Jesus completes
his discussion with the religious authorities.
He is providing some very important information on Godly authority. These leaders claim the Scripture as their
authority. This is the Old Testament,
the Law of Moses. The Scriptures are the
one constant they have had through the years of occupation, under the
successive waves of conquerors.
What Jesus is
telling these leaders is that they have wrong by their Scriptures, for them, the
Scriptures have become an idol. The
authority of those pages has risen above the authority even of God. Vs. 42, Jesus says, “I know none of you love
God.” (this is taken from the Contemporary English Version) That is a very harsh statement to make. These authorities have come to trust the
Scriptures as the way to eternal life, they are not turning to Jesus, who has
been given this power by God.
He concludes his
argument by turning the Scriptures against them. They claim the Law of Moses will condemn Jesus. Jesus claims that in this very same law,
“Moses wrote about me” and “if you believed Moses, you would have believed me.”
So then, what is
the point of the Bible? It is the
legitimized record we have of Jesus and his works. So, here are 10 things about the bible that
make it worthy of our time and trouble.
First, Jesus is
the focal point. Everything before looks
forward to this moment in time, everything after is built upon this moment in
time. Everything in the bible must be
taken in the context of Him. We screw up
the worst when we forget that basic rule of thumb. That is the one positive statement in this
list, the rest are patterned on the “Shalt Not’s” of the OT Top Ten.
Number 2, thou
shalt not fall into the trap of thinking the Bible is neat. The Bible is messy, 66 books, 40+ authors,
12+ distinct genres of literature, 2500 year time span for writing. It is GOOD that the Bible is messy. Life is messy, so they match. If you truly want to make sense of what is
there, you need a focal point. Go back
to Commandment #1.
Number 3, thou
shalt not fall into the trap of thinking the Bible was written to be the Bible. The Bible was collected up afterward. The Law of Moses, probably simply
Deuteronomy, but we collected up the five books. History?
Two sets, Samuel and Kings; then Chronicles. Life of Jesus? 4 gospels.
Theology textbook? Nowhere to be
found. It was gathered up in chunks, sometimes
a millennium after it was written. It is
GOOD that the bible was collected up over time.
None of the authors knew ahead of time they were writing God’s book. It kept them real in their offerings. In this way, none of the authors could ever
consider themselves with the burden of being the focus of God’s Word. Jesus is that focus.
Number 4, thou
shalt not fall into the trap of believing that God wrote the bible, either on
his laptop, or through dictation. People
wrote the bible. They wrote in multiple
time periods, with multiple points of view, for multiple reasons, reflecting
multiple experiences in their relationships with God. It is GOOD that the bible was written by many
people. No one has a corner on the
truth. There is a connection to every
mood, every moment, every possibility of life in the literary multitude that is
the Bible. With Jesus as our focal
point, we can go back to the saddest and darkest passages of the Bible and find
truth for ourselves.
Number 5, though
shalt not fall into the trap of believing that the Bible has a single, unified
point of view. There are multiple
viewpoints in the Bible. Within a single
book, i.e. Isaiah, there is praise that God will kill all the enemies of the
people, and there is praise that God comes as the suffering servant. Naysayers will claim that the Bible
contradicts itself. That falls into the
same trap, that there is a single point of view to be found. God works through many points of view. There are points of view represented in the
Bible that are then corrected within the bible, from law to mercy. It is GOOD that there are multiple viewpoints
in the Bible. There is not contradiction
in the bible so much as progression.
Number 6, thou
shalt not fall into the trap of believing the Bible was written for today’s
standards. It stretches back over twenty
five hundred years. Standards change. By today’s standards, the bible is racist,
sexist, exploitative, advocates violence, even genocide, promotes absolutes of
right and wrong, and it creates crazy people who take it too seriously. 2500 years encompasses many, many generations
of progress in our behavior, of progress in our understanding of the creation, of
progress in our technological advancement, of progress in our moral codes and
ethical values. The Bible encapsulates
that progress of understanding. There
was a time when the people believed there were multiple gods, and that is how
they wrote the Scriptures. There was
progress to understand there was only one God, and that is how they wrote the
Scriptures. It is GOOD that the bible
reflects progress, it reflects hope for our species. Using Jesus as the focal point, we can measure
the progress, we can reinterpret passages as we need to, we can continue to
progress in our understanding of God and God’s world.
Number 7, thou
shalt not fall into the trap of believing the Bible cannot speak to the present
generation. The bible, in its present
form, was codified in about 250 AD. We
haven’t added to it in all that time. But
the truths are timeless. Jesus was
present to speak to every age of the church, his truths continue to make for us
the bible a living document, that can continue to help us, fill us, and sustain
us. It is GOOD the bible speaks to each
generation, it proves the ETERNAL truths of God. What are some such passages? John 3:16. Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want…. Revelation 20; For I saw a
new heaven and a new earth, for the former had passed away…
Number 8, thou
shalt not fall into the trap of believing that the Bible can only be used for
good. You can prove almost anything from
the Bible, justification for genocide, justification for child abuse and domestic
violence, at the more humorous, the existence of UFO’s, Ezekiel saw the wheel, there
are Christian groups out there who believe we have to support the nation of
Israel no matter what, because they interpret the bible to believe that the
return of Israel signals the End of Time.
It is GOOD we recognize the evil that the Bible has justified, It forces
us to stand on guard. Thus, we return to
the focal point of Jesus. In him, we see
good.
Number 9, thou
shalt not fall into the trap of believing that the Bible is about God. It is about people’s experiences with God. It is about how people have interacted with
God. Some lived with a God who used them
as an instrument of divine judgment. Some
lived with a God who provided them peace and a Land of Divine prosperity. Some lived in a land with so much wealth that
they saw their God being forgotten by the people. Some lived with a God who sent enemies to
conquer them as punishment and are waiting for vengeance. Some lived with a God in times so desperate
that they practiced cannibalism. It is
GOOD to live through people’s interactions with God. God’s presence in each situation addresses
the needs of those in each situation. Jesus,
as our focus of Scripture, will draw from these highly differentiated moments
of history, to speak to us in our times
of need.
Finally, Number
10, though shalt not fall into the trap of defining your faith by a single
verse. This is called proof-texting, hanging
your faith and hope and practice on a single or a small collection of biblical
verses. Jesus cites adultery as the only
justification for divorce, do we not believe Jesus would protect the spouse
suffering domestic violence? Women shall
keep silent in church, do we believe women do not have the ability of effective
church leadership? Go and make disciples
of all nations, do we believe that we should use political power to extend the
power of Jesus Christ? Or is there more
that we need to uncover? Why are those
‘offensive’ verses even in the bible? To
teach us right from wrong.
The focus of
Jesus will be far more wide-ranging. It
will even dare to use portions of Scripture that once were used to promote
God’s power, to illustrate in the present that the employment of God’s power
has changed. It is GOOD to seek far and
wide across the Scriptures for answers, God speaks through the myriad authors, many
voices, many perspectives, including voices and perspectives we may never have
considered, so you’ve picked up your bible, wondering where to start, the
Gospels are a good starting point by the way, suddenly, everything from this
sermon comes flooding back and you are terrified to start reading, what were
all those rules? What about all that
confusion?
Look to Jesus, look
to his love, his witness, his presence, his purpose, and it will bring the
bible into focus. Amen.
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