An Excited Groom Comes for the Perfect Bride

David W Palmer

(John 14:2–3 NKJV) “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. {3} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Apparently, in Jewish culture of Jesus’s day; when a man was preparing to marry, he built a new room onto his father’s house ready to receive his bride. When his father agreed that the room was ready, and everything was in order, he gave permission; the excited son could go and get his waiting bride, and they could marry. The similarity with what Jesus says in this passage is profound: Jesus is currently preparing a place for us; he is preparing to receive his bride—the church.

Jesus must be extremely excited at the prospect of his bride coming to join him, but he has to wait for his Father’s permission to come and get her. We don’t know exactly when; Jesus doesn’t even know the day or the hour:

(Acts 1:7 NKJV) And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.”

(Mark 13:32 NKJV) “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Two important parts of this plan must be ready before Father gives Jesus the “nod” to come for his bride: the first is the “place” that Jesus has gone to prepare for her; the second is the bride herself—she has to be ready:

(Revelation 19:7 NKJV) “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

Here we see that the Lamb’s wife makes herself ready. This implies that those of us who are born again, and who have made Jesus the Lord of our lives, have a responsibility in helping prepare Jesus’s bride for this wedding. But we also see that Jesus contributes to her preparation as well:

(Ephesians 5:25–27 NKJV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, {26} that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, {27} that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Here, the Holy Spirit says that Jesus helps prepare his bride. His first action towards this is already completed; he already “gave himself for her.” He came to our home, earth, gave us his word, showed us the way, died in our place, and then rose from the dead for us and as us. Jesus’s own precious blood has washed us from our sins and sanctified us:

(Revelation 1:5 NKJV) … To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.

His death, burial, and resurrection that spilled his precious, innocent blood also washed our conscience clean and clear:

(Hebrews 9:14 NKJV) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Jesus was pure in heart and conscience when he died; and only his own innocent blood, which was spilled on our behalf, can cleanse our conscience completely and permanently. Wow! Jesus suffered immeasurably to prepare his bride; that is how much he loves her. He must be so excited right now; the wedding is very close.

Ephesians 5 also says:

(Ephesians 5:26 NKJV) That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.

Jesus’s blood not only cleansed our conscience, it also ratified the whole new covenant:

(1 Corinthians 11:25 NKJV) In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

(Hebrews 9:15 NKJV) And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

We also see that Jesus—our eternally sworn-in High Priest—is the surety (guarantee) that the new covenant and its written word will hold forever:

(Hebrews 7:22 NKJV) … Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.

Thus, not only Jesus’s shed blood, but Jesus himself as our eternal high priest guarantees that his word in the New Testament will always hold true. It is written down—unchangeable and everlasting. But it is also alive and effective. What’s more, our infinite God has promised that he watches over it to bring to pass what he has written … when we believe it:

(Hebrews 4:12 NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, …

(Jeremiah 1:12 ESV) Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

So, both Jesus and we have a part to play in preparing his bride to be his perfect wife: “Not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27 NKJV).

The first part of Jesus’s responsibility in this has already concluded: he came, he died, he resurrected, he gave us his word, ratified the new covenant in his blood, and sent his sanctifying Holy Spirit to help us. He has already gone to his Father’s house to prepare a place for us, and is continuing there in his role as our faithful High Priest—the one who ever-lives to make intercession for us. He is currently the head of the church, the author and perfecter of our faith, the high priest of our confession, and the surety of the new covenant, etc. Thank you, Jesus, for doing your part in preparing us to be your perfect bride.

Now, we in the bride have our part to play so it can truly be said: “The bride has made herself ready.” Our role is to receive and apply the cleansing power of his blood to our conscience. We also must ensure that we take the word Jesus guarantees, and apply it daily—allowing the living word to wash us as the “water of the word.” This after all, along with the work of the Holy Spirit, is the only plan Jesus has for preparing his bride to the point to where his Father says, “Go now; everything is ready!”

Today, let’s continue in our part—enthusiastically, excitedly, and diligently. Let’s receive Jesus, his love and his word, washing in it daily, and applying his blood where needed, etc. Let’s obey his every prompt, and do all we can to cooperate with Jesus and the wonderful Holy Spirit in preparing the church to the point where it can be said:

(Revelation 19:7 NKJV) “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”