Jesus The Bridegroom

Some of us have been Christians for a long time and we’ve heard that Jesus is sometimes called the bridegroom. But perhaps some of us have never heard this title of Jesus. I don’t think churches talk about it often enough. It’s one of the most important and wonderful titles of Jesus. When we think about it, it should change the way we see Jesus – and the way we see ourselves.

Jesus talked about the kind of relationship he wanted with his disciples. He told his disciples, ‘You call me TEACHER and LORD, and you are right, for so I am’ [John 13:13]. He told his disciples, ‘I have called you FRIENDS’ [John 15:15]. On one occasion he pointed towards his disciples and said, ‘Here are my MOTHER and my BROTHERS!’ [Matthew 12:49]. These statements give us an idea of the kind of relationship Jesus wants with us. But there is no title which communicates Jesus’ love for us more clearly than the title, ‘Jesus the bridegroom.’

Where does this title come from? The idea of God or Jesus as the bridegroom comes a lot in the Bible. But the Bible is such a big book that you could be excused for missing it.

Let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say about it.

This title, like all the other titles of Jesus we’ve looked at, has its roots in the Old Testament. There are quite a few passages we could look at but I’ll just take three examples, two from the prophet Isaiah and one from the prophet Hosea.

Isaiah tells the people of Israel:

‘For your Maker is your husband,

the Lord of hosts is his name’ [Isaiah 54:5-6]

When Isaiah says ‘Your Maker’ – he clearly means God, creator of the world. God is their husband! And just to be quite clear who Isaiah is talking about, in the next line he writes, ‘the Lord of hosts is his name.’

Isaiah is saying that God, the Lord of hosts, is husband of the people of Israel! It’s an extraordinary idea!

A little bit further on, Isaiah says something similar:

‘…and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

so shall your God rejoice over you’ [Isaiah 62:5]

In this verse, Isaiah doesn’t say that God is Israel’s HUSBAND. He says that God’s attitude towards Israel is like the attitude of a bridegroom towards a bride. Have any of you been to a wedding recently? How was the groom acting? I expect he was wearing the biggest smile you’ve ever seen. He was really, really pleased. The Bible says that this is God’s attitude towards his bride. God is rejoicing. Or he will be. Isaiah writes, ‘So SHALL your God rejoice over you.’

Sometimes we feel that God is a bit fed up with us. We make so many mistakes. We get so much wrong. We know God loves us but we think he loves us because he’s God. But here, Isaiah imagines God as a bridegroom, REJOICING over his bride. It’s great to think of God being delighted with us, thrilled to be getting married to us!

The next prophet we’ll look at is Hosea. Hosea lived at about the same time as Isaiah. Isaiah and Hosea lived at a time when the people of Israel had largely rejected God. Many people in Israel and Judah were following idols such as Baal. But God tells Hosea that he will draw the people of Israel back to him. Then what will happen?

“And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband’, and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal’” [Hosea 2:16].

God looks forward to a day when God will be in such a close relationship with his people that they will call him, ‘My husband.’ It wasn’t true in Hosea’s day. But God looked forward to a day when it would be true.

A few verses later, God says this:

‘And I will betroth you to me FOR EVER. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in STEADFAST LOVE and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in FAITHFULNESS. AND YOU SHALL KNOW THE LORD’ [Hosea 2:19].

Look at some of the words and phrases God uses. ‘For ever.’ ‘Steadfast love.’ ‘Faithfulness.’

God is committed to an amazing marriage relationship!

Look at how God finishes. He tells Hosea, ‘And you shall know the Lord.’

This statement gives us a vitally important understanding of what God wants.

Here’s an analogy. Imagine that you’re living in a tower block. One day, a fire breaks out. You’re trapped. There’s no way you can get out. But then, you hear the sound of a siren. A fire engine arrives! The firemen put up a long ladder. A fireman climbs up and helps you down. You’re saved! Thank goodness! The next day, you go round to the fire station with a case of whisky and say thank you. But then, you never see the firemen again. You’re saved. But YOU DO NOT KNOW THE FIREMEN.