Jesus the Bridegroom, New Jerusalem the Bride
Revelation 21:2 and 10 describe New Jerusalem as the bride, the wife, of the Lamb. The Lamb, as declared by John the Baptist in John 1:29, is Jesus Christ. And He will still be the Lamb in New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1).
Both Matthew and John mention Jesus Christ as the Bridegroom. In Matthew 9:15 the Lord answers the Pharisees by likening Himself to a Bridegroom and His disciples to “sons of the bridechamber.” The same is in Mark 2:19-20 and Luke 5:34-35.
In Matthew 25:1-13 the Lord tells a parable about ten virgins who go forth to meet the bridegroom. All ten virgins fell asleep while waiting. Later the Bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with Him to the wedding feast. This parable encourages us to be prepared for His coming. He will come as the Bridegroom!
In John 3 the disciples of John the Baptist asked him about Jesus. His answer in part is “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice….” (v. 29). As in Matthew the word Bridegroom is specifically in reference to Jesus.
When the Lord returns, when He comes as the awaited Bridegroom, there is much rejoicing and the declaration “Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” (Rev. 19:7). This will be the beginning of the wedding feast. Let us be ready.
Photo courtesy of pixabay.com.
Bible verses quoted in these posts are from The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003. The New Testament of this Bible, with its outlines, is at online.recoveryversion.org; this too is © by LSM.
Posted by Don on January 3, 2022
