The Mourning of the Children of the Bride-chamber Matthew 9:15

Matthew the apostle shared, “And as Jesus passed forth from there, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eats your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go you and learn what that means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples fast not?” In chapter nine and verse fifteen of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus asked, “can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? where we read:

And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

The verse reads, “And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them?” Matthew began with the words, “and Jesus” or “the One whose name means Jehovah is Salvation and who is the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate” “said” which means “uttered, declared and proclaimed” “unto them” or “to the Pharisees”, “Can” or is there “power and ability for” “the children” which refers to “are the descendants, posterity and offspring” “of the bride-chamber” which means “belonging to the friends of the bridegroom whose duty it was to provide and care for whatever pertained to the bridal chamber or that which is needed for the due celebration of the nuptials” “mourn” or “lament and grieve”, “as long as” or “for what time and position through which” “the bridegroom” which refers to “the male groom who is to be married” “is with them” or “is present with the children of the bride-chamber”? Matthew shared how Jesus questioned whether the “children of the bride-chamber” could “lament and grieve” while the “groom” was still present with them.

The verse goes on to say, “but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.” Matthew continued with the word, “but” or “moreover and nevertheless” “the days” which means “the times between sunrise and sunset” “will come” or “shall arrive, arise and appear”, “when” which means “at the time and moment” “the bridegroom” which means “the male groom who is to be married” “shall be taken” or “will be carried away, lifted off and removed” “from them” which means “away from the children of the bride-chamber”, “and then” or “and at that time and moment” “shall they fast” which means “will the children of the bride-chamber abstain from food and drink for spiritual and religious purposes”. Matthew shared how Jesus told the Pharisees the “children of the bride-chamber” would abstain from food and drink for spiritual purposes when the “groom” was carried away from them.

When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see how there is a proper timing for “fasting” and “not fasting”. As long as a “groom” was with his attendants, there was no need for “mourning” or “fasting”, but as soon as the “groom” was removed, the “abstaining from food and drink for spiritual purposes” would begin. Jesus knew He was to be with His disciples for a certain amount of time, and as long as He was with them, there was no need to “mourn” and “fast”. However, when He was taken away from them, “fasting” for spiritual and religious consecration should begin. God desires to have a relationship with every person who will “trust and believe” in His Son Jesus Christ, who is “the groom”, as their personal “Savior and Lord”. Let everyone reading these words realize the importance of the “bridegroom” and yield their lives to the One who is worthy today.

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus said, “no man puts a piece of new cloth upon an old garment”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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