Matthew 9:15 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Matthew 9:15
And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
said
εἶπενeipen
G2036
to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
them
αὐτοῖςautois
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
Can
δύνανταιdunantai
G1410
to be able or possible · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person plural
the children
υἱοὶhuioi
G5207
a "son" (sometimes of animals) · noun — nominative plural masculine
of the bridechamber
νυμφῶνοςnumphōnos
G3567
the bridal room · noun — genitive singular masculine
mourn
πενθεῖνpenthein
G3996
to grieve (the feeling or the act) · verb — present active infinitive
as
ἐφ᾽eph᾽
G1909
properly · preposition
long as
ὅσονhoson
G3745
as (much · correlative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
the bridegroom
νυμφίος;numphios
G3566
a bride-groom (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative singular masculine
is
ἐστίestí
G2076
he (she or it) is
with
μετ᾽met᾽
G3326
properly · preposition
them
αὐτῶνautōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
but
δὲde
G1161
but · conjunction
the days
ἡμέραιhēmerai
G2250
day · noun — nominative plural feminine
will come
ἐλεύσονταιeleusontai
G2064
to come or go (in a great variety of applications · verb — future middle deponent indicative, 3rd person plural
when
ὅτανhotan
G3752
whenever (implying hypothesis or more or less uncertain… · preposition
the bridegroom
νυμφίος,numphios
G3566
a bride-groom (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative singular masculine
shall be taken
ἀπαρθῇaparthēa
G522
to lift off · verb — aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd person singular
from
ἀπ᾽ap᾽
G575
"off · preposition
them
αὐτῶνautōn
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
then
τότεtote
G5119
the when · adverb
shall they fast
νηστεύσουσιν.nēsteusousin
G3522
to abstain from food (religiously) · verb — future active indicative, 3rd person plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Revelation 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the tru…
John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the…
Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Matthew 25:1-10 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
John 16:20-22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall…
Acts 13:1-3 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of…
Acts 14:23 And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Psalms 45:14-15 She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Matthew 9:14-17
The objections which were made against Christ and his disciples gave occasion to some of the most profitable of his discourses; thus are the interests of truth often served, even by the opposition it meets with from gainsayers, and thus the wisdom of Christ brings good out of evil. This is the third instance of it in this chapter; his discourse of his power to forgive sin, and his readiness to receive sinners, was occasioned by the cavils of the scribes and Pharisees; so here, from a reflection upon the conduct of his family, arose a discourse concerning his tenderness for it. Observe,
I. The objection which the disciples of John made against Christ's disciples, for not fasting so often as t…
But go ye and learn what that meaneth-- (Hos 6:6),
I will have mercy, and not sacrifice--that is, the one rather than the other. "Sacrifice," the chief part of the ceremonial law, is here put for a religion of literal adherence to mere rules; while "mercy" expresses such compassion for the fallen as seeks to lift them up. The duty of keeping aloof from the polluted, in the sense of "having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness," is obvious enough; but to understand this as prohibiting such intercourse with them as is necessary to their recovery, is to abuse it. This was what these pharisaical religionists did, and this is what our Lord here exposes.
for I am not come to cal…
And Jesus said unto them,.... To the disciples of John, the Pharisees being present, who both have here a full answer; though it seems to be especially directed to the former:
can the children of the bride chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom, is with them? By the "bridegroom" Christ means himself, who stands in such a relation to his church, and to all, believers; whom he secretly betrothed to himself from all eternity, in the covenant of grace; and openly espouses in the effectual calling; and will still do it in a more public manner at the last day John, the master of those men, who put the question to Christ, had acknowledged him under this character, John 3:29 and therefore they ou…
The Church Fathers
Figuratively; This His answer, that while the Bridegroom was present with them, His disciples needed not to fast, teaches us the joy of His presence, and the sacrament of the holy food, which none shall lack, while He is present, that is, while one keeps Christ in the eye of the mind. He says, they shall fast when He is taken away from them, because all who do not believe that Christ is risen, shall not have the food of life. For in the faith of the resurrection the sacrament of the heavenly bread is received.
When John's disciples approached … they questioned him even while he was at table, in the manner of a physician with the publicans: "Why do we and the Pharisees often fast, whereas your disciples do not fast?" Do you see how the same jealousy motivates and provokes birds of a feather and is made keen by the cruel goad of envy? On the one hand, it set the Pharisees, who boasted about being teachers, against the Teacher. For that reason they also said, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" On the other hand, envy set John's disciples against Christ's disciples. That is why they also said, "How come your disciples do not fast?"
It is with the words of John, your own teacher, whom you esteem so highly, that I answer you. Keep it in mind, and you will have the answer to your question. When John bore witness concerning me, he said, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom." So, if I am the bridegroom and you don't make a liar out of your own teacher, you know in advance that it is important for my disciples, while they are the children of the marriage … to be gay and joyful and not to become upset or miserable over fasting. In certain respects, fasting is a source of annoyance and can also be arduous for those without a mature disposition.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Custom — A tax imposed by the Romans. The tax-gatherers were termed publicans (q.v.), who had their stations at the gates of cities, and in the public highways, and at the place set apart for that purpose,…
Hosea, Prophecies of — This book stands first in order among the “Minor Prophets.” “The probable cause of the location of Hosea may be the thoroughly national character of his oracles, their length, their earnest tone, and…
Marriage — Was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:18-24). Here we have its original charter, which was confirmed by our Lord, as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed (Matt.…
Solomon, Song of — Called also, after the Vulgate, the “Canticles.” It is the “song of songs” (1:1), as being the finest and most precious of its kind; the noblest song, “das Hohelied,” as Luther calls it. The…
Bridegroom · Joy with — Joy with
Capernaum · Miracles of Jesus performed at — Miracles of Jesus performed at
Fasting · 35:13;69:10; — 35:13;69:10;
Parables · Parables of christ: Children of the bride chamber — Parables of christ: Children of the bride chamber
Titles And Names Of Saints · Children of the bride-chamber — Children of the bride-chamber
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Matthew 9:14-17
Matthew 9:14-17
Mark 2:18-22
Luke 5:33-39
14. Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, For what reason do we and the Pharisees fast often, while thy disciples do not fast? 15. And Jesus said to them, Can the children of the bridegroom [521] mourn, so long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. 16. And no man putteth a piece of fresh cloth on an old garment: for that which fills up takes from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17. Nor do they put new wine into old bottles; otherwise the bottles burst, and the wine is spilt, and the bottles are lost: but they put new wine i…
wedding guests . . . groom: John the Baptist had also described the Messiah and his disciples in this way (John 3:29), drawing on Old Testament imagery to reveal Jesus’ status (see Matt 25:1-13; Isa 54:5-6). • taken away: This is Jesus’ first prediction of his violent death (see Matt 16:21; 17:12, 22-23; 20:18-19; 26:2, 26-35; Isa 53:8). • then they will fast: Jesus may be referring to the disciples’ sorrow immediately after his crucifixion, or to the disciples’ lifestyle after his death and resurrection (see Acts 9:9; 13:2-3; 14:23; 27:9, 33).
