Let's open our Bibles today to
Mark chapter 2. Mark chapter 2, verse 18 begins
a new paragraph, and it appears from the question that is asked
in verse 18, that it grew out of our Lord eating in the house
of Levi of Matthew, the publican. Remember last time we looked
at the question that the Pharisees asked the disciples of the Lord,
that is in verse 16, how is it that he, that is Christ, eateth
and drinketh with publicans and sinners. And the Lord answered
that question, they that are whole have no need of the physician,
but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. Now, in verse 18, we see that
a different group, that is, the disciples of John and of the
Pharisees. The scripture said, they used
to fast. And they, that is, the disciples
of John and the Pharisees, they come and say unto him, why do
the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast? But thy disciples
fast not. Jesus said unto them, can the
children of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with
them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot
fast. But the days will come when the
bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they
fast in those days. No man soweth a piece of new
cloth on an old garment, else the new piece that is filled
it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And
no man putteth new wine into old bottles, else the new wine
doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles
will be marred. but new wine must be put into
new bottles. So the question is, why do the
disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples
fast not? Our Lord answers this question
in two parts. The first part we will look at
He answers by the truth concerning a wedding. The truth concerning
a wedding. Weddings, remember the question
is, why don't your disciples fast? Well, weddings are usually
times of feasting, festivals of joy. While fasting is associated
more with sorrow and affliction. A wedding is typically a time
of music and dancing and feasting. Now, the Jewish weddings, like
our weddings, would always include those that he mentions in his
answer. There would be a bride, there
would be a bridegroom, and there would be friends of the bride
chamber. Now, we would refer to these
as groomsmen. the children of the bride chamber
in this passage, and our Lord's answer clearly refers to his
disciples. Now we know, as we've been looking
at his life, that to this point he has called five disciples. He's called Andrew and Peter,
James and John, and last week he called Levi, who is called
Matthew. Now why is it that your disciples
do not fast? The Lord answers by explaining
to them what is typical concerning a wedding. A wedding is not a
time of fasting. A wedding is a time of feasting,
a time of rejoicing, a time of great joy. But at a wedding,
you would have a bride, you would have a bridegroom, and you would
have the groomsman. Now the groomsman here in our
Lord's answer clearly refers to his disciples. These five
men, at least, if not others that he had called to be his
disciples. But the point I want to make
is, in his answer, he refers to himself as a bridegroom. Now he wasn't the first to call
himself a bridegroom. If you look with me over just
a few pages in John chapter 3, John the Baptist, remember his
forerunner who came to make straight the way of the Lord, that he
too had referred to the Lord Jesus Christ as a bridegroom. Here in John chapter 3 and verse
26, we will begin. You yourselves bear me witness
that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. Now notice, he that hath the
bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom,
now John refers to himself here as the friend of the bridegroom. One of the groomsmen, we might
say. The friend of the bridegroom. He standeth and heareth him,
rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This
my joy, John the Baptist, this my joy, therefore is fulfilled. He, that is Christ, you ask,
his disciples came and asked him, well, master, the one to
whom you bear witness at Jordan, all men are going to him. He
had borne witness to Christ. Behold, the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world. Now, it seems that these questions
were asked to provoke jealousy, no doubt. Now, John, it looks
like your ministry's going down. His ministry's going up. Everyone's
going to him. Well, John said, listen, the
friend of the bridegroom rejoices at the voice of the bridegroom,
He, that is Christ, He must increase. And that was always God's purpose,
and that was John's purpose, and that should be the purpose
of every man that God calls and puts into the ministry, that
Christ be lifted up, that He increase, that we diminish in
ourselves. Don't look at us, look at Him. Don't look to the preacher, look
to the message of the preacher, that is the Christ of God. He's the one who said, and I,
if I be lifted up, shall draw all men unto me. He that cometh
from above, now who is this? This is the bridegroom. He's
the one who came down from heaven, the eternal son of God, who came
into this world by means of the incarnation He that cometh from
above, He's above all. The Lord Jesus Christ is not
some poor wannabe Savior, my friends. He's the Lord of Lords. He's the King of Kings. He came
from above, and He is above all. All things by Him were created. All things that were made were
made by Him. John said, listen, don't feel
sorry for me. No, he must increase, I must
decrease. He that cometh from above is
above all. He that is of the earth is earthly
and speaketh of the earth. He that cometh from heaven is
above all. And what he hath seen and heard,
that he testifieth. And no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony
hath set to his seal that God is true. So, in our Lord's answer
that we are looking at here to the question, why is it that
the disciples of the Pharisees and the disciples of John fast,
but your disciples do not fast. In his answer, he speaks of a
wedding and he presents himself under this symbol of a bridegroom. Now he wasn't the first. And
the scriptures, and I know that you know this, but let me remind
us, the scriptures speak of Christ as a bridegroom and his church
as his bride. That's the teaching of the Word
of God. Christ is the heavenly bridegroom. His church, those who are saved
by the grace of God, we make up his bride. The Apostle Paul,
you're familiar with this passage, I'm sure, in Ephesians chapter
5. He's dealing with practical things
for believers, and he speaks of husbands and wives, and tells
us our responsibility. And he quotes that passage of
Scripture from Genesis chapter 2. The first marriage The first
marriage that ever took place in this world was a marriage
between Adam and Eve. And at that time, the scripture
says, God spoke, for this cause shall a man leave his father
and mother and shall be joined unto his wife, now listen, and
they too shall become one flesh. You've got two individuals. man,
woman. When they get married, they become
one. There's a union in the marriage
relationship. And the scriptures tell us that
God's children are in union with Christ. He is the head and we
are members of his body. And after Paul mentioned that
there in Ephesians chapter 5, he said, this is a great mystery. And it is, isn't it? This is
a great mystery. But I speak, now listen, but
I speak concerning Christ and the church. It used the picture
of husband and wife, marriage, they become one. And I believe,
no doubt, this is one of the reasons that God said, I hate
putting away. God said that. He hated putting
away. Because God chose this to picture
the relationship between his darling son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
and believers. He is the bridegroom and his
church. is his bride. God said, I hate
putting away. Why? Because Christ never puts
away one of his. It's a picture of that union,
of that relationship that can never be broken. The two become
one. We are one in Christ. In Isaiah chapter 54 and verse
5, we read, for thy maker Who's our maker? Who made you? You didn't make yourself. Who
made you? God did. The Lord Jesus Christ. For thy maker is thine husband. The Lord of hosts is his name,
and the Redeemer. Who's the Redeemer? Who redeemed
his bride? Who redeemed sinners with his
precious blood? We know who, the Lord Jesus Christ. For thy maker is thine husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name, and thy redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel, the God of the whole earth shall he be called. You know in Romans chapter seven,
look here with me just a moment, Romans chapter seven. When we come into this world,
all of us, we are married, according to
this passage. We're all married. Who are we
married to? We're married to the law. We're
married to the law of God. Romans chapter seven. Know ye
not, brethren, for I speak to them that know the law, how that
the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the
woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband
so long as he liveth. But if the husband be dead, she
is loose from the law of her husband. So then, if while her
husband liveth she be married to another man, she shall be
called an adulteress. But if her husband be dead, She
is free from that law, now notice, so that she is no adulteress,
though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren,
you also, notice he's talking to believers, brethren, you also
are become dead to the law, how? By the body of Christ, that is
by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Before we read on, think
about this. We come into this world and we
are married to the law. And the law required that we
perform perfectly. We could not bring forth fruit
unto God. He couldn't accept that fruit
of our obedience. Why? Because it was always imperfect. It was always flawed. We might
attempt to keep the law and do our best to keep the law, but
yet it was always unacceptable to a God of absolute holiness. But now, we have become dead
to the law. How? By Christ, in whom we have
a union. When he died, we died. We've become dead to that law
So that in order that, now we may bring forth fruit unto God. Notice, for wherefore, my brethren,
you also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that
you should be married to another. Our heavenly bridegroom, who
are you married to today? We're all married to one, either
the law or Christ. All men, that you should be married to
another, even to him who is raised from the dead. Now notice that
we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the
flesh, the motions of sins which were by the law did work in our
members to bring forth fruit unto death. That's all we could
do until we were made in union to Christ, brought into union
with Christ. Our first husband, the law, we
became dead to the law by the body of Christ, by the death
of Christ. That, in order that we should
be married to another, even to him. that is raised from the
dead, that in order that we might bring forth fruit unto God. Now
the Lord Jesus Christ here in this answer that we're looking
at in Mark chapter two, he speaks of himself as the bridegroom
and why his disciples were not fasting. Weddings are not times
of fasting, but rather times of joy and rejoicing. I want you to keep your place
here in Mark chapter two, but I want you to turn way back here
to Deuteronomy, book of Deuteronomy chapter 24. Several weeks ago, I was asked
to write a forward for a book that's going to be printed by
Tim James. And this book contains messages
that he preached through the book of Deuteronomy. And I have
read through the book, and I'm going to speak to us this morning
from one of his messages he called the honeymoon, the honeymoon. And he takes his text here in
chapter 24 and verse 5. This is God's law, remember.
When a man, Deuteronomy chapter 24 and verse 5. When a man hath
taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war. Neither shall
he be charged with any business, but he shall be free at home
one year. and shall cheer up his wife,
which he hath taken. Now, remember Christ is a bridegroom,
and we are his bride, members of his body, if we know him as
our Lord and Savior. Now, as you look at this verse
of scripture, there's several things that he brings out. First of all, it was for a definite
period, one year. One year. And this is to picture
to you and I, eternity. A complete time. Eternity. Because the love which Christ
has for His bride is an eternal love. You began, at some point
in your life, you began to love your bride. Maybe you were about
15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 30, whatever. And you met this young girl,
this lady, and you fell into love with her. The Lord Jesus Christ has always
loved his bride. Never been a time when he has
not loved his bride. The betrothal, we don't use that
word any longer, it was more than an engagement. was more
like a contract, a contract. And this speaks to us of the
fact of God's election, God choosing his bride from old eternity because
of love, and love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ. It was out of his love that he
chose. And notice she's called a new
wife, when a man taketh a new wife. Not in the sense that he
had a wife before her, but in this sense. She's a new creature. She's a new creation. Just as
Eve, here's Adam, he's all alone as far as mankind is concerned. He's in the garden. and God creates
him a helpmate. She was a new creation. And so
the wife of the Lord Jesus Christ, his church, she's made new, a
new creation in Christ Jesus. And Eve was perfect for Adam. She was suitable for Adam to
be a helpmate. And even so, The church of the
Lord Jesus Christ, his bride is suitable for him. She was born into this world.
Now let's think of ourselves. We came into this world and we
were sinful beings. We were wicked when we came into
this world, but we've been made new, been made new in the likeness
of Christ. And now the bride of Christ possesses
a beauty, a holiness, not of her own, but it was put upon
her. It is rather the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we read in Ezekiel, her beauty
is perfect through his comeliness, which he put upon her. The beauty,
you can't see yourself like this. I know that. We look in the mirror
and we see spots and blemishes and just like in the song of
Solomon, the bride saw herself as unlovely. And yet Christ said,
thou art altogether lovely. That's the way he sees her. Why?
Because of his beauty, not because of our innate natural Righteousness,
but His righteousness is put upon every believer. It's perfect
through His comeliness. Now, this is what I rejoiced
in as I read this chapter. The man was to cheer up his wife
one year. That's what he was to do. He
was to cheer up his wife. And I will say this, Tim. made
the point that if this was practiced today, maybe so many marriages
wouldn't end in divorce if this was put into practice today.
But a man was to cheer up his wife. And there's four things
mentioned here. Number one, he was not to go
out to war. Not to go out to war. And the
reason he was not to go out to war The battle's already been
fought. I'm talking about us as his bride. The battle's already been fought.
All of our enemies, he's already defeated. He's already conquered
Satan, sin, death, and hell. He's not to go out to war. Number
two, he's not to go to work. Why? Because the work has been
finished. The work of redemption, it's
been finished. When he said, hanging there upon
the tree, it is finished. Would you, would you dare? Would
you dare put anything to his work? Some little old something
you think you could do? Would you dare to put anything
that you could do when everything that we do is naturally marred
because of who we are? Would we try to add that to his
work? Oh, no. Work's finished. Husband's not to go to war. Battle's
been fought and won. Not to go to work. The work's
been finished. And number three, He's never
to pay taxes. Do no business. He's never to
pay taxes, which reminds us that the debt that we all owed, he's
already paid it. He's already paid it. And it's been stamped. A line's
been drawn through it with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
paid in full. Not one cent. Not one error,
not one transgression remains against God's children. Why? Because our husband paid it. The bridegroom paid it. And fourth, he ever lives to cheer her up. He's there for a month to cheer
her up. He never forsakes her. And the
Lord Jesus Christ we know never forsakes us. And let me ask you,
as a child of God, do you ever need cheering up? Do you? I do. Ever need cheering up? Kind of get down in the mouth
and discouraged and disgruntled? Things don't go the way you thought
they should go, and you ever need cheering up? Yes, you're
a child of God, and yes, you should always be rejoicing in
the Lord, but do you ever need cheering up? He's here to do
it. Don't look to anyone else to
cheer you up. Look to Christ. Look to Him. He'll cheer you up. He'll never
leave you. And then I would have us look, if you will, in Revelation
chapter 19. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ
is going to come again for his bride, and he's going to take
us to the wedding supper of the Lamb. Chapter 19 of Revelation, in verse 7, Let us be glad and rejoice and
give honor to him for the marriage of the lamb has come and his
wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine
linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me,
write, blessed are they that are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, these are
the true sayings of God. Yes, as the bride of Christ,
one day we will be called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. We will be arrayed there in that
righteousness which is pictured by white linen. We know that
righteousness is the righteousness of Christ. So why is it that your disciples
don't fast? Well, because the bridegroom's
here. Now when the bridegroom is taken,
they will fast. And we know in John chapter 16,
their hearts were filled with sorrow when he spoke to them
of the fact. The world's going to rejoice,
he said. They're going to rejoice. When I'm crucified, when I'm
hanging on the tree, the world is going to rejoice, but you're
going to weep. But your sorrow shall be turned
into joy. Now, the second part of his answer,
new bottles for new wine. Look back in Mark chapter two.
New bottles for new wine. Now you know they didn't have
glass bottles. Let me just remind us of that. These bottles were
made out of skins of animals. They weren't glass bottles, but
skins of animals. But our Lord says, and he gives
a parable. Luke calls this a parable, this
part of his answer, verses 21 and 22. No man also seweth a
piece of new cloth on an old garment, else a new piece that
filled it up taketh away from the old. and the rent is made
worse. No man put his new wine into
old bottles, else the new wine doth burst the bottles and the
wine is spilled. The bottles will be marred. But
new wine must be put into new bottles. The old garment. What is this, the old garment?
Remember who he's speaking to. these disciples of the Pharisees
and of John. The old garment clearly refers
to their attempt to obey the law of God, to keep the law of
God. The new that is sewed on is the
traditions of the elders, traditions that they took and placed even
many times above the law. Remember, they tithed of small
herbs in their garden, but our Lord said they omitted the weightier
matters of the law. Mercy and judgment and love. They had a garment. It was an
old garment, first of all. The law was never given to give
righteousness. The law was given to show us
our need of a righteousness that we could not provide. So we've
got an old garment and it's full of holes. It's shabby because
of our sinfulness. And so what do we do? We take
these commandments of men and we sew them on. And what happens? It just makes the rent worse.
That's all it does. making yourself righteous before
God by your attempt to keep the law, the law of God or the law
and commandments of men, like these Pharisees did. And one
part of their man-made traditions was fasting. Remember that Pharisee
in our Lord's parable in Luke chapter 18, when he was standing
there praying with himself, he said, Lord, I fast twice in the
week. Every week, two days, every week,
I fast. Where'd he get that? He didn't
get it from the law of God. That's that new cloth that they've
sewed on. And it only makes the rent worse.
In other words, rather than submitting to the Lord Jesus Christ, bowing
to him and trusting in him for all our righteousness, not most
of it, but all our righteousness, We try to make ourselves look
good in his sight by our obedience, by our keeping of the law. Just makes the rent worse. The
same thing is true about wine. New wine put into old bottles.
The wine expands and the bottles burst. No, new wine, the gospel,
the message of Christ and the joy that he brings, it must be
put into new bottles. Man must be born again of the
Spirit of God. That's what our Lord is saying.
New bottles into which the wine of the gospel is put and they
preserve. Notice that when he speaks about
the new wine. But new wine must be put into
new bottles and in the other Gospel, it speaks about the skin
being preserved. And the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, when it comes into a person's heart, comes into our life, the
Holy Spirit makes us new creatures in Christ Jesus. The wine of
the gospel is put in. And it's the bottles we are preserved. We don't burst, we're preserved
under the coming and kingdom of the Lord Jesus. I trust that the Lord would bless
this word on us here today.