(John introduces the Bridegroom to the Bride)
Hello, welcome back. My name is Danny and I was LDS for 60 years.
In part 1 of this series, I introduced our Creator God – YHWH as the Bridegroom to His Bride, who were the chosen people - the nation of Israel. I gave scriptural support proving that God entered a marriage covenant with Israel on Mount Sinai - consummated by the blood of animal sacrifice to seal that Ketubah marriage covenant contract. But God’s people were unfaithful and did not honor their part of the covenant. They committed spiritual adultery in the form of idolatry – by inviting strange pagan gods into their worship. God forgave them repeatedly for not keeping their marriage vows with Him. Giving them many chances to repent and return to Him - even after ultimately giving His bride a bill of divorcement. It states in Jeremiah 3:1, 8-10 “They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord. And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not but went and played the harlot also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord.”
This all transpired over a 1500-year time span, until the Bridegroom Messiah – God incarnate - entered the physical world. Born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. But who exactly was this, Messiah? Some say He was a great teacher, a Jewish rabbi, a great prophet. Others say Jesus was the Messiah - the divine Son of God. All of which are true of Him. But there is one other answer to the question of Yeshua’s identity that was given long ago, by one of Jesus’ most prominent Jewish contemporaries - John the Baptist. When asked what John thought about Jesus’ growing popularity among the people - John replies by saying in John 3:28-29 Now listen carefully to this, “Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.”
The Jews who heard that might have asked - How can John refer to Yeshua as “the bridegroom,” when Jesus was an unmarried man? The answer - He is the Jewish Messiah - the divine Bridegroom come in person, to fulfill the prophecies of a new marriage covenant. In this regard, two events in the life of Jesus stand out in particular: One being the miracle of the wedding at Cana at the start of His public ministry – And the other one being the Last Supper with the twelve disciples at the conclusion of His ministry. We will come to realize that these two events are more than just an astonishing miracle in Cana or a farewell meal in Jerusalem. Significantly, they are bookend events – both illustrating that Jesus has come to bring the miraculous wine of the wedding banquet of God and His bride.
In the early days of His ministry, when Yeshua was just beginning to gather His own followers - John’s disciples approached John to ask him what he thought about this Jesus becoming so popular. If John really wanted to identify Jesus as the Messiah - then saying, “Look for the guy with the bride” is not a very helpful way to do it. I mean, where does John get the idea that Jesus is a “bridegroom?” And, if Jesus was unmarried then who is this “bride” John is talking about? By examining the Hebrew Scripture like we did in my last video - we can better understand John’s explanation of Jesus being the Bridegroom Messiah.
When John says he “rejoices” to hear “the voice of the bridegroom” - it is an allusion to a famous biblical prophecy of the Messiah, the “anointed one” - the King of Israel, for whom the Jewish people had been waiting for centuries. An Old Testament prophet connects the hearing of the voice of the bridegroom and bride - with the coming of the future Davidic king. I’ll read in part, Jeremiah 33:10-11, 14-17 “Thus saith the Lord; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast, The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness (Jesus) to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness. For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.”
Parallels between this prophecy and the words of John the Baptist are striking. Just as Jeremiah says that “the voice of the bridegroom” will be heard in the days when the Davidic king will come – so too, John the Baptist says that he rejoices that he gets to hear “the voice of the bridegroom,” the Messiah. And just as Jeremiah speaks about “the voice of the bride,” – so too, John says, “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom.” You can know who the Messiah is because “He has the bride.” Finally, just as Jeremiah talks about the “joy” of the days when the king will come – so too, John the Baptist speaks of his own personal “joy” at having heard the voice of the Bridegroom Messiah.
In practicality, here is how it works. When the time for a Jewish wedding arrives - it is the friend of the bridegroom, who acted as public witness to the wedding. In much the same way the “best man” does in our modern weddings. When the time for the wedding came - it was the job of the Jewish best man to bring the bride to the bridegroom. Like John the Baptist’s ministry – John’s responsibility as the best man was not to be the center of attention. John’s task is to lead the bride to the bridegroom. And John did that by calling all the people of Israel to repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Mark 1:4-5 “John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.”
If Jesus is the bridegroom and John is His best man - then John is performing his duties according to Jewish wedding custom. By means of John’s baptism, he is preparing the people of Israel for the coming of the divine wedding through which their sins will be forgiven. And by identifying Jesus as “the bridegroom” and the Messiah - John is also leading the bride, who are the people of Israel - to her Bridegroom.
And just as a best man draws back from view at the wedding celebration – so too, John must withdraw from view now, that the Bridegroom has arrived. John speaking of Jesus says in John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John is saying, “I’ve already told you, I’m not the Messiah. If you want to know who the Messiah is, look for the one with the bride. I’m only the best man.”
But this is not the only clue to Yeshua’s identity as the bridegroom. Jesus decided to attend a wedding, where He performed His first public miracle and set the stage for the rest of His ministry. The first thing He did, was to act like a Jewish bridegroom by providing wine for a wedding, as was the custom.
Because I don’t want this video to go too long, I decided I am going to end here. But you won’t want to miss the next video - on Christ’s miracle at the wedding at Cana. There is deep meaning in the interpretation of Jesus turning water into wine. More than meets the eye when first reading the account. So, tune in.
Thanks again for listening. And as always, you can find other videos on You Tube or at TalkingtoMormons.com.
God Bless!