Day 7: Jesus is the husband we want
In the 1992 Disney film Aladdin, Aladdin and Princess Jasmine sing a song together called “A Whole New World” about how their love for each other has changed everything. Lots of stories make it sound like falling in love and getting married is the most important thing in the world. But in our passage today, we’ll get a clue to something much more important than romantic love. If you’re a boy, you might think it sounds strange to say that Jesus is the husband we all want. But it will make sense in the end!
In verse 18, what were John the Baptist’s disciples and the Pharisees doing?
Fasting means not eating for some time. In the Bible, people fast in order to focus on prayer or to express their sorrow about their situation or about their sin.
In verse 19, what does Jesus say when He’s asked why His disciples don’t fast?
In the Old Testament, God is often pictured as a loving husband, and His people (the Israelites) as His wife. But their marriage doesn’t work because God’s people keep cheating on Him with other so-called gods.
How does this Old Testament picture help us understand what Jesus means when He says He is the bridegroom (which means the man at a wedding who is getting married)?
In his letter to the church in Ephesus, the apostle Paul explains that Christian marriage is meant to copy Jesus’ relationship with His people. Paul says that Christian husbands must love their wives like Jesus loved the church and gave Himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25). You might be thinking this sounds super weird. Jesus is one person, and the church is lots of people, male and female; so how can the church be Jesus’ bride? This is a metaphor or word picture to help us understand how Jesus loves us, and the Bible is full of metaphors. For instance, when John the Baptist says that Jesus is “the Lamb of God,” this doesn’t mean that Jesus is literally a young sheep. John is pointing us to Jesus as the one who would be sacrificed for sin, like lambs were sacrificed.
What do you think Jesus meant when He said the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken away?
If marriage is meant to point to Jesus’ love for His people, how does that help us understand why we need to stick with God’s design for marriage as one man and one woman together for life?
People sometimes act like “falling in love” and getting married is the most important thing. But the Bible teaches that Jesus is the real bridegroom and we, together, are His bride. That means if we never get married, our lives as single people can be just as full and faithful to the Lord as if we had married. Do you ever worry about whether you’ll get married? If you do, take a minute now to write down why you worry about that, and look back at your thoughts when it comes time to pray.
In verse 21, what does Jesus say will happen if you sew a piece of unshrunk (or new) cloth on an old piece of clothing?
In verse 22, what does Jesus say will happen if you put new wine into old wineskins?
In both examples, Jesus says that trying to fit something new into something old doesn’t work. How does this help us think about Jesus’ coming to earth as the start of something new?
The older you get, the more you’ll likely be tempted to believe that romantic love is the most important thing. Ask Jesus to help you believe that His love is better than any human love; and being in His family is better than falling in love and getting married.