Mar 12

Written by: Spiritual Formation
3/12/2008 3:20 PM

Hey guys, I recently collected some questions from the Bible Essential’s class that I wanted to share with everyone. Here are three common questions people have asked me about the Bible and my responses. Enjoy!
 
Should I read the Bible from start to finish?
 
This is not recommended if this is the first time you have ever read the Bible because the Bible is not ordered chronologically! Plus, many Old Testament books are confusing… and to be honest a little dry… even though they contain incredible and very useful insights. If you are reading for the first time, I suggest reading two NT books to every one OT book until you become more familiar with the text as a whole.
 
I do not suggest Bible bingo however! You know what I'm talking about, "Okay God... speak to me... right... here!" (as you flop the book open to a random page) Pick a book and read the entire thing in order to gain context for the verses!
 
Why is there nothing written about Jesus as a child or teenager?
 
First of all, there are stories of Jesus as a child being born, being brought before the prophets Simeon and Anna, and teaching at the synagogue at a young age in the book of Luke.
 
With that said, it is true that the gospels do not focus heavily on the time before Jesus’ ministry began. Why?
 
The answer lies in the motive of the biblical writers and their original audience. As a whole, they do not set out to write a historical biography about Jesus. They are not writing for purely academic purposes… instead of trying to enlighten their audience about the life of Christ, they seek to transform their readers! They do this by making a case about who Christ is… each hoping to highlight something a little different. I’ll take the four gospel writers one at a time:
 
Matthew: This disciple of Jesus was writing to a primarily Jewish audience. Matthew is making a case for Jesus as the Messiah – the eternal king of Israel and the whole world!
 
To do this, Matthew begins with his genealogy of Jesus, beginning with Abraham- the father of the Jewish nation. The Jewish people expected a great king to rise up and restore Israel to the glory days of King David… Matthew was showing the royal lineage of Jesus- a direct descendent of David. Also, Matthew then pays special attention to the prophecies surrounding Jesus’ birth to prove that he is the one the prophets spoke of in their writings. Then, Matthew cuts to the ministry of John the Baptist – who serves as Jesus’ herald. This was the royal position of the man who would announce the coming of a king.
 
Mark: This was probably the first gospel written and Matthew and Luke quote parts of Mark in their writings. It was written for the Christians in Rome, where this gospel was written. Rome was deeply influenced by Greek culture and the epic Greek stories were not far from the audience’s minds. John Mark (the author who was not a disciple of Christ but a traveling companion with Paul) writes his gospel like a movie blockbuster. He records more miracles than the other gospels do, as he is making a case for Jesus by the things he did and said. He is presenting evidence, one piece at a time so that they audience (familiar with rhetoric and persuasive speech) would be convinced that Jesus was all he was hyped to be, and more!
 
Luke: This author was not a disciple either but he was a close friend with Paul. He actually spells out his purpose for writing in the first chapter of his book. He wishes to present an accurate account (Luke pays special attention to the historical, scientific, and medical details) to the life of Christ and wishes to present Christ as the perfect human and Savior. He shows the human, compassionate side of Jesus in a way the other gospels do not. He writes about Jesus’ interactions with the poor, some children, and women to show just how much Jesus was concerned with the marginalized of the day. His gospel is also to the gentiles – the non Jewish and he seeks to show that Jesus was fully man and fully God.
 
John: When John, maybe the closest disciple of Jesus, is an old man he decides to write a fourth account about Jesus. I can just hear a group of friends bugging him, “Come on John. Write down all the things you know about Jesus before you die and all that knowledge is lost!” By this time, just about all the other disciples had been martyred for their faith and Jerusalem had been destroyed. John was exiled to the island of Patmos and decides to write his account of Jesus. He is not writing to repeat anything in the other three gospels about Jesus… about 90% of his gospel is unique. He is writing to supplement what had already been written about Jesus and wanted to put a final word in about Jesus as the Son of God- the one who alone could bring eternal life.
 
Are Old Testament stories to be taken literally?
 
Obviously, there is disagreement here… both inside and outside of Christian faith. Many outside of the faith say that the entire Bible is myth – Modern man needs to remove the superstition of Christianity so that it does not become obsolete… or so it is rid of all obvious errors. (The Jesus Seminar for example) These people see the beauty of the Bible... but would hardly call it a historical account.
 
They certainly argue that Jesus was not a historical person. I am not offended by this. If you want to read the Bible as a piece of historical fiction, that's fine. But from my research, I have to disagree. What about 1 Corinthians 15:5-6? Why would Paul’s enemies not question these eye witnesses? Many people were trying to discredit Paul and if one of these so called eye-witnesses to the risen Christ spoke against Jesus' resurrection, Paul's message would have been immediately defeated. Also, there are too many extra biblical accounts of Jesus, living and breathing on this earth. (Josephus and other Roman historians)
 
If you struggle with this, I strongly suggest picking up The Case for Christ by Lee Stobel. It might just change your life... it did mine.
 
Some say just Old Testament stories are myth… David slaying goliath and Jonah and the whale… but that Christianity in the New Testament is still true. One of my best friends was taught this in Catholic school… although I do not believe all Catholics believe this. Here is my problem with this thinking:
 
Matthew 12:39-40 – “Jesus said ‘For Jonah was in the belly of a whale for three days and three nights, so shall the son of man…” Jesus seemed to think Jonah was a historical person… in fact he compared his struggle with that of Jonah’s!
 
Some Christians say first 11 chapters of Genesis are myth, Jewish oral tradition. They look at the poetic nature of the pre-historical account of the text. They look at the pagan stories of creation, the great flood, etc. which were written before the book of Genesis… thinking that these influenced the book of Genesis’ spin on life before Abraham. These are Bible believing, Jesus loving Christians folks... but I have to respectfully disagree with them.
 
My thinking here, is that if these events were truly historical… doesn't it make sense that these Pagan stories about the flood and creation would circulate if they actually happened? Would it not be more suspect if other cultures never mentioned these events?
 
Also, Joseph, David, Noah, Adam all mentioned in Jesus’ lineage in Luke 3. People who lived before and after the patriarchs are listed as real, historical people.
 
Jesus mentions the days of Noah, when the flood came and destroyed them all (Matthew 24). This seems to be describing a historical event. Furthermore, Paul makes mention of death reigning from Adam to Moses (Romans 5:14). This seems to infer that Paul is working from a historical time period which goes before the time of Abraham. And this is coming from a staunchly Jewish writer! If Jesus and Paul believed this stories as actual history... so do I.
 
I say all of this to say, I take the conservative position that all Biblical events happened as they are described. Yes, I really believe this stuff!
 
Thanks for reading! If you have any other questions or comments... disagreements, don’t be afraid to comment. Take care and God bless.
 
Luke Shortridge
College Pastor

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