The Food and Feasts of Jesus by Neel Douglas E. Pugh Joel A

Author:Neel, Douglas E.,Pugh, Joel A. [Neel, Douglas E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
Published: 2012-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

Except for the groom’s prayer, weddings were altogether secular arrangements. In later centuries, the village rabbi had a role in the wedding ceremony, but there is no historical evidence of the liturgical presence of a rabbi at first-century weddings. So the blessings might have been proclaimed by the father of the bridegroom or by some other elder male member of the groom’s family. After this short ceremony the bride and bridegroom entered the wedding chamber where they stayed for as long as seven days. The groom’s friends hovered around the door to the chamber where they engaged in the same type of pranks as contemporary groomsmen. At some point the newly married couple emerged from their rooms and joined the party, the bride with her veil now removed.

Meanwhile, the wedding feast continued while the bride and groom were in the wedding chamber and after they emerged. The guests sang love songs and danced. Wine flowed like water. Instead of the fatted calf, it was the cow that was roasted. Can you imagine a celebration lasting seven days? Can you imagine paying for a celebration that lasted seven days? Or preparing the food for a celebration lasting that long? Wealthy families had teams of servants and slaves to prepare the food and drink for the wedding, but we suspect that the feast for an ordinary couple was more of a community project. Historians tell us that family and guests brought wine for the feast. Without servants baking bread, roasting lambs and tending stews, the task of preparing the food was probably shared with relatives and neighbors. Because the feast lasted seven days, it probably had the look and feel of an open house, with friends and relatives dropping in on the feast, as they were able. Each evening, a large meal was consumed followed by more revelry. The guests went home eventually, but they rejoined the feast the next day as soon as they could. Documents from the period acknowledge that the food and wine were the best possible, and were accompanied by music, dancing, and great joy.

The wedding feast for a wealthy family was a grand affair. Jesus sometimes used the image of an extravagant wedding when he taught, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son” (Matthew 22:2). Servants bearing invitations were sent. The food was cooked. Musicians were hired. Wine was opened. Banqueting halls were decorated. Cattle and fatted lambs were roasted. A feast for seven days was ready. Servants and cooks were working overtime to make sure everything was perfect for the wedding banquet of the king’s son. It was time for the feast, and once everything was prepared it had to be used. Without refrigerators, freezers, or preservatives, food began to spoil. Wine turned to vinegar. If the guests cannot come, go into the villages and byways and invite everyone you find. Because the party must go on (Matthew 22:9).

Except for its length and the number of guests, the form of the wedding feast was probably very similar to an ordinary banquet.

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