Introduction:
I suppose if I would ask, almost all of you could quote verbatim many of the phrases that you have heard from your parents or your spouses. There is a phrase that I heard many times from my mother as I was growing up, and I’ve heard that same phrase from my wife. It goes like this, “Make sure you’re home for supper!” Or, if it was in the form of a question, “Will you be home for supper?”
Well, I find myself not using the word, “supper” much anymore. We always referred to our meals as breakfast, dinner and supper. However, the more appropriate designation now days seems to be, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Since it is still in style to say “breakfast,” I still know when to show up if I am invited somewhere for breakfast. The same is true if I am invited to supper, but if I’m invited for dinner, I’ll need more information in order to know if I am supposed to show up at mid-day or early evening!
I have learned through various sources that it is not very common these days for families to sit down together for a supper meal. Many years ago, when my wife was still teaching Spanish in a Christian high school in Ohio, she asked her students how many of them eat any meals together regularly and there were only a few students who raised their hands. Eating supper together is an excellent time for families to bond, learn about each other’s day and engage in some good old-fashioned communication. I, for one, would advocate bringing back sit-down suppers for families everywhere. I must say it is tragic that so many families these days are so busy running in all directions that they rarely find time to sit down and eat a meal together.
The message I felt God prompting me to bring for today is also about a supper. The supper about which I am speaking today is infinitely more important than all the suppers that have ever been prepared or eaten. I am speaking about the supper that is described in the Bible as “The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.” As we consider the reference in Revelation regarding the marriage supper of the Lamb, there are three observations I wish to point out.
1. The bridegroom is
Christ.
Mark 2:18-19 (NKJV) The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were
fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and
of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" 19 And
Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the
bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they
cannot fast.
John 3:29 (NKJV) He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend
of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the
bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.
Throughout the New Testament, the Lamb is portrayed in two main roles.
The Lamb is the perfect sacrifice to take away the sins of the world.
John 1:29 (KJV) The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and
saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
1 Peter 1:19 (KJV) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a
lamb without blemish and without spot:
The Lamb is also the mighty warrior who destroys all the forces of evil
in the world.
Revelation 17:14 (KJV) These shall make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they
that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
The Lamb is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and He is the bridegroom for
this marriage that is described here.
2. The bride is the
Church.
2 Corinthians 11:2 (NKJV) For I am jealous for you with godly
jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as
a chaste virgin to Christ.
Revelation 21:2 (KJV) And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband.
Revelation 21:9-10 (NKJV) Then one of the seven angels who had the
seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me,
saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." 10 And
he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me
the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Some commentators propose that these verses are symbolic and portraying the church as a city. Others believe that the city (place and description) is to be understood literally. I would say this, if it is literal, then it is only referred to as “the bride” because it is where the bride (the church) dwells. Most, if not all, of the other references to “wife” or “bride” in Scripture show it to be a people (the church), not a city.
The bride / church is a holy people.
(Vic Reasoner, A Fundamental Wesleyan Commentary on Revelation) She was given
clean white robes and she maintains her purity through faith in the blood (1
John 1:7; 3:2-3).
1 John 1:7 (NKJV) But if we walk in the light as He is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His
Son cleanses us from all sin.
Revelation 7:14 (NKJV) And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So
he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation,
and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
(Reasoner) Notice that
clean white linen garments were given her to wear, yet she must make herself
ready (vv 7-8). In Ephesians 5:26 Christ cleansed his wife…
Ephesians 5:25-26 (NKJV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also
loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify
and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
…in 2 Corinthians 7:1 the Church is exhorted to cleanse herself.
2 Corinthians 7:1 (NKJV) Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let
us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God.
Rev. 19:8b … for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
(Reasoner) [Adam] Clarke
explained that the fine linen is not the righteousness of Christ imputed to
believers, but “that which the grace and Spirit of Christ has [produced] in
them.”
The bride of the Lamb is the church, which is made up of all those who have been made righteous through the righteousness of Christ that has been credited to them and imparted to them. If you and I want to be “home for supper,” we need to make sure that we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and are walking in the light of His holy Word. We must be trusting completely in the sacrifice He made and faithfully striving to obey His Word in daily conduct.
3. The supper is a great
celebration.
(Reasoner) There were two
major events in a Jewish marriage. The betrothal and the wedding were normally
separated by twelve months. The two individuals were considered husband and
wife, and were obligated to faithfulness, at the time of the [betrothal] (Gen
29:21; Deut 22:23-24). The betrothal was a covenant agreement which was
considered binding and was only broken by divorce. Notice that in v 7 the bride
is already called the “wife,” even before the marriage ceremony and supper…. In
the same way, the Church is [as the] the betrothed wife of Christ (2 Cor.
11:2), but the wedding does not take place until [Rev.] 21:9.
It would be more accurate to say that the betrothal is on earth and the
marriage in heaven. In betrothal both parties “plight” their “troth.” “Plight”
means “pledge” and “troth” is related to the word “truth.” Thus, they enter
into a covenant agreement, promising to be true to their word and keep faith.
Matthew 8:11 (NKJV) And I say to you that many will come from east
and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
“sit down” – lit. recline; implies reclining at the table, which was
the customary way to eat meals.
In this Matthew text, Jesus declares that there will be Gentiles and
peoples from all points of the compass who will come and feast with the
patriarchs, but the unbelieving Jews will be kept / cast out.
(R.T. France, Tyndale NT Commentary) The imagery is that of the Messianic banquet (cf. 26:29; Luke 14:15;
22:30), a prominent theme in Jewish eschatological expectation…
Rev. 19:7 “let us rejoice and be glad…”
Rev. 19:9 …'Blessed [happy] are those who are called to the
marriage supper of the Lamb!'
The references to joy, gladness and blessedness all imply a time of great celebration. Sorrow and pain are absent, rejoicing and celebration are the characteristics of this feast.
Conclusion:
(Jewish Domestic Customs and Life in Interpreting the Gospels) After all the preparations for the marriage
had been made and the betrothal period was completed, there was a marriage
parade which followed. Often this seems to have taken place at night, at which
time the bride was brought to the bridegroom's house. Heaton, for example,
notes:
The actual wedding ceremony consisted of the bridegroom's bringing the
bride to his own home. Specially dressed for the occasion, he sets off in the
procession with his friends to meet the bride at her father's house.... The
wedding procession [including many friends of the bride and bridegroom carrying
lamps/torches] returned to the bridegroom's house (with what hilarity and
singing we are left to imagine) and then [after the marriage was consummated] there
began a [massive] feast which lasted anything up to a week, or even [two weeks]
(Judges 14:12).
Matthew 25 is picturing such a wedding parade. It is at night and it
seems that certain unmarried friends of the bridegroom wait to join this
parade. These details make interesting the background which Christ was
referring to in this parable of the ten virgins. … Christ seems to liken the
friends to those who will be prepared to enter the kingdom (the marriage feast)
when He returns.
Matthew 25:13 (NKJV) Watch therefore, for you know neither the day
nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
I don’t know about you, but I anticipate being present at this wedding feast! I want to stay alert and keep my torch/lamp burning brightly. I am trusting in the shed blood of the Lamb and the righteousness that His sacrifice provides. Most of all, I am anxious to see the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world. What a day that will be! What a celebration!
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