Reading the Bible: A Study of Contrasts

From the archives. Sermon delivered the third Sunday after the Epiphany, January 24, 2010.

Lectionary texts: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21.

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The last few weeks we have been looking at the theme of God’s people living in exile, an exile that our sin and rebellion has created, and what God has done and is doing about it. We have seen that through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, God has begun the climax of his salvation story, of ending our exile permanently. We have also seen that God’s promise to end our exile permanently will be consummated in his Second Coming. We know that in the interim, God has poured out his Holy Spirit on us to help us walk in faith as we await our final redemption, the end to our exile.

Today I want to look at another gift God has given us beside the Holy Spirit to help us live faithful lives and transform us into his very image as we await his Second Coming. That, of course, is his Word contained in Scripture. In today’s OT and Gospel lessons we have a stark contrast of how to read and not to read the Bible, and I want to look at these two cases with you today to see how they can help us in our own reading of God’s Word.

Many of us do not read the Bible regularly for a variety of reasons. Some of us do not seem to be able to find the time. Others of us are reluctant to read it because we are afraid we will not understand what we read and are embarrassed to ask someone to help us. Still others of us have not made reading the Bible a habit and so when we do have time to read, we don’t think to do so. Some of us are reluctant to read it because we don’t want our friends and family to think we are some kind of “holy roller” or religious nut.

But Scripture itself tells us that it is not good for us to neglect God’s word, either in the form of Scripture or in Jesus himself. The Apostles reminded the early Jerusalem church that it was not good for them to neglect the Word of God to wait on tables and they consequently appointed deacons for this task so that they would have time to pursue God’s word (Acts 6:2-4).

Paul tells the Colossians that he was commissioned to be an Apostle, in part, to make God’s word fully known to others (Colossians 1:25). He tells the Ephesians to put on the whole armor of God to help them live holy lives. Scripture was part of that armor and Paul likened it to the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). Paul reminds the Thessalonians that God’s Word is not the work of humans but really is God’s Word, that it is at work in them (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

Likewise, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that the Word of God is a two-edged sword, living and active in believers, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12); it is not a collection of dead letters and stories that we can read and casually discard. And the writer of Revelation reminds us about the cost that can come with reading God’s Word. John tells us that he himself suffered exile and was given a vision of the redeemed martyrs who had been murdered because of their testimony about Jesus and the Word of God (Revelation 1:9; 20:4).

All of this reminds us that as Christians we are supposed to be reading our Bibles regularly because Scripture is God’s Word and God’s Word is living and active. It convicts us, encourages us, guides us, comforts us. It helps us live through our exile as we await our final redemption. It has the power to transform us by giving us knowledge of Christ so that we can learn how to be like him. In doing so we are enabled to live the kind of holy lives we are called to live. As we have seen before, living holy lives does not mean we live mistake-free lives, but rather the kind of lives that imitate Christ. The extent to which we can live holy lives, with the help of the Holy Spirit, is the extent to which our exile here on earth will be ended.

So how should we be reading our Bibles? Today’s OT lesson gives us a positive example while our Gospel lesson gives us a negative one. In the example from Nehemiah, we see a humbled and chastened people who recognize their utter need for and dependence on God. They have returned from their Babylonian captivity and have just completed rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls and Temple. They are still surrounded by many enemies who wish to destroy them (apparently some things never change), which makes them feel even more insecure, but they are also in the midst of a religious revival. All of this seems to have increased their awareness of their precarious position, which in turn created an increased sense of dependence on God and made them ready to hear his word.

This points us to the prerequisite for reading Scripture—humility. For God’s Word to be active in us, we must first acknowledge that he is Creator and we are not, that his Word has the power to change us. Like the people in Nehemiah’s day, we must acknowledge that we are a people in exile and we are responsible for our exile. We must acknowledge that we are utterly dependent on the Living God and without him we would have and be nothing. We see this sense of humility reflected in the people’s willingness to hear the Law read as part of worshiping God. We needn’t get too hung up about the particular mode of worship that Nehemiah describes. The important point is to read God’s Word with humility.

But approaching Scripture with a sense of humility is not always easy for us, is it? Especially when things are going really well in our lives. It is precisely at those times that we are tempted to delude ourselves into thinking we are the master of our affairs and don’t really need God. But life has a way of smacking us right in the face and reminding us otherwise, doesn’t it?

Nehemiah tells us next that all the people gathered together, anyone who was able to understand God’s word, which would include children and adults. This reminds us that the Bible is best read together because it helps prevent misunderstanding and misinterpretation and allows us to ask each other questions. Notice that Nehemiah tells us that not only did Ezra read the law but that there were Levites there to help the people understand God’s law and to make sense of it. We do not read Scripture for its own sake but to make sense of it so that it can guide, comfort, and convict us. Are you reading your Bibles as a family? Parents, are you helping your children understand God’s Word and make sense of it? Are you reading your Bibles in the context of small groups to do likewise?

But what if you do not feel qualified to interpret Scripture so that others can understand it and make sense of it? Nehemiah is not telling us that experts need to be present to read the Bible successfully. Rather, he points us to the need for us to have some kind of authoritative help when we read God’s Word. For example, if you are reading the Bible as a family, this might mean you have a reliable study Bible on hand, like the NIV or TNIV study Bibles. If you are studying the Bible as a small group, the lesson from Nehemiah is for you to have structure and a reliable leader’s guide, study guide, and other resources to help you gain understanding from Scripture or to help answer your questions. As Paul reminds us in today’s Epistle lesson, each of us is a member of Christ’s Body and he expects each of us to use the gifts with which he blesses us, no matter how modest we think they are, to help build up his Body. When we refuse to participate in group or family Bible study because we do not think we have adequate knowledge, we are essentially calling Paul (and by extension, God) a liar.

Finally from Nehemiah we see that when we read Scripture together and with a sense of humility, we gain a sense of relief from our exile. Why is that? After all, our sins remain as does the messiness our life situations. It certainly did for Nehemiah and his people. As Ezra read the Law and the Levites interpreted it, surely God’s people would have realized that their sins had led to their exile because exile was God’s ultimate curse on them.

Despite this, Nehemiah reminds us that when we read Scripture we are to read it with a sense of joy. Why? Because Scripture is essentially Good News. Yes, it reminds us of our brokenness and the fact that we are still a people living in exile. It also often convicts us of our own sinfulness. But the story contained in Scripture is a story of a God who is faithful and who is in the process of rescuing his broken people through the person of Jesus Christ. As Paul reminds Timothy, even if we are faithless, Christ remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13), and as Ezra reminded his people, the joy of the Lord is our strength. For you see, we are never really ready to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ until we acknowledge the bad news of our hopeless condition without him. But when we acknowledge our helplessness and hopelessness, God’s promises burst upon us with glorious Good News. God knows our situation and has acted decisively on our behalf, despite who we are, to end our exile.

And so in Nehemiah, we have seen three essential ingredients for reading Scripture: (1) we are to read it with humility; (2) we are to read it together, as families, in small groups, and in the broader worshiping community; and (3) we are to read it to understand it and make sense of it. All of this will allow the Spirit to work in us and help us gain a sense of joy for all that God has done and is doing for us in our lives. And as Nehemiah points out, we, in turn, are to share that Good News with others.

Turning now to today’s Gospel lesson, we have a lesson in how not to read the Bible. As we listen to Luke describe the scene at Nazareth, we can see some of the ingredients for reading the Bible successfully. We see Scripture being read together in the synagogue. We see an authoritative person (God himself) interpreting Scripture to help the people understand and make sense of it. What we do not have, however, is a sense of humility on the part of the listeners.

Luke tells us that Jesus read from Isaiah. The specific passage was from Isaiah 61:1-2. Any good Jew listening to this passage would have recognized this to be a messianic passage. We see Jesus then apply Isaiah’s words to himself. What Luke does not tell us, however, is that Jesus left out the second half of verse two that talked about God’s vengeance, and his audience would have also recognized that. In effect Jesus was telling the people at Nazareth that he was the promised Messiah but that his First Coming was not a time for judgment but was rather for a time of hope and comfort. In himself, he seems to be saying, God was going to rescue his people in exile. He was reinterpreting Scripture to increase their understanding.

The crowd at the synagogue was amazed at his gracious words and at his interpretation of Scripture. Our lesson ends here today but we must take a sneak peek at next week’s lesson for us to understand where humility was lacking. Luke goes on to tell us that while the crowd was amazed at Jesus’ gracious words, they also began to question his authority. After all, they’d seen him grow up as a boy and they knew his parents. This made them wonder how he could possibly be Messiah. Familiarity apparently bred contempt in Jesus’ day as it still does in our own.

Moreover, they had their own preconceived notions about who and what Messiah should be like. Then when Jesus told them that it was Gentiles rather than Jews who would enjoy God’s grace and blessing, they were furious. You see, they thought they knew this young upstart punk from their hometown. They thought they knew better than God what God’s intentions were for his people and what kind of Messiah he would give them. All this made them furious with Jesus and they tried to kill him. Their sense of pride and self-righteousness blinded them to God’s truth and prevented them from receiving his promised blessing and grace through his Messiah.

Let me be crystal-clear about this. This is not an anti-Jewish polemic nor am I singling them out for special consideration. Their pride was no different from our pride. As Augustine said, “[We] love truth when it enlightens [us], but hate truth when it accuses [us].” That applies to us today as well because we too sometimes want “gracious words” (Luke 4:22) but don’t want to face the truth that is contained in God’s Word (see, e.g., John 1:17).

How often do we read our Bibles, together or as individuals, with some preconceived notion of what it should say or mean to us? How often do we try to reinterpret it to say something that it does not? Every time we do, we, like the crowd at the Nazareth synagogue, will fail to receive God’s blessing because we put ourselves above God and over his text by our sinful pride.

We see the stark contrast in both lessons, don’t we? Nehemiah and his people read Scripture with humility and understanding, and were strengthened and made joyful by God. We too can find that same strength and joy when we read Scripture with humility and understanding. By contrast, the people of Nazareth were in no mood to have their preconceived notions violated and this led them to attempt to murder God himself. Likewise, when we set our preconceived notions over God’s Word, we further alienate ourselves from him and exacerbate our exile.

We have seen that God intends us to read Scripture together and with understanding so that through his Holy Spirit he can use his Word to build us up and help strengthen us during our time of exile. Allow God to use his Word to help you in your time of exile while you await your final redemption. He has given himself for us in a terrible and costly act and has promised to return again in great power and glory to put a permanent end to our exile. As we await his return, we remember that he has blessed us with the gift of his Holy Spirit and his very Word contained in Scripture to help remind us of our hope and joy, and to help transform us into his very image. That, folks, is good news, now and for all eternity. Will you accept his gracious gifts? I pray you will.

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.