And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom 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?
- BSB Jesus replied, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while He 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 3:29He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
- Eph 5:25–27Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
- Song 3:10–11He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.
- Song 2:6–7His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
- Zeph 3:17The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
- Ps 45:10–16Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house;
- Song 5:8I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
- Isa 62:5For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
- Matt 25:1–10Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
- 2 Cor 11:2For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
- Song 6:1Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.
- Isa 54:5For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
- Rev 19:7–9Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
- Judg 14:10–11So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
- Matt 22:2The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage 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
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