Wine and Wedding Promises

I learned something interesting today.

When a Jewish man proposed to a woman, he would pass a cup of wine to her. Her drinking of the wine signified that she accepted the proposal, and they were engaged. With the wine and proposal and everything came some promises or a new covenant: he promised to prepare a place for her and to return to take her home with him and to take care of her; she promised to faithfully wait and stay prepared.

In Luke 22, we read of the last supper Jesus had with His disciples before the cross. It was the time of Passover, remembering when God “passed over” the homes with blood on the doorposts but killed the firstborn sons in the homes without, and the Jews’ release from Egypt’s rule afterwards. Jesus and His disciples commemorated this event together, but Jesus did some things that weren’t traditional.

…[Jesus] took the cup after the meal and said, “This cup is the new covenant by my blood, which is poured out for you.

Luke 22:20 (CEB)

Cup of wine, new covenant–this was a marriage proposal, y’all! Jesus was telling His disciples and all followers after: “I want you to be Mine, I’m going to prepare a place for you, I’ll return to take you home with Me; and I want you to faithfully wait for Me and be ready to go as soon as I come back.”

It was up to them whether or not the proposal would be accepted. It was their choice whether or not to keep up their end of the promise.

And it’s the same for us.

Will we accept Jesus’ proposal? More than that, will we stay faithful? Will we remain prepared, ready to leave? Will we keep our eyes and ears open, eagerly waiting for His arrival?

Marriage is not all up to one person. It takes effort from both people to make it work. Jesus is doing His work: He died for us, making a way for us to be with Him; He’s getting our homes ready; He’s taking care of us, loving us; and He will come back, maybe sooner than we think. Are we–are you, am I–doing our part?