Luke 5:33-35; The Bridegroom

So you're right there in Luke. We're gonna do today.

Now I lied to you again. I've failed as your

pastor because I told you I was going to finish

up Levi's the event at Levi's house. I'm not going

to today. I'm gonna save the last piece for next week.

But today I want to look at just verses thirty

three through thirty five. I'm going to entitle this message

the Bridegroom. You can see the slide on the screen

there the Bridegroom. So this is the second half. Actually,

this is the second piece of our time at Levi's house.

Remember Jesus called Levi the Publican. Levi made a great

feast for Jesus that invited all his publican friends and

the others, you know, the sinners. He invited them all

to come. And I was, who's that reading somebody who

said that this was probably some kind of a barbecue

because there were so many people there that they had

to have it outside. What a great barbecue, wouldn't you

love to have a barbecue with Jesus. So they have

in this barbecue and they all these friends are there,

and the Pharisees, of course they were there. Too. They

probably were not invited. I'm sure they weren't. Levi. I

wouldn't invite those guys because they looked down their long

noses at the publicans. But they were there, probably on

the outside, you know, nibbling at the edges of the

of the celebration. And they asked a question, why do

you eat with publicans and sinners? Now they approached the

disciples when they said that, And then Jesus answered the

question with the analogy of the physician and the patients.

This was a picture of the problem of dead religious righteousness.

That word picture also pointed out the inability of the

Pharisees to break from their own pride and understand their condition.

So now today we come to the next question and

answer at Levi's house. And next week we'll finish chapter

five as Luke gives us a parable about the new

and the old. We'll see that next time. So today,

just thirty three, thirty four, and thirty five. If you

have your bible right there, let's read those. And they said,

unto him, why do the disciples of John fast often

and make prayers? And likewise the disciples of the Pharisees,

but dine eat and drink. And he said, unto them,

can you make the children of the bridegroom of the

bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? But

the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken

away from them, and then shall they fast in those days? Father,

help us today as we consider your passage this word

here in Luke chapter five, and we thank you for

our gospeler Luke. And we thank you Father, for the

Lord Jesus who's speaking here. And we thank you for

the Spirit of God who's teaching us with the word

of God. And we ask the Lord that you would

draw every single one of us by your spirit into

this moment with Jesus and the Pharisees, that you would

give me unction today. Fathers I preach, and that the

word of God might give us light, because in your

light we see light. Do that for us today, for

we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So the first of all,

the question, now you notice, say unto him, why do

the disciples of John fast often and make prayers? And

likewise the disciples of the Pharisees but dine, eat and drink. Okay,

So there's their second question. Undeterred, the Pharisees Inscribes ask

another question. Here there are questions which are honest inquiries

meant to learn or to clarify. But then there are

the rest mockers and scorners, asked questions not to learn,

but rather to prove their superior conclusions, to trap, to

so confusion, to create discord, or to attack by passive

aggressive behavior. This question that the Pharisees asked created a

juxtaposition between the behavior of other groups and the behavior

of Jesus' disciples, i e. Jesus himself, because the disciples

were doing only what Jesus would have taught them or

allowed them to do. Right, So really it's not an

attack against the disciples, it's an attack against Jesus using

somebody else, which is so wonderfully passive aggressive. They're so

afraid of Jesus. And you notice that says why do

the disciples of John fast often? So these men, these

men have no love for John or his disciples whatsoever. Right,

which is why we can say that this is not

an honest question because they're using John. They're using John

as a lever in the in the question against Jesus.

You know, Why did the disciples of John fast often?

Remember was John who thundered against these guys, oh generation

of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the

wrath to come there in Matthew chapter three. But now

they pretend to appreciate the ministry of John the Baptist

all of a sudden, John's their friend. Why did you

know John's disciples they fast? M Yeah, Now, fasting was

a time of sorrow and repentance. Only one time of

fasting was prescribed in the law. You noticed that all

of the ceremonies that are prescribed in the law, the

times when the men were to come back to Jerusalem,

they're all feast times. Only one fast time, and the

fasting time was at the day of Atonement. The Jews

had created other times of fasting to commemorate, for example,

the destruction of the Temple. They fasted four days to

commemorate the destruction of the Temple. And truly pious Jews

would fast twice a week. And I'm sure that's what

these guys are trying to get at, because the Pharisees

were fasting twice a week, and John's disciples were probably

fasting twice a week. The disciples of John probably followed

this pattern of fasting as an act of sorrow for

their sins and the sins of the nation. It would

seem to fit really the character of John's ministry for

John to have his disciples fasting that much, to be

engaged in that kind of austerity. Now, the pharisees fasting

is documented by Jesus in the parable of the Pharisee

in the Publican there in Luke chapter eighteen, and we

hear in that parable the first man's prayer. Here's what

Luke eighteen eleven and twelve say. The Pharisee stood and

prayed thus with himself, God, I thank THEE that I

am not as other men extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even

as this publican. I fast twice in the week. I

give tithes of all I possess. You see, in this case,

with every legalistic religion, Judaism as practiced in Jesus' day

was works oriented. Every legalistic religion is the same. It's

works oriented. This man thought that he was righteous because

of his discipline, because of the things that he did,

And so the Pharisees, when they're talking to the disciples.

They're at Levi's house. They probably thought, we fast twice

a week, look at us, and you don't. They're trying

to shame Jesus. And you notice you notice the final

phrase in the question here they say to him. You

know John's disciples they fast often. The disciples of the Pharisees,

they fast and pray. And then you have that that

soft break there in the King James with the semicole,

and and then it says, but thine eat and drink.

This is like the first question. The first question they

asked at Levi's house was why do you eat and drink?

Republicans and sinners? Jesus can't do anything right. Now, it's

why do you eat and drink? It's not just why

do you eat and drink? Republicans? And why are you

eating and drinking? He can't do anything right. He ate

with the wrong people, or he was eating too much

or too often. So the comparison between jesus practice and

the practice of John and the Pharisees was meant to

shame Jesus. After all, whatever the disciples did was a

reflection on the teaching of their master right. So it

was all about Jesus, and he's allowing it, So this

is meant to shame him. However, for the disciples, this

was a time of great rejoicing as they fellowshipped with

their Master. They saw the wonders of his grace first hand.

Even though the way was rough for them, they were

still with their Savior, and they were rejoicing, eating and drinking. Second,

the answer, that's their question. We see how manipulative and

mean it is. Notice to the answer. He said into them,

can you make the children of the bride chamber fast

while the bridegroom is with them? So Jesus draws them

into another word picture. He's had them in the physician's house.

Now he's going to bring them into the bridal chamber.

Notice what he says, can you make the children of

the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them?

This is a picture that carries with it powerful imagery

of the Kingdom of God. We have this, of course,

also in Matthew chapter nine, and I think you have

it also in Mark chapter two. Those are the parallel

passages for this. But in Matthew's account, it was the

disciples of John who asked the question it's not the Pharisees.

So that's just a little difference between the two. Yeah,

Mark chapter two. I have it here in my notes

eighteen through twenty two. So who's the bridegroom? That's the

central issue here. Who is the bridegroom? We have the children,

another bridegroom, we have the bridegroom. Who is he? Because

that's central The children of the bridegroom wouldn't be rejoicing

without there being a bridegroom. The central idea is is

right here with that with that person in this parable.

Once we discover who he is, then the identification of

the children and the bride can be made. Was this

something that Jesus just made up? I mean, weddings are

common practice even still today. We have weddings, and we

have wedding parties and feasts and you know, ceremonies and

all the rest. Is this something that he just made

up out of the common connection with you know, the

thing that was going on? Or is there something more here,

something prophetic? Well, there is something very prophetic here. Okay,

So first let me just we're gonna look at some

selected scriptures. So if you have your Bible there, we'll

Limber up your fingers, because we're gonna go to some

other places. One of the first passages that I thought

of was Psalm forty five. Everyone should know a handful

of psalms. For example, everyone should know Psalm one, Psalm two,

Psalm ten, Psalm sixteen. And as I as I make

this list, I keep thinking of more. Psalm fourteen, Psalm eighteen,

of course, David's magnum opus, Psalm twenty two, Jesus on

the Cross, Psalm forty five, which we'll get to in

a moment, Psalm seventy three, Psalm one ten, Psalm one

sixteen through one eighteen, Palone nineteen, someone twenty through one

thirty five, the Scent songs Psalm one thirty nine. And yeah,

I'm sure you can add plenty others to that list.

I could, you could. These are psalms that everyone should know.

But Psalm forty five is significant because Psalm forty five

takes us to the wedding of the of the Prince.

The word bridegroom is not used here, and the word

bride is not used in Psalm forty five, but we

have the imagery of bridegroom and bride in Psalm forty five.

And if you look at Psalm forty five, in verse

fourteen says this the King's daughter is all glorious within.

Her clothing is of wrought gold. She should be brought

unto the King and arraignment of needlework. The virgins, her

companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. Okay.

So this passage is a Messianic passage, and the Jews

from ancient times have seen this as a Messianic passage.

This king is none other than Messiah the Bride. The

ancient Jews will said this is Israel. We would say

this is the Church. This is all the believers of

all the ages. They are brought unto him. This passage

helps us to identify who the bride is, as well

as the children. Then I want you to turn over

to Isaiah chapter sixty one. In Isaiah chapter sixty one,

Jesus takes us back there and appropriates the language of

Isaiah here in Luke chapter five. In Isaiah sixty one

to ten, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My

soul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath

clothed me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered

me with the robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom deketh

himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with jewels.

And do you remember how Jesus started his ministry in Galilee?

He went to the synagogue in Nazareth, and what did

he read from Isaiah sixty one, one and two. Now

we're back at Isaiah sixty one, and now we're talking

about the bridegroom. Who's the bridegroom? The same eye there

in verse ten of Isaiah sixty one is the same

eye that is there in Isaiah sixty one, verse one,

and verse two. This is Messiah. God is going to

deck him as a bridegroom. Because he comes that way,

he is to be celebrated. And Jesus now appropriates this

image for himself. And I guarantee who is that old

fellow on TV that used to say that, that old

Cajun chef. I guarantee, I guarantee that the Jews that

heard him say this started clutching their pearls and took

and took a half step back because Jesus was saying,

I am the bridegroom. Next one Isaiah sixty two. If

you're there in sixty one, just look over in sixty two.

The next chapter in Isaiah gives us the next piece.

He says, they're in sixty two verse five. For as

a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons

marry thee. And as a bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride,

so shall thy God rejoice over thee. Who is the bridegroom.

God is the bridegroom. Jesus identifies himself with the bridegroom,

not only making himself Messiah but also very God. And

when he says, can the children of the bridal chamber

fast while the bridegroom is with them? This is none

other than the Lord Jesus, and the Jews knew it.

Jesus identifies himself in Matthew chapter twenty five, in verses

one through thirteen as the bridegroom in the story of

the ten Virgins. You remember the story of the ten

virgins that were five wise and five foolish, And the

wise had extra oil and the foolish didn't. And then

the bridegroom came the shout, Here comes the bridegroom. Now

we're going to enter into the into the feast, and

the doors are shut, and the bridegroom. When the foolish

versions come and they want entrance, he says, I don't

know you. And then at the very end, I think

it's in verse thirteen of that passage Matthew twenty five,

he says, so shall the son of Man. So he

identifies himself in Matthew twenty five as the bridegroom in

that story of the Ten Virgins. John the Baptist identified

Jesus as the bridegroom in John Chapter three, Verses twenty

five and twenty six. He said this, he that hath

the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom,

which standeth and hearth him, rejoices greatly because of the

bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled. He was

the friend in Jesus, the bridegroom, the friend of the bridegroom,

He who has the bride. You can always count on

John to give it to you straight and sure. And

then John the Apostle writes in the Book of Revelation.

In Revelation chapter eighteen, he tells us who the bridegroom is,

he says there in verses seven and eight. In Revelation

chapter eighteen, let us be glad and rejoice and give

honor unto him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come,

and his wife hath made herself ready, and to her

was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen,

clean and white. For the white linen is the righteousness

of the saints. And we know who the bridegroom is,

because then in chapter nineteen, he comes out from heaven

riding a white horse, ready for the celebration. Notice the

question that Jesus asks in response to the Pharisees here is,

can ye make the children the children of those who

are called because of the preaching of the Gospel by

the church and the work of the bridegroom calling them

to faith? Can you make them to fast? These are

prophesied in Psalm forty five, verse sixteen, when in that

Psalm it said, instead of thy Father, shall be thy children,

whom thou mayst make princes, and all the earth the

children of the bridal chamber. Is the church. The bride

in the bridle in this in this scenario is the

church which we glean from passages like Psalm forty five

and Revelation chapter eighteen. The main thought here is is

that Jesus is the bridegroom, who is God, who is Messiah,

who is the Lamb of God? Has John identified him

both in the Gospel and in the Revelation the references

from Psalm forty five and Isaiah, it would have been

known to the Jews as important Messianic texts. And Jesus

did in Levi's house exactly what he did in the

synagogue at Nazareth. He went to Isaiah sixty one, and

he said, this is me. Can these fast while the

bridegroom is with them? And the Jews went because they knew,

they knew exactly what it was that Jesus was saying.

He declared himself to be the Messiah. He declared himself

to be God in the flesh. They're at Levi's house.

That's how important this little parable that he speaks here

is Jesus is the bridegroom. Now Luke has made a habit.

Thank you, Luke of telling us who Jesus is. Exactly

who Jesus is. There is no fuzziness here, there is

no cloudiness. It's not foggy, it's not overcast. The view

here is clear and definite. We know because Luke has

told us. This is important because there are plenty of

religions in the world who will try to teach you

their definition of Jesus, and even some who call themselves

Christian will publish a version of Jesus that is not biblical.

Is he just a prophet? Is he just a good teacher?

Is he a confused man? Or perhaps he's a spiritual guide?

Whatever in the world that means. Is he just another

way to the universal mind, the great dissolution of soul

and spirit into an eternal collective. Who is Jesus? He

tells us exactly who he is, And the men questioning

him plainly, no, they understand who he is. He is,

as he says, can the children of the bridal chamber

fast while the bridegroom is with them? Oh my, and

then you'll notice verse thirty five. But the days will come.

Now Jesus looks into the future. Now he's still in

his parable here, this little analogy of the bride and

the children of the bridal chamber. But now he looks

into the future, and he continues his analogy but the

days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away

from them. Jesus adopts the language of the prophets, especially Jeremiah,

who used the phrase behold the days come in eleven

of his chapters, and more than once in several of

those chapters. This was very well known, and it was

used also by the man of God who spoke to Eli,

and Isaiah used it twice, I think, and Hezekiah or

A misused it also, this idea of the day's coming.

The days will come, Jesus says. And so when he

said that, he suddenly adopts the voice of Jeremiah as

he's speaking to these people. So he goes from quoting

Isaiah sixty one now to sounding like Jeremiah when he says, behold,

the days will come, And he's going to tell you

exactly what's going to happen when the bridegroom shall be

taken away from them. Jesus was prophetically announcing his crucifixion.

Notice that it is taken away the agency of others

is involved. This doesn't fit the picture of the wedding

feast any longer, does it. Why would the bridegroom be

taken away from the bride at a wedding feast. He wouldn't.

That would never happen unless something awful transpired in the wedding.

That wouldn't just happen. And here Jesus says that days

will come when the bridegroom will be taken. What's he

talking about. He's talking about in his crucifixion. And he says,

then they will fast in those days, So fasting will

be appropriate. It's just not appropriate for the disciples at

this moment at Levi's house because now Jesus, Jesus returns

the true definition of fasting to us, which is sorrow,

sorrow for sin, or just sorrow in our hearts. That's

that's the true definition of fasting. Those days, those days

that they will fast were the three days when Jesus

was in the tune, and we can see that happening

in the record of the scripture. What the disciples were doing.

They were they were very sorrowful. And the days after

he is ascension into heaven, which we're still in today.

In the early Church, fasting was a part of personal worship.

We find it in Acts chapter thirteen. It was a

part of ordination of ministers. We find it in Acts

thirteen fourteen. We find it joined with prayer in First

Corinthians chapter seven it's an element of the apostolic ministry.

And Second Corinthian six and Second Corinthians eleven. Matthew Henry

says this, when Christ shall leave them with their hearts

full of sorrow, their hands full of work, and the

world full of enmity and rage against them, then shall

they fast, shall not be so well fed as they

are now. And of course that is the condition that

we find ourselves in our hearts full of sorrow, are

hands full of work, and the world full of enmity

and rage against us. Well, how do we how do

we apply this? Well, the first thing I want to

say in our conclusion today is that mocking and scornful

questions will be posed to you, just as they were

to these disciples of Jesus. Notice that the disciples in

both cases at Levi's house didn't answer the question. They

were the ones who were asked the question. Because remember,

the Pharisees are on the outside and they find the

disciples and they nibble on them. You know, they whisper

in their ears. Why are you eating with Pharisees and sinners. Well,

there are going to be times when the mockers and

the scorners are going to ask you questions. But just

as in this case, Jesus will be the one to answer.

They didn't know why they were eating with Republicans and sinners.

They didn't know why they weren't fasting and praying enough

to make the Pharisees happy. All they knew was they

were following Jesus. That's all they knew. They were following Jesus,

and ladies and gentlemen, that's enough. You don't have to

be able to prove the truth of the scripture. You don't.

I believe in a six day, twenty four hour day creation.

I believe that I can't prove anything to anyone, but

I can show them what the Bible says, and I

can tell them that that's enough for me because I

trust God's word. Don't be worried that you can't go

toe to toe with the mockers. Just open the word

of God and let the bridegroom answer. Just let the

bridegroom answer. Doctor McGee used to say, if you don't

know Jay Verna McGee, he had a Bible teaching ministry

on the radio for years. Still does. Actually they are

still playing his tapes. He used to say that if

you have a problem with stray cats in your neighborhood

and you keep a lyon pinned up in the backyard,

just open the pin door and your stray cat problem

will instantly go away. And that is wisdom that still applies.

You have a stray cat problem, open the Bible up.

Let the Bible answer when the scorners ask their hateful questions.

Just open the Bible and let it speak. Secondly, did

you notice that there are questions whether eating with publicans

and sinners or fasting and praying centered on religious performance.

These men were centered on and addicted to a works righteousness.

This is still a temptation today. People loved People loved

to feel like they have done something to contribute to

their salvation. They love to feel like they're pleasing God

with their behavior. The first Church Council recorded in Acts fifteen.

You remember that one the Judaizers were saying, Oh, you

can't be saved unless you keep the Law of Moses.

You can't be saved unless you keep the Sabbath. You

can't be saved unless you do this or that unless

you're circumcised. I think that was one of the other things.

The men must be circumcised if they're going to be saved. Well,

it was over this first church council in Acts fifteen

was over this very thing of legalism. The Book of

Galatians is also written to counteract this corrupting and corroding idea.

Don't be drawn into a system that says you're not

a true believer unless you do fill in the blank,

jump through a hula hoop twice a day, wear a

certain color, a certain and kind of hat, or a

certain pair of shoes, or go to a certain church. Yeah.

Third thing, Jesus is the bridegroom. He is the very

son of God incarnate, virgin born, the Lamb of God,

the Christ. He is the word that was at the beginning.

Don't be fooled by counterfeit Jesus, because there's plenty of

that going around. Many mockers and scoffers have established false

religions that propose a Jesus that is less than, other

than and estranged from the Divine. Guard yourselves from these.

If he is not the very son of God incarnate,

virgin born, the lamb of God, the Christ run from it.

John tells us in First John, he gives us the

antidote the prescription for this. He says, hereby know ye

the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus

Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And

every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come

in the flesh is not of God. Pretty straightforward, isn't it.

And this is the spirit of Antichrist. Well there you go.

Now we've even identified the spirit that says Jesus hasn't

come in the flesh. That's Antichrist. Wherever you've heard that

it should come, and even now already is in the world. Well, John,

you'd be amazed at today. And then finally call on

him today, call on him. He came to call sinners

to repentance. He has a place at the table just

for you. Would you call on him today? That's about

for prayer. Father, we thank you for our bridegroom. We

thank you Father that we can celebrate him today and

every Sunday and every day, every Monday and every Tuesday,

and every Wednesday, and every Thursday and Friday and Saturday,

and do it all over again. On Sunday. We thank

you for the joy that he places in our heart.

Even though we still walk through this sorrowful valley of

the shadow death, we know that you're with us and

that you comfort us. Comfort us now, Father, as we

consider these things, and as the praise team plays, we

pray in Jesus' name Amen,