Bible Verse of the Day Tuesday March 21st, 2023

John 3:29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.

In this verse of Scripture, John the Baptist uses hyperbole to indicate to his followers that the emphasis and attention must change from him to Christ Jesus, the true promised Messiah. Jesus said that John was the greatest of all the prophets that had prophesied the coming of the promised Messiah (Matthew 11:11). John announced that among his followers was the promised Messiah, one whom he was not worthy even to carry his sandals (Matthew 3:11). There were many great Prophets down through the ages that surrendered their lives in the pursuit of prophesying of the coming of the Messiah that God had promised in the Garden (Genesis 3:15). However, John had the high honor and great privilege of not only announcing the Messiah's coming but introducing Him to the world (John 1:29).

John applies an analogy from the occasion of a marriage in ancient times in the middle east. In this example, the bride is God's people Israel and all others that would accept Jesus as the true promised Messiah. The bridegroom is Christ Jesus, and the bridegroom’s friend is John the Baptist, who would be the best man at the wedding in our modern times. It was the "friend of the bridegroom" function to stand with the bridegroom; however, the primary focus was on the bridegroom, not the friend.  

The bridegroom’s friend was filled with joy when he saw the bride's family bring her to the groom. In ancient times the bride came to the groom, not the groom to the bride. The followers and believers in Christ Jesus are the brides in this illustration, and we must go to the Groom, Christ Jesus. This ancient custom could be where the tradition of the father of the bride walking the bride down the aisle. 

The prophet John had a joyful heart that his followers were leaving him and following Jesus. His followers were waning while Jesus' followers grew, and John knew only joyfulness and gladness. This great Bible lesson should teach us, as followers and believers in Christ Jesus, that there should never be any divergence from Christ Jesus being the center of our lives and ministries. God selects humans to represent Christ Jesus before a lost and dying world. There is only one requirement for selection to such a magnificent and glorious calling as an ambassador for Christ Jesus: accepting Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior and surrendering our lives to Him, body, mind, spirit, and soul. Every saved, washed in the blood, born-again follower and believer in Christ Jesus gets called to represent Christ Jesus in the world. Have you accepted your calling yet?