The Best Man’s Speech.

There is a moment at almost every wedding that everyone waits for. It is not the vows. It is not the kiss. It is the moment when the groom sees his bride for the first time. All eyes turn away from the aisle and toward his face. We want to know what that moment does to him. Because in that moment, she is no longer just the girl he loves. She is now his bride.

That is the moment our Gospel lesson gives us today.

On the banks of the Jordan River, the bride meets her groom for the first time. And John the Baptist stands there like a best man, giving his speech. But his speech is not sentimental. It is not poetic for poetry’s sake. It is meant to reveal who the groom really is.

John points and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). And then he adds, “This is the Son of God” (John 1:34).

In those two lines, John tells us everything. He tells us what kind of groom Jesus is, and what kind of marriage this will be.

Jesus is the Lamb of God. That means He will give His life for His bride. Scripture tells us that forgiveness comes only through blood that is spotless and pure (Exodus 12; Hebrews 9:22; 1 Peter 1:18–19). John is saying, “This is the One who will pay the price.”

In the ancient world, a groom paid a bride price. It was the cost that proved his love and secured his bride. Jesus’ bride price is not silver or gold. It is His own life (1 Peter 1:18–19). He does not purchase His bride with wealth. He purchases her with Himself.

And yet the bride does not only receive forgiveness. She receives provision. In marriage, the bride also received a dowry — protection for her future. Jesus gives His bride the Holy Spirit (John 1:33; Acts 2:38). He does not leave her empty. He fills her with the very breath of God.

Then John calls Jesus the Son of God. This tells us something even bigger. The bride is marrying up. She is being united to God’s own Son. And Scripture tells us that when we are united to Christ, we become heirs with Him (Romans 8:17). A bride joined to a King becomes a queen. A people joined to Christ share in His kingdom.

This is not an ordinary wedding. This is the wedding that gives meaning to every wedding.

And this is where the passage turns toward us.

You have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). You are not your own (1 Corinthians 6:19). You belong to Christ. You have married up.

You are no longer married to the world (James 4:4). You are married to Christ (Ephesians 5:25–27). And because you are united to Him, you now share in His life. Scripture says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). What you once were is no longer who you are.

Just like in marriage, you no longer live for yourself alone. Your life is joined to Another.

And Christ has not left you powerless. He has given you His Spirit (Acts 1:8). Yet so often we live as though we are empty. We pray little. We expect little. We forget what we carry.

The Bible says your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Spirit is the breath of God — the ruach, the wind (Genesis 2:7; John 20:22). When you breathe, you are reminded that God’s life is in you. You are not abandoned. You are inhabited.

And when you walk into places that need hope, courage, healing, and truth, you do not go alone. You go as the bride of Christ. You go carrying His presence.

So breathe Him in. Breathe Him deep. Remember who you belong to. Remember who you are joined to. And go into the world as someone who has been purchased, provided for, and filled.

Peace be with you,

Pastor Bruce