“For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.”

It was billed as the wedding of the century.  Following the script of the children’s story, a handsome prince comes and rescues a young lass from danger or obscurity.  He takes his new love back to the palace, where they marry in a majestic cathedral.  Then off to an unbelievable yet intimate honeymoon.  After that, they return to the palace where, after time, he becomes king, she becomes queen, and they live happily ever after in peace, love and security.  However, for Prince Charles and Princess Diana, it wasn’t so picturesque, romantic or long lived.  It seems that even royal marriages — perhaps especially royal marriages, given their hype, scrutiny, international importance and historical significance — have too much opposition to warrant a fairy tale ending.  Born in 1961, Princess Diana was married in ’81, separated in ’92, divorced in ’96 and dead in ’97 at the hardly-got-started age of 36.

We don’t need such a terrible and tragic story as a backdrop to Christ being our bridegroom with an incredible never-ending ending, but the contrast couldn’t be any more absolute between the potentially best wedding on earth and an absolutely perfect one in heaven.  Not even close!

Wedding traditions around the world differ widely, even in the colors used for brides and grooms.  True also of Hebrew culture, the context for Jesus being our bridegroom.  To better grasp the implications of our topic and reduce misunderstandings, let’s examine relevant verses in their cultural context.

Marriages in Israel began first with betrothal.  This agreement between the parents of the prospective bride and groom may have been initiated from the groom’s interest in the girl, who in most cases had the right to approve the match.  But sometimes a betrothal arrangement was made exclusively between the parents.  Included in the negotiations was the dowry, the price the bride’s family gave to the groom and his family, which frequently served as a family start-up resource.

Once the betrothal was secured, bride and groom were legally bound to each other, technically married but without the full benefits of actually living with each other.  They could be together for periods of time, but some supervision was usually the norm.  In the case of Joseph and Mary, they had to travel to Bethlehem to register as a family, betrothed but not married practically.  With Mary already being 9 months pregnant, you can see why there was “no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7), which was full of relatives ashamed of what their all too obvious situation would do to the good name of David’s family.  Betrothal normally lasted no longer than a year, and was like today’s engagement, a time to prepare for the wedding.

The wedding was the final step of securing the marriage.  Middle Eastern weddings could last up to a week, as do some marriage ceremonies in other parts of Asia today.  In grand style the groom would lead a group to the bride’s family’s house, picking up attendants along the way (Matthew 25:1-13), return to his home with a large company, where they would pledge themselves, celebrate and consummate.

While no Scripture specifically calls Jesus our bridegroom, is he ever one!  His Father made the betrothal arrangement when “he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4).  Each of us saw our suitor and consented by faith.  Thus he has gone “to prepare a place” (John 14:2) so we can live with him.  Meanwhile, we as his bride live on earth engaged to him, and through the presence of the Spirit in our hearts, he makes us “holy, cleansing [us] by the washing of the water through the word…to present [us] to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:26-27).  That presentation is “the wedding of the Lamb” in heaven where, for a season, “his bride has made herself ready” with “fine linen, bright and clean [for] her to wear” (Revelation 19:7-8).  And after the most glorious supper of the ages, witnessed by all the angels, we join him (20:14) in righting the earth once and for all.  And in unison we say, “Come!” (22:17).

Where do all those “happily ever after” endings of stories come from, if not from the desire of fallen hearts wanting life to turn out right, looking for the Bridegroom?  The ultimate wedding is coming! Are you being cleansed by the Word, adorning yourself with holiness, and preparing for that presentation?