Daily Devotions
Matthew
The Rich Imagery Employed by Jesus
Text: Matthew 9 : 14 - 17
Did the disciples of John and those who were close by understand the rich imagery Jesus employed? Let us take a closer look at the imagery of the bridegroom. The psalmist David used the same imagery in his description of the sun. The glory of the sun in turn reflects the greater glory of God.
“The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth.
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,
Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber…”
Psalm 19:1-5
The prophet Isaiah also utilized the imagery of a bridegroom in his writings. The context of his employment of the imagery of the bridegroom is most significant. First, we must consider the Lord’s promise of blessing and His provision of the Messiah.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me
Because the Lord has appointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord…”
Isaiah 61:1-2
In response to these words of blessing and more (take time to read the whole chapter), Isaiah wrote,
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
Isaiah 61:10
The imagery of the bridegroom suggests the idea of great joy! If John’s disciples understood who Jesus was, then they too should be filled with a similar spirit of joy! The Presence of Jesus on earth should be cause for great joy and celebration!
WHY MISGIVINGS ARISE
Why were the Pharisees and the disciples of John grieved by the fact that Jesus spent time with the tax collectors and the sinners? Let us ponder the following thoughts.
1. Self-righteousness
While it is good and important to cultivate personal righteousness in life, a careful guard must be set up. The nature of sin is such that it threatens to corrupt the individual, even where personal righteousness is concerned. It is one short step from righteousness to self-righteousness.
2. A wrong concept of righteousness
The fact is that the Pharisees wrote off people like the tax collectors and sinners. In their mind, they had already gone too far from God to be redeemed. Thus they shunned the sinful.
The negative expression of writing people off is avoidance of any contact with the sinful. John’s disciples appeared to have a similar problem.
Both have a wrong concept of what constituted righteousness before God. The righteousness of an individual is not compromised just because one associates with sinners.
Jesus had received an anointing from God to proclaim the gospel to the sinful. They, of all people, desperately need to hear the word of God that could transform their lives!
3. Fixed Ideas
One of the problems Jesus had to face in His ministry was that of people who were deeply entrenched in traditionalism. Traditions in themselves were not wrong or bad. However, there was always the danger of being totally inflexible! When inflexibility has occurred, it results in condemnation of any thing that is new or novel.
The teachings of Jesus may indeed be compared to the new and unshrunk cloth. If attached to the old garment, it would tear the whole apparel. It may also be compared to new wine. If the old wineskin attempted to hold the new wine of Jesus’ teachings, the skin would burst!
4. Ignorance
Another major problem that both the disciples of John and the Pharisees had was lack of full Biblical knowledge! They had some knowledge, but their understanding of the Scriptures compared to that of Jesus, may be described as “ignorance”. Unfortunately, they did not see themselves as being in need of receiving further instructions.
Are we in danger of having a similar mindset? Let us check ourselves carefully.