New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 9:15

The Doctor for the Sick

Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. Matthew 9:15 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Matthew 9:15, in plain English

Jesus replied, 'Would wedding guests mourn while the groom is with them? A time for fasting will come, when the groom is taken away.'

Why it's here

Jesus is saying, 'Right now is a celebration because I'm here.' But there's a shadow in His words about being taken away.

Who's speaking

Jesus, hinting at both joy and coming sorrow.

Where it sits in the story

This joyful answer carries a hidden note of sadness: Jesus knows what's coming, even when no one else does.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Jesus uses the metaphor of a bridegroom (nymphios): wedding guests cannot mourn while the groom is present, but fasting will come when He is 'taken away' (aparthē), a veiled reference to His death.

Language and setting

The bridegroom image draws on Old Testament imagery of God as Israel's husband (Hos 2:19-20); Jesus implicitly identifies Himself with God.

Voice

Jesus, using a wedding metaphor with a hint of coming suffering.

Significance

This is the first subtle prediction of Jesus' death in Matthew, buried within a joyful metaphor about celebration.

In context

Matthew 9:13–17

13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

14Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

15Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

16No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.

17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Read all of Matthew 9 — Jesus eats with sinners, forgives the paralyzed, and raises the dead. The religious leaders are horrified; the broken are set free.

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