THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
JESUS THE BRIDEGROOM
FATHER’S DAY
DR. JIM DIXON
JUNE 21, 1987
JOHN 3:22-36
They were the disciples of John and they were jealous. They had seen John rise from a desert recluse to become a prophet of Israel—a national hero—and they were proud of John. They admired John. They followed John and they gave him their allegiance. They believed that John was the most spiritual man on the Earth. Now, one day, a strange thing happened. They were standing by the river Jordan and they saw John, their leader, point to Jesus of Nazareth and say, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” They saw John point to Jesus of Nazareth and they heard him say, “Behold a man the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. Behold a man so great that I am not worthy to be His slave.” They saw John point to Jesus of Nazareth and they heard him say, “This man is the Son of God. I baptized with water, but He baptizes with a Holy Spirit.”
Now, the disciples of John did not understand. They knew that John was bearing testimony to this Jesus of Nazareth. They knew that John was exalting Him. They knew that John was calling Him great, but they admired John and they were loyal to John. They had thought that John was the greatest, and so they continued to follow John. They did not leave him. And the weeks and the months passed and they began to hear the rumors: that Jesus Christ was performing miracles; that He was the Christ, the Messiah; that He was making more disciples than John and that He was greater than John. And so one day at Aenon near Salem, they came to John and they said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan to whom you bore witness, here He is baptizing and all are going to Him.”
Now, perhaps they wanted John to rebuke Christ, or perhaps they wanted John simply to exalt himself, but John did not do these things. Instead, John gave testimony to Jesus Christ, what some biblical scholars have called John’s final testimony. John was about to be thrown into prison. He was about to be executed. And so here was his final testimony to Christ. And he said to his disciples, “I must decrease, but Jesus Christ, He must increase.” He told his disciples that Jesus Christ was greater than anybody. Jesus is greater than anybody for two reasons, and these comprise our two teachings this morning.
First of all, John said that Jesus Christ is greater than all because Jesus Christ is from heaven. John said, “He who is from above is above all. He who is from the Earth belongs to the Earth and of the Earth he speaks. But He who is from heaven is above all.” You see, John was saying, “I am from the Earth. I belong to the Earth and of the Earth I speak, but He is from heaven. He belongs to heaven and speaks of heaven and the things of heaven.” Now, this is an astounding statement with tremendous application.
Jesus Christ is from heaven. From the dawn of time, mankind has longed to see someone not of this world visit. Mankind has been fascinated by the concept that perhaps somebody not of the Earth could come to the Earth. In August of 1887 in a cave in Spain, two children were found, apparently abandoned. They were not normal children. They had slanted eyes, but they did not look like Orientals. They had green skin such as no one had ever seen. They also had clothing made of material no one had ever seen before, material that no one recognized. They spoke a language that no one had ever heard before. Now, the boy died shortly after the two children were found, but the girl continued to live and her language was studied by linguists and philologists and they never identified the language. The girl ultimately learned to speak Spanish. She only lived a few years before she died, but in Spanish she told the people that she had come from a land that was always in twilight and she said she had come on the wind.
Now, perhaps (and certainly I would believe) there is some sort of earthly explanation for these two children. Perhaps they had a can of green paint, or perhaps there was some kind of trickery involved. But in the book of lists, they are identified as the one outstanding example of extraterrestrial visitation to the Earth. And there is a group in this world, perhaps a fringe group, that is constantly looking for some evidence that someone has visited our world. They’re looking for evidence like that.
That is why some people are so fascinated by the explosion that occurred in 1908 in Tunguska and Siberia on June 30th, an explosion with 10 times the power of the explosion of the bomb that exploded at Hiroshima in World War II. This explosion (some people from some fringe groups believe) was evidence of some extraterrestrial spacecraft that exploded in the Earth’s atmosphere. I’m sure there is some natural explanation, but you see, people want to believe. They want to believe that our Earth has been visited.
That is why some people are so fascinated by the Nazca lines in the Peruvian desert—lines that are more than a thousand years old, form geometric patterns, and form patterns of animals and flowers. Some people think that these lines—since they form designs that can only be seen from high up in the heavens—are manifestations, that there was some kind of technology, some kind of skill imparted to ancient peoples by extraterrestrials. I’m sure there are natural explanations, but you see, some people just want to believe that this Earth has been visited. And everybody is fascinated by the concept of visitation by extraterrestrials. That’s why there are so many people fascinated with UFOs. That’s why some movies such as ET and Star Wars and Star Trek find such fascination in our time. But the Bible says there’s only one person who has ever visited this world. He is the one person who is not of this world but has come to this world. That person is Jesus Christ.
He is not of this world. He is from above. He is not of this world. He is from heaven. In John chapter six, Jesus said to His disciples, “I have come down from heaven to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all whom the Father has given to Me I should lose none, but I should raise them up on the last day.” The disciples said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary whose parents we know, whose mother and father we know? What does He mean when He says, ‘I have come down from heaven?’” But you see, the Bible tells us and our Lord Jesus Christ Himself states that, in truth, He had no earthly parents. His true life, His true existence, has always been. He had no beginning and He had no end. He is without mother or father or genealogy and has neither beginning of days nor end of life. He continues forever. He is the eternal Son of God.
The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus Christ lived prior to the time that He was born in Bethlehem in Israel. That is why Jesus Christ told the scribes and Pharisees, “Before Abraham ever lived, I AM.” That is why Jesus Christ in His prayer recorded in John 17 spoke of the love which He shared with the Father before the worlds were made. That is why Jesus Christ in His prayer recorded in John 17 spoke of the glory which He shared with His Father before the worlds were made. You see, He is from above. He is from heaven.
Now, that fascinates me. I’d love to be able to sit down with Jesus Christ right now and ask Him all about heaven. You see, nobody could tell you more about heaven than Jesus Christ because the Bible says He is the king of heaven. Now, I’ve been reading the last few weeks about the Fangpa Indians who live in Western Tibet. They are fascinating people. They follow the Dalai Lama who lives in a thousand-room mansion. They live high up in the Himalayas in the highest civilization on the Earth. They live higher than 18,000 feet. They are dependent upon the yak. They eat yak meat, they drink yak milk, they eat yak cheese, yak butter, and yak yogurt. They wear clothing made from yak skins. For transportation, they ride yak back. Now, if one of the Fangpa nomads were here today, I’d love to talk to him. I’d love to have him tell me all about his homeland, all about a place I’ve never been. And I’m like that, because I’m fascinated by places. I mean, I’d like to have anyone who came from any place I’ve never been tell me all about it. How much more would I love to have Jesus tell me all about heaven?
But you see, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ didn’t come from heaven for the primary purpose of telling us about heaven. That’s not why He came. Oh, there are glimpses of heaven in the Bible and His word gives us little beautiful glimpses of what heaven is like. And we know that eye hath not seen nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived or imagined the wonderful things He has prepared for those of us who love Him. And He has promised all of us who love Him that, indeed, He has gone to prepare a place for us that is eternal in the heavens. But you see, He didn’t come to tell us what heaven is like. Instead, the Bible says He came to tell us what heaven requires.
It would be easy to misunderstand John. He said, “He who is from above is above all.” What John is telling us and what John was telling his disciples was that He who is from heaven has all authority. The fact that He is from heaven means that He has all authority in heaven and on Earth. Indeed, He is the king of heaven. And because He is from heaven, John says, He utters the words of God. Because He is from heaven He is the source of life. It is not by measure He gives the Holy Spirit, because He is from heaven. Because he is from heaven He deserves your allegiance. You see, what John was saying to his disciples was this: “I am from Earth. Jesus Christ is from heaven. You don’t need to be my disciples. You need to be His disciples. You need to follow Him.” And that’s the message John would have (indeed, that God has) for each and every one of us here today: Jesus Christ is from heaven. Follow Him. If you are following anything other than the teachings of Christ, it is not good enough.
If you are following anything other than the person of Christ, it is not good enough. Ministers are not good enough. I just came back from a conference where there were hundreds of ministers and I think I can safely say ministers aren’t good enough. If you spend a week with a group of ministers, you soon discover they all have flaws. They have the same flaws that everybody has. They all have pettiness, insecurities, and the same problems that everybody else has. You see, God didn’t call people to be ministers because ministers are perfect and God didn’t call people to be ministers so that these ministers could call people unto themselves. When ministers do that, it is a tragic, blasphemous mistake. God calls people to be ministers in order that they might call people to Him who is from above— the One who is from heaven, the One who is above all, and the only One who deserves your allegiance and discipleship. So here’s the first teaching of John, the first response of John to his disciples: Jesus Christ is greater than all because Jesus Christ is from heaven.
Secondly, and finally, John told His disciples, “Jesus Christ is greater than all because He is the Bridegroom.” He is the Bridegroom. Now, this is one of the most beautiful concepts in the whole of the Bible. Jesus Christ came from heaven to earth and He came to take a bride. John said, “I’m not the Bridegroom. Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom.” John said, “The friend of the Bridegroom who stands and hears Him, he rejoices greatly at the Bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is now full.” You see, John was saying, “I’m just a friend of the Bridegroom.” The word [unclear in audio recording] referred to the one who arranged the wedding, the one who prepared the bride for the bridegroom, and that was John’s role: making straight the way of the Lord, calling people to Christ, and announcing Christ.
You see, the Bible says the Church is the bride of Christ. Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ in this world is literally spiritually married to Christ. Christ is the Bridegroom. We are the bride. You find this concept all through scripture: in Exodus 34, in Deuteronomy 31, and in the 73rd chapter of the Psalms. In the Proverbs, we have the teaching that Israel was the bride of God. But that teaching is given full development in the New Testament, where we’re told that the Church is indeed the bride of Christ, the Son of God. And so it is in Ephesians chapter five, Matthew 25, Matthew 23, 2 Corinthians 11, Revelation 19, Revelation 20, and Revelation 21. Each of these places refers to the Church as the bride of Christ and Christ as the Bridegroom.
Now, this teaching that Christ is the Bridegroom contains three promises. With these we close. The first promise is that Christ loves you. He is the Bridegroom and He loves His bride. If you believe in Jesus Christ, if you’ve committed your life to Him, joined your life to Him and received Him as Lord and Savior, He wants you to know how much He loves you. In Ephesians chapter five, it says, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the Church and gave His life for her.” You see, marriage love—the love of a Christian husband for a Christian wife—is meant to be patterned after the love of Christ for His church. Christ loves the Church more than any earthly husband ever loved any earthly wife. Christ loves the church so much that He gave His life for her.
There have been many earthly husbands who have loved their wives. I read recently the story of Prince Yaroslav, a Russian nobleman. He took a bride and had a honeymoon by the Black Sea in Southern Russia. This was years ago. While they were on their honeymoon, prince Yaroslav’s wife lost her wedding ring in the Black Sea. Now, for most of us, that would be a hard thing. It would be a hard thing not so much because of the monetary loss—though that would be important—but because of the sentimental value of the ring. You know, I lost my wedding ring a few years back when I was watching the movie Alien. I was nervous and was playing with the ring. I assume I dropped it into the box of popcorn. Barb wasn’t pleased. That ring had value, sentimental value.
But it was more than that for Prince Yaroslav. When Prince Yaroslav’s wife lost that ring in the Black Sea, that meant their marriage was over, because in that small culture in southern Russia, the ring was literally considered what bound the couple. When the ring was gone, the marriage was done. Symbolically that’s what it meant. So this was a desperate moment for Prince Yaroslav because he loved his wife so much. So he did an incredible thing. He began to buy all the land around the Black Sea. He tried to buy the Black Sea. He said, “I can’t find the ring.” I mean, the Black Sea’s big. It was 750 miles long and 350 miles wide, bigger than the state of California. And this ring was lost there. So Prince Yaroslav said, “I’m going to buy all the shoreline of the Black Sea. He spent $40 million buying land around the Black Sea. He believed that if he owned the sea he owned the ring, and if he owned the ring, he still had his wife, whom he loved. When he died, his heirs no longer needed the Black Sea. They sold it for $80 million. This was years ago.
What love some people have. They’d spend anything—no cost is too great for their bride. But it pales when compared to the price Christ was willing to pay for you, because He loves you so much. You see, that’s why He left his heavenly throne of glory. It’s not possible for any of us here to comprehend the love that He has. What love would have driven Him to leave the throne of God as the eternal Son of God—Lord of Lord’s, King of Kings, king of heaven, the Creator of the worlds—to come and be part of the creation, to take our flesh upon Himself, to become incarnate? He did that for you because He loves you and to experience life on this Earth—with all of its joys, but with all of its sorrows and with all the pain and all the human limitations. He did that for you.
The Bible says in Philippians chapter two that He emptied Himself for you. And He experienced rejection by men. He came to His own people and His own people received Him not. He came into the world, the that world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. The Bible says that He was spat upon, flogged, beaten, and crucified between two thieves. And on the cross He took the sin of the world upon Himself. And why did He do it? Because, you see, He loves His bride. He loves you. No husband ever loved a bride so much as Christ loves the Church. And this concept of Christ as being the Bridegroom also means that Christ desires eternal relationship with us. He loves us, first of all, and secondly, He desires eternal relationship with us. He wants an eternal relationship with you.
In Revelation chapter 21, which is one of the most beautiful chapters in the whole of the Bible, there is described the New Jerusalem. First of all, there is described the beauty of God’s desire to have eternal fellowship with His people. And then there is described the bride of Christ, also called the New Jerusalem, in which the Church dwells. And the chapter concludes by saying the people of the Church, the bride, will reign with Him forever and forever. You see, it’s the plan of God to have eternal fellowship with you. Christ wants eternal union with you. No earthly marriage is quite like that.
You know, there is a people group who lives in Western Africa called the Balanta People. They live in the region of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, which used to be called Portuguese Guinea. These people have a strange custom. Whenever they get married, the husband or the bridegroom gives the bride one gift and only one gift. It’s a very special gift, more important than anything that the bridegroom could ever give to the bride. And this one gift is a wrap. It’s a garment. He gives it to his bride and she wears it as her wedding gown. But that’s just the beginning of it, because that garment represents the stability of their marriage. And in this culture, among the Balanta People, if that garment wears out and if it becomes threadbare, the marriage is over. The marriage is done. So you see, if a wife really loves her husband, if a bride really loves the bridegroom, she doesn’t wear that gown after the wedding (or wears it very rarely, only on special occasions) because the gown must be preserved. If, however, the marriage isn’t going so well and she doesn’t like the guy, she begins to wear the wrap all the time that it might become threadbare. You know you’re in trouble if you wake up in the morning and your wife has that wrap on.
But you see, all earthly marriage is transitory. Your marriage is transitory—”until death do us part.” Sometimes people will say to me, “Well, when I get to heaven, is my wife or husband still going to be my wife or husband?” And the Bible doesn’t really answer that question. I wish I could say yes, but the Bible doesn’t really indicate that earthly marriages are eternal, but rather that they are “until death do us part.” The Mormon church teaches that earthly marriages are eternal. Personally, I wish it were true because I love Barbara so much. I’d like to be married to her for all eternity, not just in this life. I’d like to be married to Barbara forever.
But you see, the Bible doesn’t promise that. I know that my friendship with Barbara, the fact that she’s my sister in Christ, is eternal. But you see, the Bible only speaks of one eternal marriage. That is the marriage between the Church and Jesus Christ. It’ll never die. You want eternal life? You must become part of the bride of Christ. There’s a difference between eternal existence and eternal life. A lot of Christians, a lot of people in the world, don’t seem to understand this. Everyone in the world has eternal existence. God does not bring cessation of existence to any human life. God does not terminate human existence.
The Bible says that some people, when they die, receive eternal life and some people receive eternal ruin. But everyone continues to exist. You see, the beautiful thing about the promise of eternal life is not the word eternal, but it’s the word life—the word zoe. It refers to joy and abundance and meaning and purpose. That’s what Christ promises for all eternity. Eternal existence without joy would be no existence at all. And the only source of this life, this eternal life that never ends, this joy, is to be married to the Bridegroom Jesus Christ. And as we have seen countless times, that happens only when you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of life. You become part of the bride, which is the Church of Christ.
Well, finally, this promise that Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom means that Christ is faithful to His people. He loves His people, He desires eternal relationship with His people, and He is faithful to His people. He’s faithful to you.
In Matthew 22, there is a parable told by our Lord Jesus Christ—the parable of the marriage feast—where we are told that every person is invited to the marriage feast. And that’s true because God is not willing or wishing that any should perish. In the 25th chapter of Matthew, there’s another parable wherein Christ tells us that when He comes again (it’s called the parable of the 10 maidens) only the true Church will be ready for Him. Many people will say that they belong to Christ, but only the true Church will be ready for Him when He comes. We are faithful to Him and He is faithful to us. I don’t know what situation you find yourself in the midst of right now, but if you belong to Christ He wants you to know He loves you, He has an eternal relationship with you, and He’s faithful to you.
You know, I read some time ago the story of David O’Keefe. David O’Keefe lived in Savannah, Georgia. He left Savannah, Georgia in the year 1871. He said goodbye to his wife and to his daughter. He was heading for China. He thought he would see his family again in six months. He did not know that he would never see them again because, as he crossed the Pacific, his ship went down near the Yap islands. And there he found himself in the midst of the Yap islands on an island today called Yap Island.
Historians don’t understand exactly what happened, but somehow David O’Keefe wound up becoming the king of the Yap islands. They know that he began to buy real estate from some of the local tribal chiefs. Somehow they gave him more and more power and he was more exalted in their midst. Ultimately he became king and built a castle on one of the Yap islands, a magnificent castle to his own glory. And there he lived in the midst of royal luxury. All the people served him and all the people honored him. He made a flag: the United States flag with the letters “O-K” beneath. He was the king of Yap. Twice a year boats came by the Yap islands. He could have returned home to Savannah, Georgia. He never did. He loved being king. When those ships came by twice a year, he sent money to his wife and child in Savannah, Georgia. He sent them money and he wrote them letters. And in the letters he said how much he loved them and how he was their one true husband and father and they were his one true family.
But it wasn’t true. And the years passed. David O’Keefe wound up having seven children through various Yapese women. He continued to live in royal luxury until the year 1901, 30 years later. In the year 1901, David O’Keefe said, “Well, I’m going home. I’m going to go back to Savannah, Georgia. My wife’s still alive and my daughter’s fully grown. She’s a woman. I want to see what she’s like.” So he boarded a ship called the Santa Cruz with two of his Yapese sons. He set sail for Georgia. He never made it back. The Santa Cruz went down at sea. His life was lost. And perhaps that was good, because it would’ve been a tragic thing if David O’Keefe had reinvaded the lives of his wife and child. In truth, he had abandoned them long ago. He had not been faithful to them. He did not truly love them. He said he did, but it was just yap. He was the king of yap. The truth was that he was an adulterer. And of course, this world’s filled with adulterers, filled with unfaithful husbands and wives. You see, Christ wants you to know there’s one person and one person alone who’s never unfaithful to you. And He is that person.
Are you part of His bride? Do you believe in Him as Lord and Savior? Do you have Him as the Bridegroom? He wants you to know He’ll never fail you. He says, “I’ll never fail you. I’ll never forsake you.” He says, “Lo, I’m with you always, even to the close of all time.” And He would also have you to know that as His true bride you are called to faithfulness. He’s called you to purity. In 2 Corinthians 11 the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians there and told them that they were betrothed to Christ and that it was his earnest desire that they might one day be presented to Christ as His pure bride. Each and every one of us have been called to faithfulness. If you believe in Christ, you are spiritually married to Him. And when we are unfaithful to Him and when we are disobedient, the Bible speaks of it as spiritual adultery.
In Ephesians chapter five (with this we’ll close) the Apostle Paul says, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the Church and gave His life for her, that He might sanctify her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present the Church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be pure and without blemish.” You see, that’s the will of Christ for you and for me. The message of Christ to you and me is the same message that Christ gave to the Church at Smyrna in the second chapter of the book of Revelation: be faithful and I’ll give you the crown of life. So John had a message for his disciples: “He must increase, I must decrease. He is greater than all because He is from above. He is from heaven. He alone is worth your commitment and your discipleship. And He is the Bridegroom.” He has come from heaven to Earth to take His bride. He loves His bride. He desires eternal relationship with His people and He never fails them or forsakes them. Let’s close with a word of prayer.
Lord Jesus, You are indeed from above. You are from heaven, Lord; we believe that. We are so finite. We are of the Earth. We are dust and to the dust we return. Lord, sometimes we get so bogged down with the cares of this world and with the concerns of our lives that we lose proper priority. We forget, Lord, that You are indeed more important than anything and that Your word is more important than anything. Your will is more important than anything. We forget, Lord, that heaven is more important than anything on Earth. And we forget that, above all else, we are called to follow You. Lord, You are the Bridegroom. You love Your people. We would enter into an eternal relationship with You, for You alone are the source of eternal life. Lord, help us to be faithful as indeed You are faithful to us. We love You. We pray these things in Your great and matchless name. Amen.