Jesus replied, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them?
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast, while the bridegroom is with them?
- KJV And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?
- NKJV And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?
- NASB And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the groom fast while the groom is with them, can you?
- NLT Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus likens his presence to a wedding when fasting is inappropriate. Joy, not mourning, fits the bridegroom's company.
Overview
Jesus calls himself the bridegroom, an image God applied to himself in the Old Testament, hinting at his divine identity. While he is present, his disciples rejoice as wedding guests, and fasting, a sign of mourning or longing, would be out of place. The picture reveals the gladness that the arrival of the Messiah brings.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- John 3:29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
- Eph 5:25–27Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
- Song 3:10–11He has made its posts of silver, its base of gold, its seat of purple fabric. Its interior is inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem.
- Song 2:6–7His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.
- Zeph 3:17The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”
- Ps 45:10–16Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house,
- Song 5:8O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love.
- Isa 62:5For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
- Matt 25:1–10“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
- 2 Cor 11:2I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
- Song 6:1Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you.
- Isa 54:5For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
- Rev 19:7–9Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.
- Judg 14:10–11Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom.
- Matt 22:2“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 5:34 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.