The Romance of the Gospel
I. THE PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE OF MATTHEW 21-22
A. Jesus last public sermon, His last message to the human race before He went to the cross. In Matthew 21-22,
Jesus gives three parables within one message. Each parable embodies a very significant point of one larger message.
In Matthew 23 Jesus is functioning in a judicially as judge over the leadership of that generation. In Matthew 24-25, He
gives a private training to His disciples.
B. It is the only time in the scripture that Jesus publicly declared the Bridegroom message.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for His son” (Matthew 22:2)
C. Being the bride of Christ transcends gender. It describes a position of privilege. One of nearness to the heart
of God. King David, John the Baptist and the apostle John.
D. Understanding the bride of Christ does not undermine masculinity but rather it establishes it.
E. It is also the last message the Holy Spirit will emphasize before the Second Coming.
“And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” (Revelation 22:17)
II. THE ROMANCE OF THE GOSPEL
A. The romance of the gospel describes how God motivates His people. It describes how God empowers His people
by fascinating our hearts with the beauty of Christ Jesus. It speaks of how God feels and what He will impart to His people.
B. It is in the place of awestruck pleasure that occurs when God reveals God to the human Spirit. It fascinates the
human spirit. The superior pleasures of the gospel are far more powerful than the inferior pleasures of sin. Inferior
pleasures of sin are mighty and powerful by itself. Standing alone, they dominate our hearts.
C. God adds to our experience of life the superior pleasures of the gospel to minimizes and break the dominion of
sin in our experience. This provides a whole new gird of obedience. That is “obedience out of lovesickness” or,
obedience out of desire, affection and fascination. This is what I mean by the romance of the gospel.
D. This romance is a holy reality that speaks of radical obedience that flows out of a fascinated heart with Jesus.
This romance has nothing to do with parallels to earthly sensuality. The language of the Divine kiss, holy romance,
dancing in the spirit and being held and romanced by Jesus all must be seen as expressing a fascinated heart in
obedience. They have no relations to natural sensuality. Acts 16 describes the romanced heart of Paul and Silas
rejoicing in prison. Because of our sinful unrenewed mind we often falsely think of holy romance outside of the Word.
Teeth gritting obedience without holy romance. God is the author of human pleasures. God will fascinate us. God will
restore the first commandment to first place before His Son returns. He will have a bride equally yoked to Him in love
before the Second Coming.
E. Mandatory declaration obedience and voluntary lovers.
III. THE BRIDEGROOM FASTING
A. Jesus introduced a new paradigm of fasting in Matthew 9:15. He added a new element to Old Testament
understanding of fasting, relating it to mourning for the presence of a Bridegroom.
B. Bridegroom fasting differs from the common understanding of fasting in the Old Testament which primarily seeks
to move the hand of God in circumstances. Such fasting is found throughout scripture. Jesus was not replacing the Old
Testament fast, rather, He was adding another dimension of glory to the doctrine of fasting. It is biblical to fast to avert
calamities. It is biblical to fast to seek Divine direction. It is biblical to fast for revival or to release the presence of God
in a geographic area.
C. Mourning – an experience of lovesickness. The heart made sore with love for the embrace of the Bridegroom.
This speaks of hearts wounded with love. He related fasting to the wounding of love. The purpose of Bridegroom
fasting is to accelerate more revelation of the beauty of God in our hearts.