Jesus, the Bridegroom King

Objectives: By the grace of God, after the message the Church is expected
1. To know Jesus as the Bridegroom King
2. To rekindle a deepened desire for intimacy with Jesus
3. To prepare for the Bridegrooms return through holy, focused and fasted living.
I recently got engaged to Lawrie Were already preparing for our wedding and excited
to spend the rest of our life on earth as man and wife. But were not the only ones
engaged and waiting for a wedding. Today, I want all of us realize that we who are in
Christ are all engaged, and our Groom is about to return. How are your bridal
preparations coming along?

The Bridegroom King Is Returning Soon for His Bride

Jesus came to earth as the Savior of the world. His earthly name given Him by God
specifies what His mission on earth is going to be: Yahweh Saves (Yahweh is Salvation).
We know Him to be our Savior, our Lord, our Master. He is the Messiah. He is the
Creator of everything. He is the King of kings who will be returning soon. And He is
coming back as a conquering Bridegroom King who is returning for His redeemed Bride
(the Church).
At this point in time, where we see the signs of the end times happening, it is important
that we start seeing Jesus as the Bridegroom who is returning for a spotless Bride.

The Bible and the Greatest Love Story of All Time

The Bible contains the greatest love story of all time. It tells of God choosing us even
before the creation of world and how He went all out in order to make us holy and
blameless in His sight, calling us His very own, adopting us as His sons (and daughters)
through His Son1 (Eph 1:4-5). His only Begotten Son, our Bridegroom, came to earth to
pay with His own life the ransom price for His Beloved.
God is so consumed with love for us and He desires for us to be in total intimate
communion with Him. All over the Scriptures, God has laid out parallels between earthly
marriage and divine marriage, inviting us to be in intimate fellowship with Him.
*Hosea 2:16, 19-23; Isaiah 54:5; Eph. 5:22-33

We can legitimately call God Father because of Jesus, our Bridegroom King. The
moment we put our faith in Him, we are joined to Him, co-heirs with Him, one with Him.

In the gospel of John alone, we see a number of these parallels, showing us the extent of
Gods love for us.

The Bridegrooms Acts of Love

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and dwelt

among us

Jesus, the Bridegroom, left

His Fathers home in
heaven to be with His
Bride.

John 10:15,18

I lay down my life for the sheep I lay Jesus, the Bridegroom,
it down of my own accord
willingly gave His life for
His Bride.

John 13:1-5

[Jesus]showed them the full extent

of his love he wrapped a towel
around his waist and began to wash
his disciples feet

Jesus, the Bridegroom, got

down on his knees,
humbling himself to serve
His Bride.

John 19: 18, 2830

They crucified him all was now

completed, and that the Scripture
would be fulfilled Jesus said, It is
finished. With that, he bowed his head
and gave up his spirit.

Jesus, the Bridegroom, with

His arms spread wide on the
cross, gave His very life,
His flesh and blood, for His
Brides freedom.

The Bridegrooms Promise

John 14:2

John 14:3

In my Fathers house are

many rooms I am going
there to prepare a place for
you.
And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come
back and take you to be with
me that you also may be
where I am.

He is preparing a
place for us.
He is coming back
for us.

He made a covenant
with us through His
blood.

(Luke 12:20)

He paid the highest

price for His Bride
with His very life.

John 3:16
The Father offers

a bride-price of
When you pay for
great value,
something at a very
indicative of the
high price, it becomes value He places
very precious to you
on the bride2
because of its
immense value.
John 14:18

I will not leave you as

He will never leave
orphans; I will come to you. us. We have an
unbreakable
marriage.

Redemption, propitiation, forgiveness, justification, reconciliation all these have to

happen. They are the act of love. But the goal of love that makes these acts loving is
that we be with him and see His jaw-dropping glory and be astounded.3
Scriptures say that a man will leave his father and mother and cling to his bride, and the
two shall become one flesh. Likewise, Christ left his Father in heaven, left the home of
his mother on earth to give up His body for His bride, so that we might become one
flesh with Him.
In offering us His body, Christ offers us a marriage proposal. All we need to do is say
YES by offering our bodies our whole selves back to Him. 4

PARALLELS BETWEEN JEWISH WEDDING CUSTOM AND THE

CHURCH
1. SHIDDUKHIN
The father would normally arrange a bride for his son when he felt the time was
right. In fact, he would have been looking for a bride long before his son had even
thought about marriage. It was the father who ultimately chose the household and
daughter theyd approach in order to acquire a bride for his son (Gen 22:20-24).5
Ephesians 1:4
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world

http://ldolphin.org/risk/ult.shtml
John Piper, Article: Why Are You Thrilled to be Loved By Jesus?
4
Dr. David Kyle Foster, The Divine Marriage, pp.30-31
5
https://priphotoblog.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/a-little-bit-about-ancient-jewishweddings/
3

If the son approves of a daughter after they meet, the son would travel to her
home and meet with her father to discuss details. Negotiations would go on for
hours with questions, pledges, promises and arguments. The daughter would have
no say in any of this.
John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you
2. MOHAR: Bride Price
Daughters were almost always exchanged for a price because they were
considered a financial loss to their families.
The mohar reflects the value of the bride.
It is paid by the grooms father.
Our mohar was the life of the Son. 1 Cor 6:20, 1 Pet. 1:18-19
3. KETUBAH: Marriage Contract
Once everything had been settled between the bridegroom and brides father, they
would record it in a document; a marriage contract consisting of the bridal price,
pledges and promises of the groom as well as the rights of the bride.
Our written contract stating the mohar, the rights of the Bride, and the promises of
the Groom is the New Testament = Jeremiah 33:31-33
The bride would then be informed of the offer at the table and would be given a
chalice with wine. If the bride accepts the offer, the groom would drink from the
cup and pass it to the bride to drink from it as well. Once she drinks from the cup,
the contract between the two is sealed.
1 Cor. 11:25-26 Similarly when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying,
This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood. Do this, as
often as you drink [it] to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance. For every time
you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and
proclaiming the fact of the Lords death until He comes [again].
4. MATTAN: Love Gifts
The groom would then give the bride something valuable to represent his sincerity
and promise to her and their covenant. It's purpose was to be a reminder to his
bride during their days of separation of his love for her, that he was thinking of
her - and that he would return to receive her as his wife.
In (Eph 1:13-14) Paul tells us that this pledge or gift - is the Holy Spirit - a
promise of love and that He will return for us.6
6

http://messianicfellowship.50webs.com/wedding.html

5. MIKVEH: Purification
The bride would then undergo a baptism of water as an immersion ritual of
cleansing and purification. It symbolized a separation from her former way of life
in preparation for her new life with her husband.
The bride, born again, is cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and by the washing of
water through the Word (Eph 5:26-27, 1 Cor 6:11)
6. KIDDUSHIN: Betrothal
Ceremony under the Chuppah (huppah), in public
Blessing of the wine (Lk 12:17, 20)
After the ceremony, the couple are considered married (but without sexual union
which does not happen until the after the actual wedding).
Betrothal is binding. In case annulment is needed (i.e. if the bride is found to be
involved in any untoward incident), religious divorce is needed to annul the
contract (like in the case of Mary and Joseph in Matt.1:18-21). This option of
divorce is only available to the husband. PARALLEL: Our betrothal to Jesus is
secure. We have an unbreakable marriage with him.
The couple must live separately during the betrothal period (which lasts for about
one year).
The bridegroom would leave to his fathers house and begin working on their
home in preparation for their wedding. He would leave her with the statement, I
go to prepare a place for you (John 14). The bride and the bridegroom could
never truly be together unless the home has been prepared.
The bride would wait in her fathers house and prepare herself. Whenever she
went out in public, she would wear a veil to cover her face. This would signify
that shes been taken and is not available for any other man. Veiled women were
called set apart, sanctified, or bought with a price. Her beauty was reserved for
her groom only. The bride was responsible for maintaining an attitude of
readiness as it was not known when the groom would come to get her after the
household is prepared.
UNDISTRACTED DEVOTION
ANTICIPATION
We are not to be distracted by False Teachers, 2 John 7-11 and Worldly Things, l
John 2:15
We anticipate Christ's return, Matt. 24:42-44

PARALLEL: We are currently in a betrothal period with Jesus, as He went back

to His Fathers home to prepare a place for us and we are currently waiting for
His return.
7. NISSUIN: The Nuptials
Hebrew: Nasa = to carry The bride waiting for her groom to come and carry
her off to her new home.
The father of the son would be the one who would inspect the dwelling of the
household and tell the son when he believed he was ready for his bride.
He determines when the home is ready and when the groom can take his bride
home. Matthew 24:36
The father would then give his approval to his son and tell him to go get his bride.
The bridegroom would gather his friends and plan their departure so that they
arrive at her place in the night as a surprise. As they approach the city, they
would sound a trumpet to alert the bride as a sign that the bridegroom was near.
The friends would prepare a path for him outside the brides front door and call to
her, Heres the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! (Matt 25:6; 1 Thess. 4:1618)

Have you been preparing yourself for the

Bridegrooms return?
The Bridal Preparations
1. Commitment to HOLY living.
Let us remember now in our betrothal period, that we areset apart, sanctified, and
bought with a price; our beauty reserved for our groom only.
(Rom. 12:1)
2. Commitment to FOCUSED living.
As we live out the remaining days of our betrothal, let us remember to maintain
an attitude of readiness by:

Living a life of undistracted devotion. Dont be distracted by false teachers

and teachings (2 John 7-11), as well as worldly things (1 John 2:15).
o Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly
things.

o Hebrews 12:2-3 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus consider Him so

that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Preparing for our eternal life with our Bridegroom. We must get used to
kingdom living and practices (worship Mk 12:30; Song Endless
Hallelujahs chorus: We will worship, worship, forever in Your presence
we will sing) as well as get busy doing the Lords mandate to us
(preparing and helping others to come to Jesus): John 10:16, John 21:1519, Matthew 28:19-20).

3. Commitment to FASTED living.

As our betrothal period tarries, it should make us long for our Bridegrooms
return. Fasting is our expression of longing for the Bridegrooms return, as well
as our way of emptying ourselves to have Him fill our longing hearts, drawing us
in intimate fellowship and communion with Him. (Matthew 9:15, Rev. 22:17)

Song:
I am my Beloveds and He is mine
His banner over me is love
(3x)
His banner over me is love
He brought me to His banqueting table
His banner over me is love
(3x)
His banner over me is love
He lifted me up into heavenly places
His banner over me is love
(3x)
His banner over me is love

Conclusion
1. In John 13:8, Jesus said, Unless I wash you, you have no part with me. Will
you submit yourself to Jesus and let Him wash you clean? The Holy Bridegroom
King cannot take a soiled Bride with Him. Unless we submit to Him, we cannot
be a part of Him. Jesus is asking for your hand in marriage. Will you say yes to
Him? Will you let Him take you and wash you that He may present you radiant
and spotless to the Father in heaven?
2. Jesus, our Bridegroom King, is coming soon. Are you ready for His return?

Prayer of Commitment / Altar Call