Thursday

Related Verses
Matt. 9:15
15 And Jesus said to them, The sons of the bridechamber cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Matt. 25:1
1 At that time the kingdom of the heavens will be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

Phil. 3:12-13
12 Not that I have already obtained or am already perfected, but I pursue, if even I may lay hold of that for which I also have been laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
13 Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before,

Gen. 2:4
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created. When Jehovah God made earth and heaven,

Eph. 5:25-27
25 Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her
26 That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word,
27 That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.

Related Reading
Both a physician and a bridegroom are pleasant persons. I appreciate the Lord’s wisdom. In the case concerning the Pharisees, He likened Himself to a physician [Matt. 9:12]. Now in the case with the disciples of John, He likened Himself to a bridegroom at a wedding [v. 15]…It is a joyful time with the bridegroom, but when the bridegroom is taken away, they may fast.

The phrase sons of the bridechamber refers to the disciples of the Lord. In the transitional period of the Lord’s ministry on earth, His disciples were the sons of the bridechamber. Later, they will become the bride (John 3:29; Rev. 19:7). The Bridegroom was taken away from the sons of the bridechamber when the kingly Savior was taken up from the disciples into heaven (Acts 1:11). After that, they fasted (13:2-3; 14:23). (Life-study of Matthew, 2nd ed., pp. 316-317)

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In dealing with the self-righteous and dissenting Pharisees, who were of the old religion, the kingly Savior indicated that He was a Physician who had come to heal the sick (Matt. 9:12). In dealing with the fasting and dissenting disciples of John, who were of the new religion, He revealed Himself as the Bridegroom who had come to take the bride. John the Baptist told his disciples that Christ was the Bridegroom who had come to take the bride (John 3:25-29). Now Christ, the kingly Savior, reminded some of them of this. The kingly Savior first healed His followers and then made them the sons of the bridechamber; eventually, He will make them His bride. They should have laid hold of Him not only as their Physician, that their life might be recovered, but also as their Bridegroom, that they might have the enjoyment of living in His presence. They were with Him at a joyful wedding, not without Him at a mournful funeral. How then could they fast and not feast before Him? This dissenting question from John’s disciples [Matt. 9:14] indicated that some of them had fallen into a new religion and had rejected the kingly Savior.

The question from John’s disciples seemed to relate to doctrine. However, the Lord did not answer with a doctrine but with a person, the most pleasant person, the Bridegroom. The religious people always care for their doctrine with their doctrinal reasonings. But Christ cares only for Himself. The living and walk of His followers should be regulated and directed only by Himself and His presence, not by any doctrine.

It would be ridiculous for someone to fast at a wedding. Moreover, to fast while others are enjoying the wedding feast would be an insult to the bridegroom. Here we see the Lord’s wisdom. He did not argue with them, but He certainly condemned the religious ones. The Lord seemed to be saying, “You religious people have missed the mark. Don’t you realize that I am the Bridegroom and that all My disciples around Me are the sons of the bridechamber? They shouldn’t be fasting. They must feast with Me.” Without these two cases the Lord Jesus could never have been revealed as the Physician and as the Bridegroom. (Life-study of Matthew, 2nd ed., pp. 317-318)

In [the] account of the marriage of Isaac, Abraham typifies God the Father, the servant typifies God the Spirit, Isaac typifies God the Son, and Rebekah typifies the chosen people of God, who will marry the Son and become His counterpart. The entire New Testament is a record of the Triune God working together to gain a part of the human race to be the bride, the counterpart, of the Son (John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-32; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9-10). (Gen. 24:2, footnote 2)

Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 27