Are you not therefore mistaken (II)

The Sadducee had asked a question and Jesus has essentially answered that they were wrong because they “knew nether the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Mark 12:24). Last day we discussed the fact that questions themselves can be wrong. This morning I want to talk about the question I get asked all the time “Can't you make the Bible say anything you want?” Well certainly people do, they even take a clear “no,” and turn it into a “yes.” I sometimes give the tongue in cheek answer “Yes you can, and using the same rules of interpretation you can make the dictionary say the very same thing! And since I discovered this, I have stopped using the dictionary!” So there are good interpretations and bad interpretations and a whole host of in between ones too! Last day we were saying sometimes you need to interpret literally, and other times not? But how are we to know?

What you must not do is use the Bible as a kind of magic book closing your eyes opening it and putting your finger on a verse. One man did that and got “Judas went out and hung himself.” Shaken he tried again “Go and do likewise.” A third time he got “What you do, do quickly” (Matthew 27:5; Luke 10:37; John 13:27). I am talking of course about the need to read things in context. In fact there is a whole science of interpretation it's called hermeneutics, and clearly we are not going to get too much into that in three paragraphs and a prayer. But perhaps what I do need to say, is that the Bible is its own best interpreter. In particular, as Jesus says, we tend to be mistaken when we don't know the Scriptures. Take last day's verse about hating father and mother. It is not only necessary to understand that there are different genres (Google it), this is hyperbole (over exaggeration). But it is also necessary to compare scripture with scripture (1 Corinthians 2:13). So for example in this case we need to see the command to love one another and to honour father and mother. But then we also needed to see that Jesus would not be put off by his mother an brothers trying to prevent His ministry.

But to come back to the question of making Scripture say what you want it to say. I need to say that Scripture itself condemns this. Peter telling that some of the things Paul says are hard to understand says “which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16). We need to be particularly careful when we want to do something the Scriptures condemn. Scriptures speaks about the deceitfulness of sin, and we can easily “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Hebrews 3:13; Romans 1:18). It is called rationalization and denial. There is wisdom in many counsellors (proverbs 15:22)

Father, Peter says of prophecy that it is of “no private interpretation” (2 peter 1:20). The same is true of Scripture. Help us Lord to study to be approved unto God a workman who does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Keep us from error Lord we pray,  in Jesus Name Amen