Jesus uses the image of a wedding in responding to the question about fasting to imply that he is the bridegroom, bringing the time of redemption for his people, the bride (see Isaiah 54:5–8;Jeremiah 2:2; Hosea 2:18–21), so fasting to prepare for the uniting of God and his people is no longer needed.
Jesus answers by pointing out that while fasting as a genuine expression of grief is good, it is inappropriate to fast during a wedding ceremony.1 Guests at weddings were, for the seven-day duration of the ceremony, exempted from the more serious religious duties that they would otherwise be subject to. For his Jewish audience, the meaning of the image of the wedding ceremony employed here would have been crystal clear, for in the Old Testament the coming time of redemption is described as a wedding ceremony, with the relation between the Lord and his people being likened to the relationship between a bride and groom (Isaiah 54:5–8; Jeremiah 2:2; Hosea 2:18–21). It is clear from the image that Jesus himself is the bridegroom of the time of redemption that has now arrived. The preparatory fasts have therefore now become redundant, for the prophecies regarding the time of redemption are now being fulfilled.2
15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.