“He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.”
The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete' — the nuptial metaphor transforms the Baptist's role to friend of the bridegroom (paranymphos), attending the wedding's joyous consummation rather than featuring in it. The metaphor's import: Jesus is the bridegroom, and the community/church is the bride; the Baptist's joy in hearing the bridegroom's voice (presently attending Jesus) is complete precisely because his role is fulfilled when the chief figure appears. The image radiantly portrays John's willing subordination as joy rather than loss.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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