The Marriage Mikvah

First off, Yeshua went through what is known as the mikvah. 

Mikvah is water immersion of a perspective bridegroom and bride done separately before the Kiddushin (their engagement ceremony).  Typically, this is practiced only by the bride, but the bridegroom can also go through the ritual.

For the perspective bride and bridegroom it was a physical representation of them passing from being unmarried to being married. 


We call this Jesus’ baptism.  He is going though the mikvah.  I want to look at the two times in scripture Jesus is actually referred to as the bridegroom because you might be scratching your head saying, “Yah, that’s His baptism, how do you get the fact that that is a Jewish mikvah and that He is going through a mikvah ritual.  They did celebrate the mikvah for other occasions as well: 

1.  A woman would go through the mikvah after her monthly.  

2.  The High Priest would go through the waters of the mikvah after being in the Holy of Holies once a year. 

Yes, there were other reasons to go through the mikvah.  These were primarily issues of clean verses unclean.  Our purpose here is to take a look at Scripture to see that He is doing this specifically as the bridegroom.

Read John 3:27-29.   


That of course is John the Baptist speaking of Jesus the bridegroom. 

Read Matthew 9:14-15.


That is Jesus referring to Himself as the bridegroom, but did you notice who He was talking to.  He’s talking to the disciples of John the Baptist. Both times in Scripture that we see Jesus referred to as the bridegroom it is either John talking about Jesus or it is Jesus talking to the disciples of John.  There is a connection between John the Baptist and Jesus and it is part of His role as the bridegroom.  For some reason, both Jesus and John seem to understand the baptism of Jesus as a part of His role as the bridegroom, Jesus’ mikvah.  They both seem to understand that.  That is the one connection they have.  He was fulfilling a Jewish wedding ritual.

Thankful for My Bridegroom,


All Biblical Quotes are NIV

Be sure to check out the Baptism page for more information