There’s nothing more beautiful than a wedding. Family and friends gathered together. Beautiful flowers and stylish clothes. Great music and delicious delicacies.
Weddings are so different from daily life that they border on fantasy
In traditional wedding ceremonies, there’s a dramatic moment where the minister asks, “If any of you has reasons why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace.” It’s an opportunity for an ex-lover to rush forward, proclaiming his love, or for some new shocking information to be revealed about the either the bride or groom.
Historically this question centers on the bride’s purity. Whether or not she’s a virgin, or whether she might be already be married to someone else. Unfortunately, there have been many instances where someone has stood up and levied accusations.
Can you imagine how awkward that would be?
On the most special, planned for, dreamed about, and anticipated day in these people’s lives, it is destroyed in a matter of seconds as the details of the bride’s impurity and/or past affairs are revealed. The people listening gasp as the groom drops his head.
The groom is confused, angry, humiliated
To avoid these kinds of uncomfortable occurrences, modern wedding ceremonies have pretty much removed this question of objection. It’s a good thing because not too many brides, nor grooms for that matter, could stand confident in their purity.
Think what it would be like if at a wedding all the things in a person’s past that could cast doubt on their purity were suddenly revealed. All their indiscretions being made known. Then think of the embarrassment this would cause to the person who loves them so much they are committing the rest of their lives to them.
This is exactly what Jesus experienced
One of the most endearing names God gives to His people is that we are His Bride, and Jesus is our Groom.
Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. (Ephesians 5:25–27, NLT)
But there was a moment when all the details of our unfaithfulness were made known to Him. How we had cheated on Him. Slept around. And then pretended as if He was our first love. Hebrews speaks about this…
Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame… (Hebrews 12:2, NKJV, emphasis mine)
This shame here certainly refers to the shame associated with public crucifixion, but that isn’t the most serious part of it. The real shame came to Jesus as He was suddenly made aware of everything impure and sinful we had ever done.
Our Groom hated what He found out, but…
Jesus wanted to be married to us, in spite of knowing all the objections Satan or anyone else could raise that revealed how untrue we’ve been to Him. Then He endured the cross and took our guilt upon Himself. He was able to do this because He had is eye on the “joy that was set before Him.”
The “joy” of His eye was you and me—His perfect, beautiful, and pure bride coming down the isle, ready to be joined to Him forever. This time, with no awkward interruptions.
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