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Love

Teaching Text: Revelation 21: 1-5

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City,the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bridebeautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Themes

Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:

The Marriage of God and His People

Formation

Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:

What parts of marriage represents to you the relationship between God and the church?

Lent: Historically, the season of Lent in the church year is a time of preparation, repentance, and renewal. We remember and mark Jesus’ time of fasting and temptation in the wilderness. We ask God to help remove our sin and anything that has entangled us or is keeping us from experiencing our union with Jesus.

Ancient Jewish weddings

As we look at Ancient Jewish Weddings: (I should say I am indebted to Ray Van Laan, Marty Solomon (from Bema), Frank Viola, and Bethany Allen (from Bridgetown and 24/7 prayer) for all presenting great work and helpful research on this …)

Arrangement - How the family makes the choice. We sometimes think of this in only negative terms, but quite often this worked well and was a true communal effort. A way today maybe a teenager with raging hormones could use some guidance - this isn’t just about you. But it’s a negative Disney type myth that the wishes of the kids wouldn’t have been take into consideration.
Betrothal - father would bring a cup and give it to the son. The son would hand this cup filled with wine to his potential bride and he would say, “This is the cup of a new covenant that I make with you today. I will drink of this cup again until I drink it with you in my Fathers house.
- He hands her the cup. He is saying I will do what most be done. I will prepare a place. I will pay whatever price to make us one.
- If she takes the cup and drinks from it, it was her way of covenantally sealing the arrangement.
Preparing a place: groom goes back to father’s dwelling and builds a place for he and his bride.
- Only the father knows the timing, because he has to approve the work
- A time where father gets to really see the formation of his son.
Groom Returns - he returns. The timing was not known. There was an expectation of readiness and preparedness during whole engagement. Remember Jesus’ parable of the ‘bridesmaids.’
Cleansing - She goes for a big ritual spa day - helped by her bridesamaids and community
Shofar is sounded - a trumpet blast to begin the festivities
Gather under the Chuppah - symbol of their new home and open doors of hospitality
Present the Ketubah - take their vows - Ketubah
- A covenant of what their marriage will me
- Saw this this fall on a roof top but industry city. Chuppah whipping in the wind.
Room Set Aside for the consummation where the best man stands gaurd
- Produces a bloody cloth (scandalizes us, but our cultures norm of using sex to get to know someone would scandalize them)
The families Exchange the Dowry - bride price from the cup of the betrothal
Party for up to a week - remember when they ran out of wine
One Year - Honeymoon. Severely reduced communal responsibility. Learn to love each other

This is also the story of God and His people Israel:

We can trace this same picture through the story of Israel.

The Arangement
- Is off the page.
- On the recesses of eternity past God determined to get bride for His Son
Betrothal - Genesis 12 -15
- God tells Abram leave your father's home and come to a place I will prepare for you.
- They ratify this covenant by walking the blood path
- He becomes Abraham
Time in Egypt – Waiting. Where is the Groom to be found? They are oppressed. Crying Out.
Arrival of the Bridegroom – Passover
God tells Moses to Consecrate Israel – prepare them
A SPECIAL TREASURE TO ME
- Wedding talk in the Hebrew
- Later in Exodus 19 is the SHOFAR - the sound of the Trumpet
They gather Under the Chuppah - the cloud at Mt. Sinai. Camped against the mountain.
God presents the Ketubah - the Ten Commandments.
- Here is how we thrive.
Tabernacle is going to serve as the Honeymoon suite and the Law is Gods gifts to them.
- It makes it all the more tragic that when Moses is up on Mt. Sinai and the people become unfaithful and we have the Golden Calf incident.
- This is like a bride being unfaithful in the middle of the wedding ceremony.
But God continues to move in covenant love. There are places like Ezekiel 16 that describe God’s heartbreak at this unfaithfulness.
- But the picture is there over and over.
The marriage of God and His people.

And then when Jesus arrives and on the eve of his betrayal and death. He says….

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

– John 14 v 2-4

Look at this detail Matthews account gives us…

“Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

– Matthew 26 v 27-29

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church”

– Ephesians 5 v 31-32

How do we live as the Bride of Christ?

Why are we talking about this in Lent?

Lent a time for us to examine our lives in light of Christ.
We often think of only personal devotion.
But what about our relationships?

How are we living in our marriages? How are we living in our singleness? As the Bride of Christ?

As men, as women? Are we faithful to Christ and faithful to one another?

Are we living with what the Apostle Paul calls a sincere and pure devotion?

“When somebody belongs to the Messiah, they continue with their life on earth, but they have a secret life as well, a fresh gift from God, which becomes part of the hidden reality that will be ‘revealed’ at the last day. That is why, in those great scenes in Revelation there is a great, uncountable number of people standing around God’s throne in heaven, singing glad songs and shouting out their praises. This is the heavenly reality which corresponds to the (apparently) weak, feeble praises of the church on earth. And one day this heavenly reality will be revealed, revealed as the true partner of the lamb, now transformed, Cinderella-like, from slave-girl to bride.”

– NT WRIGHT

Enjoy Communion - there is clearly some ALREADY and NOT YET in the reality of God and his people.

Make Ourselves Ready

Let Christ wash us with water and with the Word
- “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless”
  – Ephesians 5:25-27
Consecrate ourselves
- Where have we given ourselves to other gods, to other loves?
- What else has your primary devotion, attention and affection?

Long for His Appearing - think about where we are the story

Bethany Allen - pastor and elder at Bridgetown in Portland about the bride:

A term distinguished from wife—emphasizes being the center of one’s affection and love
Intrinsically tethered to a counterpart: the groom and the groom brings these aspects of pursuit, promise, patience
An anticipatory term connects to something that is about to happen or has just happened
“At the core of a bride’s greatest and most defining act is waiting. This waiting has the power either to define her or to diminish her.”

Waiting can either:

Builds appetite v dulls senses
Deepens love v. inflates fragility
Reveals our deepest hope or illuminates our fears

“Singleness points us beyond earthly marriage (and earthly sex). And bears witness to a life beyond this one—to a heavenly life. It exhibits a high invitation to give oneself to God, who enables us to give oneself to others. Singles can offer a divine state of existence from which marrieds have a lot to learn.”

– Abbie Smith

If you are married in this church you have a chance to show us something of the faithfulness and delight of Christ.