In the books of Matthew and Revelation, Christ is revealed as the Bridegroom; He is the lovely Bridegroom and we are His bride, and as the Bridegroom, He’s the most wonderful Person for a living enjoyment in His presence, and we as the sons of the bridechamber love to be in His presence, listening to His speaking.
Lord Jesus, we love You! You are our lovely Bridegroom. We love to be in Your presence, listening to Your speaking, and enjoying You as our dear Bridegroom. Oh Lord, increase our love for You. Keep us open to You to be infused with You so that You may increase and we may decrease! We are Your bride! We love You, Lord!
In the Gospel of Matthew, we see that the Lord took every opportunity to unveil Himself to His people. When the self-righteous Pharisees asked His disciples why does the Lord eat and drink with the sinners and tax collectors, the Lord unveiled Himself as the Physician.
Instead of giving them a sermon or telling them off, exposing the self-righteous Pharisees with their hypocrisy, the Lord revealed to them that He is the Physician, and He came for those who are sick, not for those who are well.
This indicated to the Pharisees that they thought they are ok, healthy, and righteous, but the Lord as the Physician came for the sick ones, and actually all men are sick.
Not only are the sinners and tax collectors sick; their sickness may be shown to all, but all men are sick, whether they realise this or not. So the Lord came as the Physician.
The Lord Himself is not sick; He put on human flesh but not the sin of the flesh, and He had no sin in His flesh. He came as the God-man, and His very presence with people touched them, exposed them, enlightened them, and even healed them.
People wanted to just be where the Lord is, for God was expressed through Him, and being with Him healed them.
Yes, those around Him were healed of their physical illnesses, disabilities, and diseases, but even more, all men can be healed in their spirit and soul from any inward sicknesses.
Even as believers in Christ, though we have believed into the Lord Jesus and we have Him as our life in our spirit, we still need to come to Him and be with Him to be healed by Him from any sicknesses in our mind, emotions, and will. Day by day we need His healing, which is mainly in our spirit and our soul.
Christ is our Lovely Bridegroom, the most Wonderful Person for a Living Enjoyment in His Presence
In Matthew 9:14-15, the disciples of John came to the Lord Jesus and asked Him why do they (John’s disciples) and the Pharisees fast much, but the Lord’s disciples do not fast.
The Lord Jesus took this opportunity to unveil Himself as the Bridegroom; He told them that the sons of the bridechamber cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them.
The Gospel of Matthew reveals Christ as the Bridegroom. On the one hand, Christ is our Physician, healing us inwardly; on the other hand, He is our lovely Bridegroom, the most wonderful person.
Both the Physician and the Bridegroom are wonderful persons, even the most delightful people, the most pleasant kind of persons. The Lord Jesus revealed Himself to John’s disciples as the Bridegroom.
John the Baptist came and preached baptism for repentance to open the way for the Lord Jesus to come in; however, John had some disciples, and they formed a new religion, which was quite similar to the old religion in the matter of fasting.
They practiced fasting, just as the Pharisees did, and they were wondering why do the Lord’s disciples not fast. Oh Lord!
So the Lord told them that His disciples are the sons of the bridechamber, and He is the Bridegroom, so there’s much rejoicing while He is with them.
When we have the Lord with us as the Bridegroom, we cannot mourn or fast; we can just enjoy Him and behold Him, for He’s the most wonderful person.
When the Lord Jesus as our lovely Bridegroom is with us, we rejoice, for His presence is with us.
The fact that Jesus is the Bridegroom implies that He came to gain a bride, which is us, the many disciples of Christ, the many believers in Christ.
Even though there are so many negative things happening around us, we have the Lord Jesus as our Physician to heal us and restore us, and we have Him as our lovely Bridegroom.
We are being prepared daily as His bride to match Him at His return as our Bridegroom.
Matthew 25:1 is a further word concerning the Lord Jesus as the Bridegroom; we are the virgins preparing ourselves for His coming.
We have our lamps (our spirit) and we are also gathering oil in our vessels (our soul) so that we may be ready for the Lord as our Bridegroom to return, for us to go together to the wedding feast.
The Lord is preparing us both personally in our personal, private, spiritual, and intimate relationship with Him, and corporately as the church through His speaking and our blending together, for us to be His bride.
The Lord will come back as the Bridegroom; He is the most pleasant and attractive person.
Today we believers in Christ have been charmed by Him; we are just in love with Him, and we are drawn to Him day by day.
Christ came as God embodied to have a bride; we are those who have been gained by Him and who are courted by Him to be His bride. Christ is the Bridegroom and we are the bride.
If you think about a recent wedding you went to, besides the beauty of the bride you notice how the bridegroom is the most wonderful person; he may not have been so wonderful before, but on the day of his wedding, he’s just a great guy.
You look at the delightful scene at a wedding, and you see these most wonderful people, the bride and the groom, and everyone rejoices with them. It is such a pleasant situation.
Christ as our Bridegroom is the most pleasant person for our enjoyment. He wants us to enjoy Him and be filled with Him. As the Physician, He is healing us of our sick condition.
As the Bridegroom, He is attracting and drawing us to Himself to make us the same as He is.
As John the Baptist said in John 3:29-30, He must increase and we must decrease; the Bridegroom must increase in us and we must decrease, for His increase in us is the bride.
We should appreciate Christ not only as our Physician for the recovery of life but also as our Bridegroom for a living enjoyment in His presence.
How wonderful and pleasant is the Lord Jesus as our Bridegroom! We love to be in His presence, enjoying Him.
Yes, we experience Christ, and sometimes our experience of Him may not be that pleasant; but as the Bridegroom, we want to enjoy Him and have a living enjoyment in His presence.
We need to take this to the Lord in prayer, in our personal time with Him, asking Him to unveil us to see Him as our Bridegroom so that we may enjoy His riches and participate in what He is to be His bride.
We treasure His presence, and we love to behold Him so that we may reflect Him.
Lord Jesus, unveil us to see You as our lovely Bridegroom. Amen, Lord, we love You! We are Your bride and You are our Bridegroom. Thank You for coming as God incarnated to gain a bride. We open to You. Draw us. Captivate us. Infuse us with Yourself. Save us from trying to do things for You outwardly; bring us into an intimate relationship with You in spirit. May we learn to open to You in all things and concerning all things, having a private, spiritual, intimate, and personal relationship with You as our lovely Bridegroom. Oh Lord, we love to be in Your presence, beholding You! You are the most wonderful One. We love to behold Your face and be infused with You. May You increase in us and may we decrease. We love to be in Your presence, having a living enjoyment of Christ. You are truly the most wonderful One, and we want to be with You. We prepare our lamps, we want to gain oil in our vessels, and we want to be with You as our Bridegroom at the wedding feast! We love You, dear Lord Jesus, our lovely Bridegroom!
We’re Part of the Lord’s Corporate Best Man: He’s the Bridegroom and we’re the Sons of the Bridechamber becoming His Bride!
Our Lord Jesus is the most wonderful Person; He came not to bring in a new religion or gain a religious following but He came as the lovely Bridegroom to court us and love us.
Others asked Him why His disciples didn’t fast, while all other religious people fast; this was a question related to doctrines and religious practices.
The Lord, however, did not answer with a doctrine or religious practice but with His living and wonderful Person as the Bridegroom.
Instead of giving us more doctrines, the Lord presents Himself to us as our lovely Bridegroom.
He further said that His disciples are the sons of the bridechamber in the presence of the bridegroom, so they cannot fast or mourn while the bridegroom is with them. How wonderful!
When a bridegroom is about to get married, he has his sons of the bridechamber, the best man and his best friends, and they rejoice together. No best man at a wedding is sad or fasts; rather, he is happy for the bridegroom, he feasts with the bridegroom, and he rejoices all the time.
The Lord’s disciples were the sons of the bridechamber and the Lord Jesus is the Bridegroom. Instead of fasting and being sad or mourning, they rejoiced and feasted with the Lord.
Later, they became the bride (John 3:29; Rev. 19:7). We today are also the same; we are the sons of the bridechamber who are becoming the bride.
We have the Lord Jesus with us, in our spirit, and we cannot mourn but rather, we rejoice, we are glad in the Lord, and we love Him!
It is such a shame to the Lord when we walk in sadness and mourning, even though the Lord is with us and in us!
The religious people are always sad, trying really hard to keep some religious practices and striving to please God in their own way, yet without Christ. This is not what God wants.
What God desires is to gain some loving seekers, the sons of the bridechamber who love the Lord Jesus as their lovely Bridegroom!
What are we today: are we a disciple of John or of the Pharisees, or are we the sons of the bridechamber with the Lord Jesus as our Bridegroom?
In our Christian life, as we do this and that, as we meet with the saints, and as we live our family life, do we love the Lord Jesus and enjoy Him as our lovely Bridegroom, or do we strive to keep some religious practices and observances, thus being sad and mournful?
It is possible to even serve God mournfully (Mal. 3:14); this is so sad, and it is such a shame.
The Lord Jesus as our Bridegroom is within us, and we are going to meet Him soon; we should rejoice and be glad, and we should feast with Him!
May we realise that we’re part of the “best man” of the Lord Jesus at His wedding, even part of the corporate bride that will marry Him!
Today we need to be full of joy and rejoicing, for we love Him whom we do not see and we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Pet. 1:8).
We were sinners and tax collectors, but the Lord came to us as our Physician and healed our sick condition.
Even more, He loved us, He drew us to Himself, and now we enjoy Him as our lovely Bridegroom; we are the sons of the bridechamber rejoicing to hear His voice.
Don’t you love to hear the Lord’s voice? Don’t we love His fresh speaking every morning? We love Him!
We love to speak with Him, open to Him, and feast with Him.
He speaks to us and reveals to us all His secrets, He brings us into the desire of His heart, and He tenderly and lovingly cares for us. How amazing it is that the sinners and tax collectors have become the sons of the bridechamber, and we now rejoice with the Lord!
Lord Jesus, we love You and we rejoice with You and in You! Though we have never seen You, yet we love You, and though we don’t see You at present, we rejoice with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory! You are our lovely Bridegroom, and we are the sons of the bridechamber who are becoming Your bride! Amen, Lord, we love being in Your presence. We rejoice to hear Your voice. Our joy is made full as we spend time with You. Speak to us and reveal to us what is in Your heart. We open to You. We turn our heart to You. We want to behold You with an unveiled face. Oh Lord, we are not sad or mourning today, for You as our lovely Bridegroom are with us, and we’re being prepared to be Your loving bride! Amen, Lord, we love You! We refuse to be religious or to perform religious activities; we simply give ourselves to love You and feast with You! We love to hear Your voice. Your words are sweet to our taste. Your countenance is lovely. We love You, Lord!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ray Mulligan on this topic, and portions from, Life-study of Mark, pp. 81-82 (by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The All-inclusive Christ as Revealed in Matthew (2025 Thanksgiving Blending Conference), week 2, Christ as the Physician and the Bridegroom – day 5.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Lord, Thou art the lovely Bridegroom, / God appointed, dear to us; / Thy dear self is so attractive, / To our heart so beauteous! / Dear Beloved, we admire Thee, / Who can tell Thy preciousness; / All Thy love we deeply treasure / And Thine untold loveliness. (Hymns #170 stanzas 1-2)
– Our Bridegroom soon is coming / To claim His holy Bride, / The ones whom He has wooed, won, / And wholly sanctified. / O Lord, we would be ready / And get our hearts in tune / For the wedding day that’s coming / Very soon. / Oh, the wedding day is coming, / Is coming very soon, / When the Bride shall be prepared / And shall marry her Bridegroom. / Oh, what love and consecration / Should all our hearts attune / For that wedding day that’s coming / Very soon. (Hymns #1316 stanza 1 and chorus)
– We are fellows of the Bridegroom / And our fasting days have ceased. / With the Bridegroom in His chamber, / Joyfully we keep the feast. / We as virgins may enjoy Him, / Virgins simple, single, chaste. / Going forth to meet the Bridegroom, / Out from all the world we haste. (Hymns #1160 stanzas 2-3)
