why do we and the Pharisees FAST OFTEN, but thy disciples FAST NOT?

In America, the only time I hear “FAST” is when someone puts BREAK in front of it (as in BREAKFAST) – or when it’s a part of a series of movies where they are stealing cars. Fasting is when you are afflicting your soul by denying your body food. The only time the Bible commands fasting is on the Day of Atonement:

Leviticus 23:27 … You shall AFFLICT YOUR SOULS … on the DAY OF ATONEMENT

A person “fasts” when they forego food in order to focus on praying to and glorifying God.

When King David was told that God was going to take away Bathsheba’s firstborn child, David “FASTED and wept for the child while it was alive” (2 Samuel 12:21). When King Jehoshaphat heard that the Moabites and the Ammonites were coming to attack Judah,

2 Chronicles 20:3-4 (KJV) Jehoshaphat feared, and SET HIMSELF TO SEEK THE LORD, and PROCLAIMED A FAST throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah gathered themselves together, TO ASK HELP OF THE LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah THEY CAME TO SEEK THE LORD.

The purpose of a “fast” is no to do something religious. It is to seek God’s help in prayer. To seek the presence of God. When the Prophet Daniel did not know what to do,

Daniel 9:3 (KJV) I set my face unto the Lord God, to SEEK BY PRAYER and supplications, with FASTING, and sackcloth, and ashes

John taught his disciples to fast while they were seeking the Messiah. But now the Messiah is here. They do not need to fast anymore.

Fasting was required by the Law of Moses only one day a year, on the day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29, 31). Fasting was not required other than then. So when John asked his disciples to fast and pray as they waited for the Messiah, this was valid. What the Pharisees were doing was not what God said. They were “holding the tradition of the elders”, not following the Law of God. They were doing it for show. How did Jesus answer them? He said:

Matthew 9:15 (KJV) Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the BRIDECHAMBER {nymphōn} mourn, AS LONG AS THE BRIDEGROOM IS WITH THEM? but the days will come, WHEN THE BRIDEGROOM SHALL BE TAKEN FROM THEM, and THEN SHALL THEY FAST.

Word Study: The word “BRIDECHAMBER” is the Greek nymphōn. This is the place where the marriage ceremony was held. The friends of the bridegroom were supposed to provide and care for this room to insure that it was ready when the wedding took place. Fasting is accompanied by mourning, by sadness, by seeking the Presence of God. The disciples were not in mourning. The Messiah had come, and they were celebrating, not fasting. God had fulfilled His promise from eternity past!

Jesus told them “the days will come, WHEN THE BRIDEGROOM SHALL BE TAKEN FROM THEM”.

John had told his followers, “He that has the BRIDE is the BRIDEGROOM” (John 3:29). The “BRIDE” is the Church, the people of God. God said in

Isaiah 62:5 As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, SO SHALL THY GOD REJOICE OVER THEE

The Messiah came to fulfill the promises that God made in Eden, in Abraham, and in David. When God came into the world, He came through a virgin. “Mary shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS: FOR HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS” (Matthew 1:21). But how shall Jesus save His people? Jesus foretells us this in this passage.

Matthew 9:15 … the days will come, WHEN THE BRIDEGROOM SHALL BE TAKEN {apairō} FROM THEM, and THEN SHALL THEY FAST.

There was coming a time when Jesus would be taken from His disciples. The Pharisees, who FASTED TWICE A WEEK (Luke 18:12) though the Law only called for once a year (Leviticus 23:27), would TAKE AWAY the Bridegroom.

These religious but deceived people would take the long awaited Messiah and, rejecting Him, would have Him crucified on the Day of the Feast of the Passover. These religious people relied on the Law of Moses, the animal sacrifices, the feasts and the sabbaths, as a means to work their way into God’s grace.

Why Did The Bridegroom Have To Be Taken Away?

Matthew 9:16-17 (KJV) No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

Jesus told the disciples of John that there would be a time when “THE BRIDEGROOM SHALL BE TAKEN FROM THEM”. The words “SHALL BE TAKEN” is the Greek apairō, which means “to be SUDDENLY and FORCIBLY carried away”. This is a very interesting word. In Jewish weddings of that day, the Bridegroom would prepare a place, a home for his Bride. When the time came to be married the Bridegroom comes for His Bride and receives her to Himself. Jesus is the Bridegroom, and the Church is His Bride. Jesus used this type of language when He spoke of His people:

John 14:1-3, 6 (KJV) Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU. 3 And IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME AGAIN, and RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF; that WHERE I AM, THERE YE MAY BE ALSO. … 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.

Jesus is using words that a Bridegroom would use for His Bride. Jesus was going to have to GO. Had He not GONE, He COULD NOT have prepared a place for His Bride, the Church. No one comes to the Father – nor into the Father’s House – but by Jesus. He is the Messiah. So Jesus had to GO.

But how did He go?

Before Jesus could prepare a place for us, He had to be forcibly and suddenly taken from us. When the Groom came to get the Bride, it was a joyous occasion. The Bride was not forced, but went willingly. Jesus takes the wedding imagery that all Jews were familiar with, and flips it around. Though Jesus willingly laid down His life for us:

John 10:17-18 the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Jesus Christ laid down His life for His people (John 10:11). Jesus told His disciples that he …

Matthew 16:21 … must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things… and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

And again in Matthew 20:18-19 the Son of man shall be betrayed… they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him

Jesus had to be taken away from His people. Jesus had to die to make payment for our sins. He would be taken away, suddenly and forcibly, from the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus came to this earth “to GIVE HIS LIFE A RANSOM FOR MANY” (Matthew 20:28). For many years God used the Mosaic Law and the animal sacrifices to provide a temporary covering for sin. But it wasn’t permanent. The Prophet said:

Isaiah 53:5-10 (KJV) But He [was] WOUNDED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, [he was] BRUISED FOR OUR INIQUITIES: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon Him; and WITH HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD HATH LAID ON HIM THE INIQUITY OF US ALL. 7 He was OPPRESSED, and he was AFFLICTED, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: FOR THE TRANSGRESSION OF MY PEOPLE WAS HE STRICKEN. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither [was any] deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet IT PLEASED THE LORD TO BRUISE HIM; He hath put [Him] to grief: when thou shalt MAKE HIS SOUL AN OFFERING FOR SIN…

Why did Jesus have to die? The Law showed us how broken we were. The Law showed us that we cannot make ourselves better. The Law showed us that we are all at heart so terribly sinful, that we are so corrupt in our first birth, that we need to be born again.

That’s something only God can do, and only through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew 9:16 (KJV) No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.

You can’t fix an old worn out garment. You can’t take a religious patch and put it on a worn out soul. If you take that which is holy, and try to patch it onto that which is unholy, it will just tear up the old with the new.

Romans 3:20 … by the Law is the KNOWLEDGE OF SIN

The Apostle Paul wrote:

Romans 7:9-12 (LSB) Now I was once alive apart from the Law, but WHEN THE COMMANDMENT CAME, SIN REVIVED AND I DIED; 10 and this commandment, which was to lead to life, was found to lead to death for me. 11 For sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

The Law of Moses is good, and holy, and righteous. It is like the new patch. When we sew the new patch onto our old, sin stained lives, it tears our souls apart. Paul said:

Romans 7:14 (LSB) For we know that the LAW IS SPIRITUAL, but I AM FLESHLY, having BEEN SOLD INTO BONDAGE UNDER SIN.

What was the purpose of the Law? It was to show us just how ragged we are in God’s eyes. “By the works of the Law SHALL NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED” (Galatians 2:16). And again, “The Law MADE NOTHING PERFECT” (Hebrews 7:19). What does the Law do? That beautiful fabric of God’s Law?

The Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Chief Priests, even the Pagans all tried sewing a righteous patch on their unrighteous hearts. The Law cannot save. We must be born again. We must receive the Messiah, surrendering to Him as Lord and Savior.

Galatians 3:23-28 (LSB) But before faith came, we were held in custody under the Law, being shut up for the coming faith to be revealed. 24 Therefore the LAW HAS BECOME OUR TUTOR UNTO CHRIST, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For YOU ARE ALL SONS OF GOD THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have CLOTHED YOURSELVES WITH CHRIST. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is no male and female, for YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS.

Jesus died for your sins and mine. Receiving Him as Lord and Savior, casting your life upon Him, you are not sewing a patch on an old cloth. You are being clothed by God, made a new creature in Christ.

Matthew 9:17 (KJV) Neither do men PUT NEW WINE INTO OLD BOTTLES: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they PUT NEW WINE INTO NEW BOTTLES, and both are preserved.

God cannot put the Holy Spirit into an old bottle. You who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior are born again of the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit indwells you (Romans 8:9, 11; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Corinthians 3:16). The Holy Spirit actively lives with the Christian, guiding us (John 16:13), strengthening us (Romans 8:13), and assuring us of salvation (Romans 8:16). The Holy Spirit transforms and leads us (Galatians 5:22-23).

Do you know Him? Or are you an old garment that you have tried to patch with the new and good cloth of the Law? Do you know my Jesus? Or are you living life on empty, pretending to be a believer, but nothing more than an old wine bottle?

May God help you to understand the difference while you are able. Amen.