Jesus wanted to show them and the Pharisees that it was not appropriate for his disciples to abstain from food and mourn while he was still with them. So he gave them this illustration: “When a bridegroom is with his friends at the time of the wedding, ◄his friends certainly do not mourn, do they?/do his friends mourn?► [RHQ] No, they do not mourn, because they are not sad at that time. But when the bridegroom is taken {someone takes the bridegroom/his enemies take the bridegroom} from them, they will abstain from food, because then they will be sad.”