Mateus 9

Mateus 9

Vincent adds that "In Judea there were two groomsmen, one for the bridegroom, the other for his bride. Before marriage they acted as intermediaries between the couple; at the wedding they offered gifts, waited upon the the bride and bridegroom, and attended them to the bridal chamber. It was the duty of the friend of the bridegroom to present him to his bride, after marriage to maintain proper terms between the parties, and especially to defend the bride’s good fame. The Rabbinical writings speak of Moses as the friend of the bridegroom who leads out the bride to meet Jehovah at Sinai (Ex 19:17); and describe Michael and Gabriel as acting as the friends of the bridegroom to our first parents, when the Almighty himself took the cup of blessing and spoke the benediction. John the Baptist represents himself as standing in the same relation to Jesus." (Matthew 9 Commentary) Bridegroom (in phrase "attendants of the bridegroom")(3567)(numphon) is a wedding hall, the place where the wedding ceremonies are held (Mt 22:10) or a bridal chamber, as the place where the marriage is consummated, the chamber containing the bridal bed. The bridal chamber in which the marriage bed was prepared, usually in the house of the bridegroom where the bride was brought in procession (See Jewish Wedding Analogy). In the present passage it refers to the friends of the bridegroom whose duty it was to provide and care for whatever pertained to the bridal chamber, i. e. whatever was needed for the due celebration of the nuptials in the bridal chamber. Found only 4x in NT - bridegroom(3), wedding hall(1). - Matt. 9:15; Matt. 22:10; Mk. 2:19; Lk. 5:34. No uses in the Septuagint. The bridegroom (the actual individual)((3566)(numphios) is distinct from "the sons of the bride-chamber" and here is the actual spouse, the one newly married. In classical Greek numphios carries the meaning of “bridegroom,” “betrothed,” and “young husband.” In Homer’s Iliad it refers to “one lately married” (cf. Liddell-Scott). In addition to the singular form the plural numphiois is used to signify the “bridal pair” (e.g., Euripides [Fifth Century B.C.]). Also, numphios is used adjectivally with the meaning “bridal.” Numphios - 12x - Matt. 9:15; Matt. 25:1; Matt. 25:5; Matt. 25:6; Matt. 25:10; Mk. 2:19; Mk. 2:20; Lk. 5:34; Lk. 5:35; Jn. 2:9; Jn. 3:29; Rev. 18:23 Numphios in Septuagint - Jdg. 15:6; Jdg. 19:5; Neh. 13:28; Ps. 19:5; Isa. 61:10; Isa. 62:5; Jer. 7:34; Jer. 16:9; Jer. 25:10; Jer. 33:11; Joel 2:16; Gilbrant - In the Septuagint numphios is translated as “bridegroom” and is used both literally and figuratively. Literally, Jeremiah spoke of the coming conditions of Israel and how, along with other occurrences, the voice of the “bridegroom” would be heard no more (Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; 25:10). Later, when speaking of the return and restoration of Israel from her captivity, the picture is used of the voice of the “bridegroom” again being heard in the land. Symbolically, the implication is that of the loss and eventual regaining of joy by a people who had disobeyed God, who had repented, and who then were restored. Figuratively, numphios is used with regard to the relationship between God and the nation of Israel. Isaiah 61:10 and Isa 62:5 picture God as a numphios, “bridegroom.” In this relationship Israel is God’s bride. A prominent theme throughout these passages is that of the joy which is present in the relationship. (Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary) Gilbrant on NT - In the New Testament the various referents found in the classical writings (e.g., “young husband”) and the Septuagint (e.g., “son-in-law”) are absent. Only “bridegroom” is carried into the New Testament. However, this usage is primarily a reflection of the Jewish customs and concepts. The use of numphios in the New Testament is relatively rare, being found primarily in the Gospels and once in Revelation. In the New Testament numphios is used both literally and figuratively. In John 2:9 and Revelation 18:23 numphios literally denotes “bridegroom.” In John 3:29 the “bridegroom” is called aside by the master of the banquet in order to comment on the quality of the wine. In Revelation 18:23—at the fall of Babylon—the voice of the “bridegroom” will be heard no more in the city. Figuratively, the two numphios usages (Matthew 9:15 with parallel passages and Matthew 25:1-13) offer a fulfillment of an Old Testament concept in the New Testament. However, the Old Testament references of the bride and bridegroom are to Israel and God (Isaiah 62:5), whereas the New Testament uses this imagery in referring to the community of believers and Christ. This use of “bridegroom” as it relates to the Messiah is unique to the New Testament. Surrounding the imagery of the “bridegroom” are other important aspects that further study brings into focus. In John 3:29 reference is made to ho philos tou numphiou, “the friend of the bridegroom,” who played a key role in the marriage picture. Further imagery of this concept of Christ as the “bridegroom” and the Church as the “bride” is found in the writings of Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:2 and Ephesians 5:22-32. Although numphios is not specifically found in these passages the picture is clearly one of the marriage relationship. (Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary). Only Matthew uses the verb mourn here, Mark and Luke using the verb fast, so clearly Jesus links this fasting to mourning. Mourn (3996)(pentheo from pénthos = mourning) means to mourn for, lament. Pentheo denotes loud mourning such as the lament for the dead or for a severe, painful loss. It is grief and sorrow caused by profound loss, especially death. Mourning can reflect an outward expression of sorrow. It is to experience sadness or grief as the result of depressing circumstances or the condition of persons and so to be sad, to grieve, to bewail or to lament. Grieving over a personal hope (relationship) that dies. Pentheō ("mourn over a death") refers to "manifested grief"severe enough to take possession of a person and hence cannot be hid. This is the same meaning of penthéō throughout antiquity. Pentheo in NT - Mt. 5:4; Mt. 9:15; Mk. 16:10; Lk. 6:25; 1 Co. 5:2; 2 Co. 12:21; Jas. 4:9; Rev. 18:11; Rev. 18:15; Rev. 18:19. But - Term of contrast. Joy will turn to mourning and fasting, when the bridegroom was taken away, when Jesus was crucified as discussed below. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast - In His answer to the critics regarding His disciples not fasting and mourning, Jesus gives a veiled prophecy which most commentators interpret as a reference to His crucifixion, when Jesus was abruptly and violently take Him away from His followers, His faithful attendants.That will be the time for mourning, and then they will fast. It certainly could also have reference to Jesus Ascension. After Jesus’ ascension into heaven, His disciples did fast, but only as a voluntary act of humble dependence on God (Acts 13:2-3; Acts 14:23). Why would Jesus, the bridegroom, be taken away? In a word, Jesus threatened the very core of their religious system! The same thing happens when we speak with someone about Jesus -- it is not long before we can discern whether the Name Jesus threatens their beliefs or whether they are open to hearing of His perfect cure! When Jesus was crucified, the disciples went away beating their breasts which in a sense looks back to the mourning of the Jews over their sins on the Day of atonement (Yom Kippur) (Lev 16:1-34+) an OT shadow of Jesus' crucifixion. But not only do Jesus' words look backward, they also look forward (they have an eschatological fulfillment) when He returns John writing "BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him (WHO IS THIS? SURELY A REFERENCE TO ISRAEL, THE JEWS - cf FOLLOWING QUOTE FROM ZECHARIAH); and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen." (Revelation 1:7+). At that unique time in world history and the history of Israel, God will "pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me (MESSIAH) Whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. (Zech 12:10-14+). Zodhiates on taken away - The "bridegroom" had come in the incarnation of the Word (John 1:1, Jn 1:14), and this was a time of rejoicing (Mt. 25:1). However, the time would come when this bridegroom would be "taken away," the aorist tense more likely specifying the event of Christ's ascension (Acts 1:9-11+) rather than His physical death (ED: I THINK IT IS BOTH - THEY MOURNED WHEN HE DIED! SEE USE OF THE ROOT airo IN Jn 19:15 THE JEWS CLEARLY CALLING FOR HIS CRUCIFIXION). It's true that the disciples grieved for Jesus after His death, but the resurrection three days later was a time of great, overcompensating joy. The separation of the Lord from His people following His ascension into heaven, however, has been much longer, and we find several references to the early church fasting and mourning for His presence (see Acts 14:23+; 1 Cor. 7:5). How we, too, long for the return of the Lord-"Come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:20+)! The Lord's presence in the Spirit converts unbelievers (Acts 4:29-37+). To not see this happen for a time is grievous. Yet even though the bridegroom would ascend to His Father in heaven, He promised His disciples (His bride) that He would not leave them as orphans (bereaved, parentless, comfortless; John 14:18), but He would be with them until the consummation of the age in the Person of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:20; Jn 14:16-18: note the change in subject from the third person Holy Spirit, "Him," to the first person, "I will come to you"). When the present age is consummated, the bridegroom will return to wed His bride (Rev. 19:7+; Rev 21:2+). Taken away (522)(apairo from from apo = from + airo = to take away, used in Jn 19:15 = "Away with") means to lift off, carry off, take away, to remove from, snatched away. Apairo conveys the idea of a sudden, violent removal. Ellis says the verb means "to take away, implying rejection and violent death." Only uses are in Jesus' description of the Bridegroom taken away! - Matt. 9:15; Mk. 2:20; Lk. 5:35. This verb was prophetic of the Crucifixion and Ascension. Apairo in the Septuagint - Gen. 12:9; 13:11; 26:21-22; 33:12,17; 35:16; 37:17; 46:1; Exod. 12:37; 16:1; 17:1; Num. 9:17-18,20-23; 14:25; 20:22; 21:4,10,12-13; 22:1; 33:3,5ff,41ff; Deut. 1:7,19; 2:1,13,24; 10:6-7,11; Jos. 3:1,3,14; 9:17; Jdg. 5:4; 18:11; 1 Ki. 20:9; 2 Ki. 3:27; 19:8,36; Ps. 78:26,52; Ezek. 10:4; Nah. 3:18 Jesus told His disciples in the Upper Room “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, (WHEN HE IS CRUCIFIED) but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy (WHEN HE IS RESURRECTED). 21 “Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. 22 “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. (John 16:20-22) Matthew 9:16 "But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results NET Matthew 9:16 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, because the patch will pull away from the garment and the tear will be worse. GNT Matthew 9:16 οὐδεὶς δὲ ἐπιβάλλει ἐπίβλημα ῥάκους ἀγνάφου ἐπὶ ἱματίῳ παλαιῷ· αἴρει γὰρ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱματίου καὶ χεῖρον σχίσμα γίνεται. NLT Matthew 9:16 "Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. KJV Matthew 9:16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. ESV Matthew 9:16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. NIV Matthew 9:16 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. ASV Matthew 9:16 And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment; for that which should fill it up taketh from the garment, and a worse rent is made. CSB Matthew 9:16 No one patches an old garment with unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment and makes the tear worse. NKJ Matthew 9:16 "No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. NRS Matthew 9:16 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. YLT Matthew 9:16 'And no one doth put a patch of undressed cloth on an old garment, for its filling up doth take from the garment, and a worse rent is made. for - Ge 33:14 Ps 125:3 Isa 40:11 Joh 16:12 1Co 3:1,2 13:13 Parallel Passages Mt. 9:14–17; Mk 2:18–22; Lk 5:33–39 Mk 2:21+ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. Luke 5:36+ And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. PARABLE OF THE PATCH Only Luke 5:36+ says that Jesus "was also telling them a parable (see parabole)." Also Luke 5:36+ is slightly different than Matthew and Mark's version for Luke speaks of damage to two garments, new and old writing "No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old." As Vincent says "In Matthew and Mark there is only a single damage, that, namely, to the old garment, the rent in which is enlarged. In Luke the damage is twofold; first, in injuring the new garment by cutting out a piece; and second, in making the old garment appear patched, instead of widening the rent, as in Matthew and Mark." (Matthew 9 Commentary) James Brooks sums up the last two parables in Mt 9:16 and Mt 9:17 - The twin parables here teach the incompatibility of the old (scribal Judaism) and the new (Christianity). Judaism is the old garment and the old wineskin. Christianity is the new garment (implied), the new wineskin, and the new wine (on the last cf. John 2:1–11, especially v. 10). The point is not that the “old” is wrong or evil but that its time has passed. As Acts shows, the Twelve were slow to learn this truth (cf Acts 10:1-2ff+). (See Mark: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition) But no one (oudeis - absolutely no one) puts (epiballo) a patch (epiblema) of unshrunk cloth on an old (palaios) garment (himation) - Luke's version is slightly different reading "No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment." (Lk 5:36+) This was common sense truth which everyone understood. The Greek word for old (palaios) means not only old but worn out by use. Jesus is saying, "I didn't come to patch up the old religious system. I came to do something entirely new." (Courson) Jesus did not come to improve the old system of Judaism but to renounce and radically replace it. His new way had nothing to do with the old way, and the old way had nothing to do with His new way. He was not bringing a "better version" of Pharisaism or rabbinicalism but was bringing "good news" of a completely new way of believing, thinking, and living.