I have often been bothered by this
passage: With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they
were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately
to his own disciples he explained everything. Why in the world would
Jesus explain privately when His desire is for all people to be saved by
believing in Him? This is pretty
exclusive. What of all the others who
didn’t get to understand?
But stop for a moment. Are things really any different today?
If you were to study the ways that
modern scholars interpret the Bible, you would find that they bring together
all kinds of linguistic, archaeological, anthropological, psychological, and
other studies to understand what God’s Word says. Sadly, what they often come up with is a dead
piece of propaganda that really does nothing for us today.
How is it then, that as Christians we can
read the Bible and be so blessed by it? Why
does it make sense to us so that we rejoice in its message? Could it be because we have the secret to
understanding the Bible?
Without Jesus’ redemption and the Holy
Spirit’s work of faith in our lives, the Word of God is foolishness. The Bible is just another book to be put next
to the myths of other nations. It
becomes a book of ancient wisdom that we might gain ethics and wisdom from, but
certainly not any kind of salvation (if indeed we needed it!).
Jesus – His incarnation, miracles,
crucifixion, resurrection, etc. – is central to the entire Bible. He is the key to understanding the
Scriptures, but not in the sense of recognizing themes or motifs. He is the key because He is still the Word of
God who was born into this world. He is
God’s message to us. He sent the Holy
Spirit who opens our eyes and teaches us so we can understand by faith what God
has done for us. We have faith in Jesus and
He has given us His Holy Spirit, and He is still explaining everything to us, “privately
to His own disciples.” And what would He
have us know? He would have us know of
sin and grace, death and life, atonement and reconciliation, cross and empty
tomb.
Lord Jesus, give me Your Spirit to explain everything
to me that I might share with others and testify of Your salvation. Amen.
Comments