Christ, The Groom

To some degree, we have floods that are both literal and metaphysical. When we watch our investments dwindle, a spouse walk out the door, fail to be able to relate to our children, get fired from a job or experience one of the many other injustices that our world has to offer, it is hard to remember to be generous to others.

The closer I get to understanding who Jesus was and is makes me wonder why He was so generous to us when our world has been, is and will continue to be rude to Him. Dying on that cross, suffering physical pain and mental anguish as a man, did He ever wonder if we were worth the trouble? Thank God (literally) for loving us and seeing beyond our human failures. I have heard it said that if you want to know what is important to a person, look at their check book and or bank statement. Luke 12:34 says that, wherever your treasure is, you will find your heart.

In Luke 12:35, Jesus tells us to be dressed and ready to go with Him at any time. He uses the wedding scenario here as He points out that there is special favor bestowed on those who are prepared for His return. When I share thoughts like this with a non believer it is interesting to watch their response. On the surface, the wedding analogy is lost on them and it takes quite a bit of revelation to get them to be comfortable again. God’s words are simple and designed to put us at ease. Understanding a surreal and complicated concept like Jesus coming back and the necessity of being prepared, as an example of a social event like a wedding, which everyone is familiar, makes sense. The only problem that we have is that our culture and society has changed the perception of what a wedding is. It can be a union between two people of the same sex, it can take place in Las Vegas, in a hot air balloon, under water or on top of a mountain. A wedding in our culture is commonly entered into by people who are insincere in their vows, have ulterior motives besides love and devotion and have little or no hope that the union will last even as they take the sacred vows. The way that our definition of marriage is going, civil law will recognize the legal union of brother and sister, child and adult, dog and owner and in all likely hood a person will be able to marry their car or some other prized possession in the future.

The wedding scenario that Jesus talks about is one of tradition and social value. A time and place where people follow the traditions of their ancestors and through time and responsibilities relating to each member of the wedding party are followed. The wedding process in the time of Jesus was a more complicated and formal process where everyone was in position to fulfill their responsible part in the wedding event.

I have attached a link to a web site that covers a variety of bible topics. You may read the entire piece at http://www.biblestudymanuals.net/jewish_marriage_customs.htm . I have highlighted part of the content here as it touches upon Jewish law and customs related to the above subject matter.

Jewish Marriage Customs

Those who live in the modern western world do not catch the full significance of Jesus' promise. This is due to the fact that in His promise Jesus was drawing an analogy from Jewish marriage customs in biblical times. Since this is so, those marriage customs must be examined if one is to grasp the significance of the promise.

The first major step in a Jewish marriage was betrothal.

1 Betrothal involved the establishment of a marriage covenant. By Jesus' time it was usual for such a covenant to be established as the result of the prospective bridegroom taking the initiative.

2 The prospective bridegroom would travel from his father's house to the home of the prospective bride. There he would negotiate with the father of the young woman to determine the price (mohar) that he must pay to purchase his bride.

3 Once the bridegroom paid the purchase price, the marriage covenant was thereby established, and the young man and woman were regarded to be husband and wife.

4 From that moment on the bride was declared to be consecrated or sanctified, set apart exclusively for her bridegroom.

5 As a symbol of the covenant relationship that had been established, the groom and bride would drink from a cup of wine over which a betrothal benediction had been pronounced.

6After the marriage covenant had been established, the groom would leave the home of the bride and return to his father's house. There he would remain separate from his bride for a period of twelve months.

7 This period of separation afforded the bride time to gather her trousseau and to prepare for married life.

8 The groom occupied himself with the preparation of living accommodations in his father's house to which he could bring his bride.

At the end of the period of separation the groom would come to take his bride to live with him. The taking of the bride usually took place at night. The groom, best man and other male escorts would leave the groom's father's house and conduct a torch light procession to the home of the bride.

9 Although the bride was expecting her groom to come for her, she did not know the exact time of his coming.

10 As a result the groom's arrival would be preceded by a shout.

11 This shout would forewarn the bride to be prepared for the coming of the groom.

After the groom received his bride together with her female attendants, the enlarged wedding party would return from the bride's home to the groom's father's house.

12 Upon arrival there the wedding party would find that the wedding guests had assembled already.

Shortly after arrival the bride and groom would be escorted by the other members of the wedding party to the bridal chamber (huppah). Prior to entering the chamber the bride remained veiled so that no one could see her face.

13 While the groomsmen and bridesmaids would wait outside, the bride and groom would enter the bridal chamber alone. There in the privacy of that place they would enter into physical union for the first time, thereby consummating the marriage that had been covenanted earlier.

14 After the marriage was consummated, the groom would announce the consummation to the other members of the wedding party waiting outside the chamber (John 3:29). These people would pass on the news of the marital union to the wedding guests.

15 Upon receiving this good news the wedding guests would feast and make merry for the next seven days.

16During the seven days of the wedding festivities, which were sometimes called "the seven days of the huppah," the bride remained hidden in the bridal chamber.

17 At the conclusion of these seven days the groom would bring his bride out of the bridal chamber, now with her veil removed, so that all could see who his bride was.