Monday, May 7, 2018

A Deeper Understanding Of The Scriptures


As I process the fact that the Christian life is not one of “sudden enlightenment” and “supernatural bestowment of understanding”, I begin to find joy in what seems to be a toilsome journey that is reading and comprehending the Bible. The Word of God is designed to bring us fulfillment, wisdom, guidance and assurance as we make our way through life. This year, I will read it. Next year, I will read it again and it will carry different weight than before. Our goal is not to win the legalistic race of checking the “I read my Bible, did you?” box. That denies its purpose. Rather, our goal should be to the let the Holy Spirit enrich our lives with the everlasting truth within the pages of Genesis through Revelation. As I read, I will begin attempting to peel back the layers of the text – simply to understand it for myself, so I can help others seek the same understanding.
At the church I attend, our pastor referenced a path he suggests for those looking to go through the Bible in a different manner then reading from cover to cover. His suggestion is this order:

     Mark (suffering and labor of Chris),  
     Philippians (Apostle Paul in Prison, working out the Gospel and its meaning),
   Matthew (the biggest compilation of the teachings of Jesus),
     Ephesians (Understanding Salvation),
     John (Understanding the deity of Christ),
     Colossians (Discovering the identity of Christ),
     Luke (the most detailed of the gospels),
     Romans (Understanding the gospel from the Christian perspective),
     Genesis & Exodus (Understanding the origin of God’s creation),
     Galations & Hebrews (Understanding what it means to have faith and the importance) and finally,
   Psalms & Proverbs (wisdom and encouragement) throughout.

This blog series will be about the sections of each book that I feel I need to flesh out in greater detail. I will use other references and then record my own conclusion. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide me in this journey.
The Parable of the Sower: Unpacked.
Many challenges with understanding the Bible is that you have be able to differentiate when something is meant to read for face value or if it has a deeper meaning beyond what it seems to be on the surface. This parable (referenced below) taught by Jesus is one of those that can catch you off guard if you don’t pay special attention. As you read through, the basic story makes sense. Jesus teaches the people about spreading seeds. He teaches that some seeds, depending on the soil they’re on, either don’t grow at all, grow quickly but don’t last or get smothered to death – while others will grow and flourish. He then says, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” and is finished with his lesson.
His disciples are somewhat perplexed as to why he teaches in parables. Jesus explains that most people won’t embrace the Word of God right away or they’re too simple-minded to process the gravity of His lessons. He goes on to explain that by teaching people simple wisdom, He is prepping their minds to receive the good news – in a way they can process. Parables were used quite often in Jewish circles to teach lessons.
He then goes on to explain the seed analogy to His disciples in further detail. At this point, everything seems easy enough to process.
The interest bit that throws a wrench into the mix, is the section where Jesus says:
“[11] He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables [12] so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
             and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”
 At first glance, this passage seems to come off like Jesus taught in parables for the purpose of preventing people from understanding what he was talking about. And it seems like the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven were only given to a select few men. This isn’t the Jesus we know. Why would He do such a thing?
(As I mentioned in the first paragraph, a deeper look is required to understand the actual meaning. [Tip: Read those little footnotes.]).
Jesus wasn’t trying to keep anyone in the dark. In fact, He was doing quite the contrary. The way to comprehend this passage is found in the piece of scripture Jesus quotes to make his point. He was quoting Isaiah 6:9-10, a passage that prophecies Israel’s hardened hearts for God. Basically, it’s saying that no matter what is done, those who have ears to hear the truth – will either embrace it or deny it. There’s no need to “beat a dead horse”. Understanding this piece peels back a layer.
When we read the words “so that” it creates that level of confusion. “So that” what? Long story short – if you reference other translations (i.e. NLT, ESV, etc.) you’ll find that Jesus is saying He teaches this way, “so that” the prophecy in Isaiah can be fulfilled. Which is, after all, the reason Jesus came – to fulfill prophecies of the old testament and to bring us salvation.
(NLT) Mark 4: 10-12
10 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret a of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders,
[12] so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:
‘When they see what I do, they will learn nothing.
When they hear what I say, they will not understand.
Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven.’”
My last comment on the Bible and its intricacies is that different passages may seem to contradict themselves. This will remain a consistent point of strife for believer’s and non-believers alike. Remember that context is important, and the Bible as a whole will never contradict its main message – which is the story of our salvation. 

The Parable of the Sower
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[
a]
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word.15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”