…the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to His [Jesus’] disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” They (the Pharisees) said to Him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.” Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? But the time will come when the Bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.
Luke 5:30-34
After calling Levi (Matthew), the tax collector, to be a Disciple, Levi held a great banquet attended by his friends and co-workers and Jesus with the Disciples He had called already. Jewish tax collectors were despised by the religious leaders of that day. The religious establishment considered tax collectors as traitors to their fellow Jews and to the God of the Jews. Undoubtedly, the Pharisees got wind of Levi’s banquet and went to see who was attending the event. Upon seeing Jesus and His Disciples in attendance, they confronted Jesus’ Disciples as to why they were eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus, answering for His Disciples, told them that healthy folks do not need a doctor nor do righteous people need to repent. In His response, Jesus is addressing the Pharisees’ meticulous adherence to the Jewish laws made by previous Pharisees and considered to be traditions to be obeyed as if they were the God-given Commandments and laws. Never mind that they did NOT adhere to God’s Commandments or the other laws written in the Old Testament! Then the Pharisees compared John the Baptist with Jesus and His Disciples, pointing out seemingly opposing views of the two. Here, Jesus uses a metaphor that the Pharisees would never understand outside of their views of marriage ceremonies and celebrations. They could not understand that Messiah would be a Bridegroom to His chosen ones because they, as well as most Jews, were looking for a political Messiah to conquer the Roman government rule of their land and to establish His Kingdom right there in Palestine. The religious leaders had failed to understand Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and, many other of the prophets’ writings of their Messiah’s coming to bring salvation to Jew and Gentile alike! But, Jesus did predict that the Bridegroom will be taken away before the wedding can be consummated. Christians, let us hold dear the return of our Bridegroom to sweep His bride from the earth, taking His bride to Heaven to the feast of eternity with our Bridegroom, Christ! Source: S C Ball
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