I cannot wait to dive with you into the rest of our lesson on the symbolism of the Jewish betrothal ceremony and how it points to our own marriage to Christ our Lord! I am Stephanie Rousselle, your humble host, and it is my utter privilege to spend this moment with you through the pages of Scripture.

Today we continue our exploration of the traditional Jewish custom of betrothal and how it relates to Jesus' mission as the bridegroom. We’re continuing our journey through the season of waiting and preparation that takes place between the moment of betrothal and the wedding celebration. Discover the significance of the bridegroom's role during this period and how it connects to Jesus' ultimate sacrifice on the cross. We'll also uncover the groom's mission of gathering the bride price and building a home for his new family, drawing parallels to Christ's redemptive work and his promise to prepare a place for us in heaven. So grab your cup of coffee and get ready to dive into the fascinating world of betrothal and its profound spiritual truths. My humble prayer is that this episode will leave you with a newfound appreciation for Jesus as your perfect groom and an anticipation for the day when he comes back to fetch you, His beloved bride. This is truly the spice of the gospel of Christ Jesus.

MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE

In our previous episode, we explored the beautiful imagery of betrothal in the Jewish tradition and its connection to Jesus as the ultimate bridegroom. Now, we continue our journey of discovering the depth of this ancient custom. Stephanie takes us deeper into the betrothal period, focusing on the role of the bridegroom. Just as the bride was preparing herself for her new life and identity, the groom had his own mission during this season of anticipation.

Stephanie explains that the first mission of the groom was to gather the full bride price, completing the initial down payment. We see the foreshadowing of this mission in Jesus' ultimate sacrifice on the cross, through which he fulfilled the payment of the bride price for all of humanity.

The second mission of the groom was to build a house for his new family. Stephanie highlights the significance of Jesus being a professional house builder, skilled in both woodworking and masonry. He dedicated himself to creating a perfect dwelling place for his beloved bride, just as the groom in the Jewish custom would tirelessly assemble and furnish rooms for his betrothed.

Stephanie also draws our attention to Jesus' comforting words to his disciples during the Last Supper, echoing the traditional parting words of a Jewish groom to his bride. We read John 14:1-3 and find Jesus assuring his disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them in his Father's house, where they will be eternally united.

As we delve into the significance of Jesus' role as the perfect bridegroom, we are reminded of the promise of Revelation 21:3-4: that one day, God's dwelling will be with humanity, wiping away every tear, eradicating death, grief, crying, and pain.

The episode concludes with the anticipation of the rapture, the moment when the groom comes to fetch his bride. Stephanie delves into the symbolism of the best man, who forewarned the bride of the groom's imminent arrival by blowing a wedding horn. In a similar fashion, we await the trumpet call of God, signaling the return of Jesus to rapture his church, gathering all believers to be with him forever.

Stay tuned and filled with Gospel Spice!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit alongside Jesus and his initial audience? To experience the fresh spiritual flavors that the Messianic Jewish culture weaves into the four gospels? Well, that's exactly what we here aim to do through this original series, JESUS RABBI AND LORD. Stephanie invites you to dig deep into Scripture, unearthing raw diamonds that may need a little cleaning up, but will ultimately shine brightly.

So get ready to embark on this enlightening and transformative journey with Gospel Spice. Prepare to encounter Jesus in a way that resonates with our modern world and discover the richness of the gospel through the lens of Jewish culture. Let's dig deep, uncover the hidden spices, and experience the beauty of the Scriptures together. Welcome to Gospel Spice!

Grab your headphones, hit play, and let Gospel Spice be the catalyst for encountering Jesus in a way you've never experienced before!

Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog

THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!

First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.

Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. 

And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!

NEW!

Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example,

- a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours.

- a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.

MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:

Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.

Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.

We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.

Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.

We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!

Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog

Do you enjoy Gospel Spice? Then let's deepen our relationship! There are 4 very simple ways to do that, and it would truly mean the world to us. 

1- If you’ve enjoyed this episode, you will love receiving our newsletter. It contains value-packed free gifts and rich content each month. It’s at gospelspice.com/signup. There is always something new and exciting happening around here, and I don’t want you to miss out! Sign up at Gospelspice.com/signup

2- Did you know Gospel Spice has a YouTube Channel? There’s exclusive content there too. So, join Gospel Spice on YouTube! It's at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspice

3- Also please give us a star rating and a comment on your podcast listening app. Your reviews actually really do make a difference to help others discover and experience Gospel Spice. You would be surprised how helpful these are! So please leave a star rating and a review of a sentence or two. Thank you!

4- As always, we are praying for you! You can confidentially email us your prayer requests and praise items at the email address [email protected]. It is our privilege to pray for you!

So, would you please invest 3 to 5 minutes of your time, maybe even right now, to do one (or more!) of the following suggestions:

1-      signup on our website for our newsletter to receive gifts you’re going to love - at Gospelspice.com/signup

2-      find us on YouTube, and see what content we’ve put together to help you grow closer to Jesus - at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspice

3-      rate Gospel Spice on your listening app – it’s one of the easiest ways to share the gospel!

4-      and finally, tell us how we can pray for you!

Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog

Would you be interested in joining us here in Philadelphia for a 5-year anniversary celebration of Gospel Spice in the fall of 2024? And/Or, would you be interested in joining a small group of women for a Gospel Spice Women's weekend retreat with in-depth Bible Study and fellowship? 

I need to know! please let me know by answering a short survey at gospelspice.com/survey - so that I know whether to pursue this or not. thank you!

Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!