The Kingly Savior Dealing
with Self-righteous and Dissenting Pharisees from the Old Religion VS Dealing
with Fasting and Dissenting Disciples of John from the New Religion
Matt. 9:15 "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?"
John 3:29 "The one who has the bride is the bridegroom..."
Comparison
Item |
Dealing with Old Religion (Pharisees) |
Dealing with New Religion (John's Disciples) |
Description |
Indicated Himself as
a physician to heal the sick |
Revealed Himself as the bridegroom to marry the bride |
Example |
Healing the sick, forgiving sins |
Being with
disciples as
in a wedding feast |
Application |
Followers
should regard Him as a physician to restore life |
Followers
should regard Him as the bridegroom to enjoy life with Him |
Related Scriptures |
Matt. 9:12 "Those who
are well have no need
of a physician, but those who are sick." |
Matt. 25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who
took their lamps and went
to meet the bridegroom." |
The Lord's Wisdom |
Used the
metaphor of a physician to respond to Pharisees' questioning |
Used the
metaphor of a bridegroom to respond to John's disciples' questioning |
Impact on
Followers |
Heals and restores their life |
Makes them
groomsmen, ultimately to
become the bride |
The Lord's Purpose |
To save and restore people |
To gain people
as His bride |
Proper Attitude
of Followers |
Recognize their
sickness and need for healing |
Joyfully enjoy
being with the Lord, as
in a wedding feast |
Critique of Religion |
Exposed the self-righteousness of
religious people |
Pointed out that religious rituals
(like fasting) may lose their true meaning |
This table summarizes how the Lord Jesus wisely
responded to questioning from different groups, while revealing
different aspects of Himself as the Savior. He is both
the physician who heals us and the bridegroom
who intimately fellowships with us. This reveals that following Christ should not be trapped in religious
regulations, but should be about building an intimate
relationship with the living Christ.
*Please refer to the 2024
Summer Live Training - Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1) Message
One: Christ as the Great Light, the One with Authority, the Physician, the
Bridegroom, the Unfulled Cloth, and the New Wine
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