|
|
Dr. David K. Barnett
In our post-modern secular society, the idea of "holy marriage" is becoming as rare as a Christ-centered Christmas. Ask people what makes a wedding "Christian" and you'll get lots of different answers. For some, the meaning of Christian marriage is as superficial as the church building or the ritual recitation of traditional words. Others will tell you it's the personal faith commitments of the bride and groom that make a wedding truly Christian. Among the exceptionally pious, Christian marriage is becoming a kind of counter-culture celebration of feminine submission to male authority.
The reason for this embarrassing confusion is because weddings, like Christmas, have been disconnected from their historical and Scriptural context. Weddings have become celebrations of family culture and traditions. There's certainly nothing wrong with that, but it is anemic sentimentalism compared to the rich legacy of Biblical faith practiced in apostolic times.
For those first Christians, deeply rooted in a thousand years of revelation history, the wedding was an acted-out parable. In the same way the tabernacle and feasts foreshadowed the coming of the Savior, the wedding proclaimed not only Messiah's ministry, but also the very meaning of time and eternity.
It was probably the prophetic preaching of John the Baptist that alerted Jesus to the unique parallels between the Jewish wedding and his role as the Bridegroom. Here is what John said at Aenon near Salim:
"I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine and is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less."
(John 3:28-29)
The best man did not originate, as many wedding books say, with Germanic Goths in 3rd century Europe. The best man comes directly from the Jewish wedding custom. He stood outside the wedding chamber to announce the consummation of the marriage. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
When a young man wanted to marry a young woman in ancient Israel, the first step was to prepare a covenant and present it to the bride-to-be and her father at the young woman's home. This covenant spelled out his willingness to provide for the woman and described the terms under which he would propose marriage. The most important part of the wedding covenant was the bride price -- the price the young man was willing to pay in exchange for the father's permission to marry. Our word, wedding, preserves this ancient reality as it comes from a root that originally meant price or wager.
In the same way, Jesus came to this earth to claim his bride and to present his marriage covenant. The price he was willing to pay was his own life.
Ephesians 5:25 says: "Christ loved the church, and gave himself up for it…"
At the Last Supper, Jesus broke the bread and spoke of the price He was paying.
"This is my body, given for you…"
If the bride price was agreeable to the bride's father, the bridegroom would pour a glass of wine and give it to the young woman. By accepting the cup, she was accepting his proposal. At that point, they were legally betrothed and thus began what was called the period of preparation.
"Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them saying, drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you. I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."
(Matthew 26:28-29)
The groom would then traditionally give his bride special gifts to show his devotion and to help her remember him during the year or more he was required to be away from her. Then the bridegroom would make this promise to his betrothed.
"In my Father's house are many rooms … I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am there you may be also." (John 14:1-3)
After the bridegroom left to prepare a wedding chamber at his father's house, the bride, too, began her preparation time. This was symbolized by the Mikveh -- or cleansing bath. To this very day, in Conservative Judaism, a bride cannot marry without a Mikveh. No wonder we read in the New Testament:
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word…"
The bride of Christ washes herself in the word of God, becoming better prepared to love and serve her Lord and to prove herself pure and wholly devoted. Every bride who walks down the aisle God means to be a picture of his will for his people.
Meanwhile, the bridegroom would be hard at work preparing the wedding chamber at his father's house. This is where they would spend the seven days of the wedding feast. This special place had to be built according to the father's specifications. The young man could only go for his bride when his father approved. If the bridegroom was asked when the wedding was to be, his answer was, "It's not for me to know, only my father knows."
No one knew when the bridegroom would show up to take his bride to the wedding chamber. It became a kind of challenge, a game. Could the bridegroom catch his bride unprepared? If he did, then she was not worthy to be his wife. So, to prove her love, the bride was always ready to leave at a moment's notice. She would have friends or servant girls stay awake through the night keeping watch, awakening her when the bridegroom suddenly re-appeared.
"Jesus told them a parable. The kingdom of heaven will be like ten maidens who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom…" (Matthew 25:1)
When the groom's father decided that the wedding chamber was ready, the groom would come like a thief in the night to catch his bride and her entourage away. The actual wedding ceremony was conducted in the home of the groom. Only a few would witness this special event -- the immediate family and two witnesses. This established the legality of the new union.
After the best man announced the consummation of the marriage, a great feast began. After seven days, the bride and groom would emerge from the chamber and celebrate with their friends. Finally, the couple would leave the groom's father's house and go to their own home.
Marc and Amy, we are happy for you today as this occasion culminates months and months of anticipation and planning. But for those who have heard the call of Christ, this day reminds us of even greater things. Amy, the world would say you are crazy to have kept yourself pure for this one man. But your chastity betokens the greater will of God for the purity of his elect. Marc, the world will surely congratulate you for your hard work and sacrifice. But your devotion pails in comparison to the price paid by the Bridegroom whose name is Faithful and True.
Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
