Teaching on the Wedding Proposal as seen in Communion

4/17/14

The word, “wed” is derived from the term for “pledge” which is a solemn promise,

When we say I do, it means we pledge to partner with, remain faithful, and be true and loving

Malachi 2:15 MSG says, “God, not you, made marriage. His Spirit inhabits even the smallest details of marriage. You were united…by the Lord. In God's wise plan, when you married, the two of you became one person in his sight.” So guard the spirit of marriage within you.

Scripture uses the marriage image to paint our relationship with Jesus to help us realize and grasp how much God loves and cherishes us

Rev 19:7-8 NIV says: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear - Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.

Rich in imagery of proposals and marriages is Jesus’ Last Supper, which is actually the Passover Seder or meal. It was during the Seder that Jesus established the Lord’s Supper or Communion that when a young maiden caught an eligible bachelor’s eye, he and his father would go to the prospective lasses home. His dad would hammer out a deal with her father, which was called the Bride Price.

This is different than the bride’s dowry which was given to the newlyweds to help them get started. The bride price was to recompense the family for the loss of a worker and the cost of raising her, as she permanently become a part of the husband’s household

After they agreed upon a price, the prospective Bridegroom would go to his intended and offer her a chalice of wine of which he had just taken a sip, in effect offering his life to her. This was the actual proposal!  At this point, she could decline the cup, thereby rejecting his offer, or she could accept and drink from the cup and so signal her affirmation of the marriage covenant! At this time, there was no other culture in the world where a woman could refuse a marriage that had been arranged by the parents. This is a true picture of how God extends the cup of “Salvation” to each of us and we are given that liberty to accept it or reject it.

In Biblical times, you were considered already married when you were betrothed! The bride price had been paid. Cor 6:19-20 NLT states: Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.

So each was now taken, set apart, consecrated, bought with a high price, they were no longer their own. These are all terms that the writers of the NT used to describe Believers! This is sanctified.

After the bride-to-be accepted the cup, the young man and his father headed home where the bridegroom built a room addition for them onto his parent’s home, usually under his dad’s careful supervision. This soon to be wedding chamber and new home for his bride was built to the highest standards of which he was capable.

Building the home was the final element to be completed before returning to bring her home! Heaven only knew how long this would take! The process could take 6 months to a year during which the bridegroom did not see his bride again until he returned to bring her home! Jesus speaks of this very act, drawing a parallel between His relationship with His disciples and marriage:

John 14:1-3 NIV In My Father’s house are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

This means that you and I, the bride of Christ are awaiting Jesus, the Bridegroom, to come for us to take us home! Heaven only knows how long we will have to wait! When the chamber was finally completed; the Bridegroom, in keeping with Jewish tradition, would try to surprise his bride who was waiting for him! Typically the bridegroom tried to come when least expected so as to catch his bride unawares! Often it was near midnight as we hear from Jesus in:

Matt 25:5-6 NIV The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy & fell asleep. "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! The Bridegroom would then fetch his wife home where they would become one flesh; and then the  wedding celebration would begin, sometimes lasting 7 days! Let’s tie this courtship process into the Passover Seder, one of the most important Jewish celebrations. During the Last Supper, Jesus offered his disciples a cup of wine. This would have been the 3rd cup of the Seder, called the cup of Redemption, what a beautiful image! 

We read in 1 Cor 11:25-26 NIV In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

Jesus offered this cup to his disciples. In imagery his disciples clearly understood, Jesus was in effect asking them to marry Him! This would seem odd, peculiar, or maybe even amusing if we didn’t know the background! The disciples knew that when they accepted that cup and drank from it, they were acknowledging their acceptance of a spiritual marriage to Jesus.

However, they had yet to understand that the bride price that Jesus would pay was His persecution, torture, and crucifixion. Now we realize why these final hours of Jesus earthy life was called the Passion of Christ, because of His passionate love for His bride… us.

Communion’s purpose is to remember Jesus, to receive His comfort and strength, and to rededicate our lives to our relationship with Him.

It is one of the two sacraments or ordinances instituted by Christ that He asked us, His people, to observe until He returns. Today, as we participate in Holy Communion, please consider, that as your drink from the cup, you are saying; “yes, I pledge myself to Christ and accept His offer of marriage”.  When you eat of the bread, you are saying; “Yes, I will devote myself to Jesus, and I will spend this lifetime and all eternity with Him”. 

Written by
Linda Garrett