Parallels and Parables

Not so long ago there was a young woman who was invited to a retreat by Someone she knew. She accepted the invitation and arrived in a peaceful destination high in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. She was familiar with the mountains, for she had visited them many times. She was always in awe, but somehow she knew this time would be different for He had chosen this place.

This was a new mountain experience and after getting settled, she was ready to explore.

With hiking boots in place and water in hand, she headed out into Queen’s Canyon. Because she was alone, there was some initial trepidation. She had heard the stories of a recent flash flood which swept away several hikers to their deaths. She glanced at the clear blue sky and carried on with determination.

He was waiting.

As she made progress along the stony path and hopped across the trickle of water remaining, she was reminded that danger can appear suddenly and with great force. Stories she’d heard of mountain lion sightings threatened her progress, but she continued on knowing that this meeting with Him would be worth ignoring the obstacles and fears.

When she realized she had gone far enough, she looked for an appropriate meeting place. The canyon walls blocked out the sun, but she soon found a boulder bathed in glorious sunlight.

This was the place.

She climbed up out of the shadows and situated herself on the hard rock, took a drink of water from her water bottle and waited. She was utterly alone but not lonely.

He was there.

He reminded her that He was with her along the stony path.

The mountains were silent, but His voice spoke the reassurance of His love.

He told her how He provides everything needed to maneuver the challenges along the way.

He assured her of His protection through the dangers on the trail.

His presence was so palpable...she was wrapped in His arms of love.

As the sun began to disappear, she reluctantly left the sanctuary of that holy boulder, retracing her steps along the trail. What seemed ominous before was no longer her focus.

He guided every step.

This is a true story.

One you may relate to more than others if you have ever walked the trails through the Rocky Mountains.

Stories connect to our hearts causing us to respond from our hearts. They solidify and become a part of us.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jesus taught through stories and parables when He walked this earth. They were an effective way for Him to help His disciples and the people who followed Him to understand the Kingdom of God. It is truly beyond the human experience, but Jesus had a way of connecting the human with the divine.

He began His ministry at the age of 30. In just 3 years He communicated and taught all that He intended His followers to share with the world.

He told stories pertaining to their culture so they could relate, understand and teach.

Many of those stories were prophetic.

Archeology has uncovered secrets of one the most important events in a Galilean city during the time of Jesus’ ministry on earth.

It was a wedding.

When a man and a woman were betrothed, the people gathered at the city gates to be witnesses. The father of the groom came with a hand written covenant or contract. He presented it to the father of the bride who read it over carefully, and only when he was satisfied with every detail, he would sign it.

 Then he would give a dowry to the father of the groom. This was insurance that his daughter would be provided should anything happen to the groom. The groom then poured wine into a cup (The Cup of Joy) and offered it to his potential bride. According to Galilean culture, she now had all the power over whether or not this wedding would happen. If she pushed the cup away, she rejected the groom. If she drank from the cup she accepted the groom, he would also drink from the cup, and the covenant was signed and sealed. They were legally married.

At that happy moment the groom would then say to his bride, “You are consecrated to me, and I will not drink of this cup until I drink it with you in my father’s house.”

If these words sound familiar it is because during the Last Supper Jesus spoke similar words to His disciples.

Matthew 26:27-29 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s Kingdom.’

Because weddings were so important to the culture, He was teaching how a Galilean wedding was a parallel to His relationship with His disciples and those who “accepted His proposal.”

The bride and the groom were then separated for a year. The groom had to go away for a time. His task during that separation was to prepare for the wedding feast which lasted a week, and to build onto his father’s house making a home for him and his bride. The bride’s waiting time consisted of staying faithful and pure, making her wedding garments and being vigilant, waiting for her groom to come and get her. She was to keep her lamps lit, for the arrival of the groom would often happen at night, when she would least expect it. She was always to be ready.

Jesus instructed His disciples.

John 14:2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

Jesus promised His disciples.

John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

When Jesus said, “I will come again and receive you unto Myself,” His words parallel the Galilean wedding for when the groom comes for the bride, blowing the shofar announcing this glorious occasion, he brings a litter. The bride sits in the litter and is “taken up.”

The Galileans called it ‘flying the bride to the father’s house.’ The disciples knew what Jesus was saying and could relate to it. Some had experienced it themselves. All had certainly witnessed it.

When the bride and groom arrived at the father’s house the marriage supper began, lasting 7 days...no one goes in or comes out for 7 days.

It is a celebration of the reuniting of the groom with His bride and the fact that they will be together for as long as God wills it to be so.

The apostle Paul explains this to the Gentile churches with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 “Then together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.”

This covenant between Jesus Christ (the groom) and His followers (the bride) is forever.

The disciples knew all of the traditions of the Galilean wedding. They knew what Jesus was promising. They didn’t quite understand yet why He needed to go away, but they knew He would come back for them. He had reminded them who He is and why they did not need to be concerned, but only to trust Him. It was a new covenant sealed by His blood for the remission of their sins.

Jesus reassured His disciples.

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”

He reminds them of Who He is. He is God.

And what God says He will do...He does.

The timing of this event is not important. What is important is the preparation.

The most important question of all is…

When you are offered the cup, will you accept it?