The Bridegroom Is Coming

Luke 12:22-40

The main focus today is in verses 35-40, but it seemed prudent to read the first part of this passage. This is a complete teaching by Jesus. Being not ready stems from a worry about our earthly stature or maybe a desire for earthly stature. Jesus is teaching here about not worrying, so let’s deal with that first.

Verses 22-34............ The first part of this passage sounds like some of the the sermon on the mount, which you can read in Matthew 6:25-34. It is almost worded verbatim, but it is a little different with the same message. Some believe, as well as I, that this was preached again at another place and time.

Nevertheless, the message is the same.........Take no thought for your life......but rather seek the Kingdom of God.......For where your treasure is there will your heart also be.

In today’s world and I would reckon probably all through time, worry and caring for this world has been the great adversary to the Christian life.

What we have or what we are lacking! Our health! Our status! Even the little things seem to control our thoughts and hearts.

Then you can add on the unnecessary things that we seem to make plans around. These seem to dominate our lives!

Now we have pandemics, politics, all kinds of things that I as a child or even just a few years ago would have never thought would be possible.

Jesus, however, tells here and in Matthew, to take no thought for your life.........

Jesus is actually talking about the basic needs of survival (food, drink, and protection from the weather). That seemed to be the general worry in those days.

There is something that we do not see here, we, as well as I, quote this and do not truly understand the truth of this message!

As long as the Kingdom of God is our desire, there is nothing for us to be concerned about!

Matthew 6:33 strengthens that just a bit, but it is basically the same message: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Seek God’s Kingdom and desire God’s righteousness FIRST, ahead of everything else, then the basic needs of living will be provided. I will add this, that your life will lived until God has fulfilled the purpose for your life!

If and only if our desire is toward Godhead and being right with Him. That is the key. Otherwise, you will be living for something that will pass away!

Luke 21:33-34 “ Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”

If the cares of this life has you so consumed, then you are going to be unaware about the coming of the Son of God! Overcharged here means to be weighed down. Jesus tells us that where are treasure is there will our hearts be also!

Heaven and earth will pass away, but the only existence that is eternal is what God says!

Where is your heart at? What is hot on the heart and mind in your life right now?

Verses 35-40.......The problem with our watching and waiting on the return of the Son of man, Jesus Christ, is the distractions that our in the world. It seems that our minds and hearts get carried away with those!

Jesus is telling us here about servants (slaves) anxiously waiting, waiting on the return of their master!

I think that becomes our problem for us, is the master part! In this example, Jesus tells that they are anxiously waiting his return, because when the master knocks, they open immediately!

It is as if they are standing at the door with their ears on the door. This was only because their master was good for them and they knew it and trusted him with their entire lives.

Nothing and I mean nothing was going to stop them from opening that door when the master called upon them!

Jesus starts this example by saying: “Let your loins be girded about and your lights burning!” Be ready!

Loins girded: Is to be dressed ready. Firemen and other first responders can speak to this pretty well. Be ready in a moments notice, no wasting time haven’t to put on your clothes. Be ready!

This is a reference to tucking in those long robes that they wore back in that time period. They did that so that they can be ready to serve or run if they have to.

Be ready! Ephesians 6:14 tells us about this: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth........” Jesus tells us that He is the truth! I like what Paul said in Romans 3:4 “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”

So to have our spiritual loins girded (mind and heart) we must go to the Truth and believe the Truth! Jesus Christ is the only truth and our only way to escape judgement!

That brings us to our lights burning! We would not be able to see to open the door in the dark if we didn’t have light! We are in a dark world and it is so hard to see rightly in this darkness, Jesus is the light of the world! He is our only way to see rightly! We must follow Him and have Him burning in our hearts and minds!

This all brings me to what we studied Wed. night in John 2. We talked about Jesus’ miracle at Cana, where He turned the water into wine at a wedding. I just keep going back to a wedding, a marriage. God has compared our relationship with Him as a marriage. Jesus being the bridegroom and the believers the bride! Jesus blessed this wedding at Cana, God created marriage between a man and a woman.

Listen to this description of marriage as God created:

The man is to be the head of the house, just as Christ is over the church (believers)

This is because God created man with special qualities to be a good master!

Just as the master that those servants were waiting on was good for them, the same would be for the man to the woman.

The woman would faithfully follow the man in the direction that he would go. Being a helpmate for him.

Yes, I know this view has gotten distorted over the years, but this was the idea of marriage from the beginning! It is a beautiful relationship! The wife following the husband because he is only going to do what is good for her!

However, if the wife gets tired of this and feels like they need to go another way, she is saying she does not trust him and desires something else.

The relationship is then broken! In comes divorce! “I don’t want this life, I can find better with better people!”

This is what God feels when we get carried away by the cares of this world! We are more concerned about those things than being with the one that is above all those things!

It is almost like we are saying those things are more important than our relationship with Him!

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

Every good gift and every perfect gift......this view of gifts might have become blurred over the years by false teachers, but the good and perfect gift are eternal gifts, everything that leads us into eternal life with the Godhead, in the Kingdom of God! Those are good and perfect gifts!

These gifts will not suit someone who is burdened down with the cares of the world!

They are looking for gifts that will please them in their temporary state!

I said all that to say this, that idea of marriage is the same idea of faith in Christ! We believe in Jesus Christ because we believe that He is true and that He is good master with perfect gifts and we follow Him joyfully, just as a faithful wife, believes in her good husband who only wants the best for his bride!

Now, that brings me to the final point. In Biblical times and in Jewish culture, when a man and a woman decide that they will marry. They go through what is called a betrothal (engagement) and in this time period the bridegroom will go away for a time to prepare their house and life. This could sometimes take a year, there was no set time. So, the bride would patiently, but excitedly wait for the return of the bridegroom. All her efforts are in looking for him to return! When he did, there would be a celebration, a feast and then the these 2 would be together for as long as they lived.

If the love is genuine, can you see the bride running toward her man!!

There were times however, that bride would get tired of waiting and lose interest in the bridegroom and just get consumed in what was going on around her.

In this case this would end in divorce, they had to divorce to break the betrothal!

All of this is a perfection comparison to our relationship with Jesus Christ! This is why God said He hates divorce! It is saying to Him I don’t want you!

Years ago, I had a gentlemen tell me that his wife told him while they were on the porch swing that she didn’t love him anymore!

Imagine how God feels when we reject His goodness and reject His Son for the cares of the world!

Let me finish with this, let’s go back to the betrothal and I think we can find a perfect view of our betrothal with God!! John 14:1-6, but before I read it I want to quote one verse to let you know the truth of the matter! Romans 14:8 “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”

We are the Lord’s, we will never be anything else! He made us and if you have chosen the cares of this world over Him, then you have said to Him that you do not want to be His!

We all are betrothed to the Lord, it is what we are hearts and minds are when He comes back that decides the relationship, He has done the work for us.......John 14:1-6........

That passage sounds so passionate now!!