Occasion: The Pharisees
Criticized The Disciples For Not Fasting.
Lesson: In Christ's Presence Is
Joy.
Bible Text:
Luke 5:33-35 NLT (Matthew 9:15/ Mark
2:19,20)
33 One day some people said to
Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and
so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always
eating and drinking?”
34 Jesus responded, “Do wedding
guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not.
35 But someday The Groom will be
taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
The question put
forth, hinted at a loose hold on morals and customs by Jesus.
Our Lord responded
with a figurative illustration.
The disciples were
the best men at a wedding. He was The Bridegroom.
Their time
together, the wedding feast, was not a time of sorrow but of
rejoicing.
Would it be right
for the guests of the wedding to be in sorrow, of course not.
A time of sorrow
would come soon enough when He, The Bridegroom, would be taken from
them.
John 16:20 KJV
Verily, verily, I say unto you, That
ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall
be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
That time of sorrow
has come and gone, so what should the disciples of Jesus feel today?
Nehemiah 8:10
KJV
"...for
this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of
The Lord is your strength.
Psalm 5:11,12
KJV
11 But let all those that put their
trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou
defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
12 For thou, Lord, wilt bless the
righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
Psalm 16:11 KJV
Thou wilt shew me the path of life:
in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are
pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 132:16 KJV
I will also clothe her priests with
salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
Psalm 144:15 KJV
"... happy is that people,
whose God is The Lord.
Proverbs 16:20
KJV
"...whoso trusteth in The Lord,
happy is he.
Isaiah 12:3 KJV
Therefore with joy shall ye draw
water out of the wells of salvation.
Isaiah 35:10 KJV
And the ransomed of The Lord shall
return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their
heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing
shall flee away.
Isaiah 51:11 KJV
Therefore the redeemed of The Lord
shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy
shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and
sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
Isaiah 61:10 KJV
I will greatly rejoice in The Lord,
my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the
garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of
righteousness, as a Bridegroom decketh Himself with ornaments, and as
a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Jeremiah 15:16
KJV
Thy Words were found, and I did eat
them; and thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart:
for I am called by thy name, O Lord God Of Hosts.
John 3:29 NLT
It is The Bridegroom who marries the
bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with Him and hear His
vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at His success.
John 15:10,11
KJV
10 If ye keep My commandments, ye
shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments,
and abide in His love.
11 These things have I spoken unto
you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be
full.
John 16:24 KJV
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My
name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
John 17:12,13
KJV
12 While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest Me I have
kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the
scripture might be fulfilled.
13 And now come I to thee; and these
things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in
themselves.
Acts 2:46 NLT
They worshiped together at the
Temple each day, met in homes for The Lord’s Supper, and shared
their meals with great joy and generosity.
Romans 14:17 KJV
For the kingdom of God is not meat
and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in
The Holy Ghost.
I Peter 1:7-9
KJV
7 That the trial
of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth,
though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and
honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in
whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory:
9 Receiving the end of your faith,
even the salvation of your souls.
Revelation
21:4,5 KJV
4 And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former
things are passed away.
5 And He that sat upon the throne
said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for
these words are true and faithful.
Revelation
19:1-9 NLT
1 After this, I heard what sounded
like a vast crowd in heaven shouting, “Praise The Lord!
Salvation and glory and power belong
to our God.
2 His judgments are true and
just..."
3 And again their voices rang out:
“Praise The Lord!..."
4 Then the twenty-four elders and
the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting
on the throne. They cried out, “Amen! Praise The Lord!”
5 And from the throne came a voice
that said, “Praise our God, all His servants,
all who fear Him, from the least to
the greatest.”
6 Then I heard again what sounded
like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or
the crash of loud thunder “Praise The Lord! For The Lord our God,
The Almighty, reigns.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and
let us give honor to Him. For the time has come for
the wedding feast of The Lamb,
and His bride has prepared herself.
8 (KJV)
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.
9 And the angel said to me, “Write
this: Blessed (Happy) are those who are invited to the wedding feast
of The Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from
God.”
Dear friend, the
wedding of The Lamb, is about to take place. Do you have the
wedding garment on, is your lamp burning brightly for The Bridegroom?
Matthew 22:1-14
NLT
1 Jesus also told them other
parables. He said,
2 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be
illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast
for his son.
3 When the banquet was ready, he
sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all
refused to come!
4 “So he sent other servants to
tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened
cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the
banquet!’
5 But the guests he had invited
ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his
business.
6 Others seized his messengers and
insulted them and killed them.
7 “The king was furious, and he
sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town.
8 And he said to his servants, ‘The
wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of
the honor.
9 Now go out to the street corners
and invite everyone you see.’
10 So the servants brought in
everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall
was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to
meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper
clothes for a wedding.
12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how
is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man
had no reply.
13 Then the king said to his aides,
‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but few
are chosen.”
Matthew 25:1-13
NLT (Parable of Jesus.)
1 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will
be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet The
Bridegroom.
2 Five of them were foolish, and
five were wise.
3 The five who were foolish didn’t
take enough olive oil for their lamps,
4 but the other five were wise
enough to take along extra oil.
5 When The Bridegroom was delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight they were roused by
the shout, ‘Look, The Bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet Him!’
7 “All the bridesmaids got up and
prepared their lamps.
8 Then the five foolish ones asked
the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps
are going out.’
9 “But the others replied, ‘We
don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for
yourselves.’
10 “But while they were gone to
buy oil, The Bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with
Him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.
11 Later, when the other five
bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord!
Open the door for us!’
12 “But He called back, ‘Believe
Me, I don’t know you!’
13 “So you, too, must keep
watch! For you do not know the day or hour of My return.
