How Do You Read the Scriptures?
By Jonathan Mitchell

In Lu. 10, we find a Judean scholar asking Jesus a question about inheriting eonian life. Here is the question, and the first response from Jesus:

25. Later - look and consider! - a certain man versed in the Law (a lawyer and a legal theologian; a Torah expert) rose (or: stood) up, proceeding to put Him on trial and test [Him] out by saying, "Teacher, by doing what shall I proceed in inheriting eonian life (or: in what performing will I proceed to be enjoying an allotment of a life in, and which has the character and qualities of, the Age [of Messiah], even an age-enduring life)?"

26. So He said to him, "Within the Law, what has been written? How are you in the habit of reading [it] (or: How are you normally reading what stands written in the [Torah])?"

This essay will investigate Jesus' second question to the Torah expert, and will make some observations of how folks who were well versed in the Law interpreted the OT, in the days of Jesus, and as we find in the writers of the NT, and elsewhere. Our first example will be to read how this first century scholar answered Jesus, in the following verses, and then observe Jesus' simple response:

27. Now making a discerning reply, the man said, "'You will be constantly loving (fully giving yourself to; urging toward reunion with) [the] Lord [= Yahweh] your God from out of your whole (= entire) heart, and in union with your whole soul (or: consciousness, self and soul-life), and in union with and in the midst of your whole (= entire) strength, and in union with and within your whole (= entire) mind (intellect; comprehension; understanding)' - and 'your neighbor (the one close to you; your associate) as being yourself.'" [Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18]

28. So He said to him, "With discernment you answered correctly. Be habitually doing this and you will proceed, and continue, living."

This man replied by quoting one verse from Deut., and then tacking on a verse from Lev. Today, he might be accused of an atomistic reading, and "cherry picking" verses in order to make a theological statement.

Well, Jesus, in vs. 28, said that he "answered correctly," and then went on to give to him a simple answer to this Torah expert's original question:

"Be habitually doing this and you will proceed, and continue, living."

So, for that time, place, and culture, Jesus accepted how this man "read the Scriptures."

But the interchange does not end there. The man asks Jesus a question about one phrase in the verse from Lev. 19, which he had just quoted:

"And so, who (or: Who, really,) is my neighbor (associate; the one close to me)?" (vs. 29)

Jesus answers this question by presenting him with the parable of "The Good Samaritan" (vss. 30-35), and then asks him,

"Which one of these three now seems (appears) to you to have come to be a neighbor (associate; close-one)..."

The lawyer answers correctly, and Jesus responds similarly as He had in vs. 28,

"Be now going (journeying) on your way, and you yourself be habitually doing (performing) likewise (similarly; in the same way)."

So let us review this incident which Luke records. A Law scholar asks Jesus a question about how to obtain eonian life. Jesus points this man to their Scriptures and then asks him how he, a scholar, reads them. The man quotes from the Law, and Jesus affirms his answer - his reading of the Scriptures. This scholar had, according to Jesus, demonstrated a correct methodology of interpretation: he answered his own question by randomly citing two verses, from different writings in the Torah, and then combining these for a response concerning the theological concept of "eonian life."

Then this man asks a specific question about a single phrase that he had quoted to Jesus, and Jesus replies with a parable - which was an example of how a person could live out a fulfillment of the Law - which, in the story, the Samaritan (a non-Jew, considered to be a Gentile) had done. The scholar understood the parable, and how it answered his own question about who was his neighbor. Notice how both the Torah expert and Jesus "read the Scriptures."

Next, let us observe a couple places where we can see how Jesus was reading the Scriptures. In Jn. 5:39 we read Jesus:

"You folks continuously search (or, as an imperative: Be constantly searching) the Scriptures, because within them you yourselves are habitually presuming to be presently and continuously holding eonian life
(or: because you folks are normally supposing for yourselves to be habitually having - in union with them - life pertaining to, and having the qualities and characteristics of, the Age [perhaps: = the life of the coming age]), and those [Scriptures] are (exist being) the ones continuously testifying about Me (constantly giving evidence concerning and bearing witness around Me)."

So Jesus tells the Judean religious authorities that the verses or passages of the OT which they were

"habitually presuming to be presently and continuously holding eonian life,"

were

"the ones continuously testifying about Me."

In Lu. 4, Jesus quotes a passage from Isa. 61, and then says,

"Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears (= your hearing)" (vs. 21).

Well, from these examples, we can see how Jesus read the Scriptures. But let us examine more evidence, from Lu. 24:

27. And so, beginning from Moses, and then from all the prophets, He continued to fully interpret and explain to (or: for) them the things pertaining to (or: the references about) Himself within all the Scriptures. [cf 1QpHab 7:1-5]

And then the disciples' response:

32. Later they said to each other, "Were not our hearts constantly burning as He continued speaking to us on the road (or: in the path; with the way) - as He continued fully opening up the Scriptures to (and: for; with; or: in) us?"

Here, Jesus had explained to them how both the Law and the Prophets were speaking about Him. How do we suppose that current theologians would critique Jesus' methodology? Was He taking into account the context of those writings? Was He considering "audience relevance"? Now, we are not saying that we, in seeking to understand the Scriptures, should not apply such methodologies, but as an overview of the entire corpus of the OT, Jesus did not seem to let these considerations restrain His interpretations.

Let us now observe Peter, in Acts 2:16,

"On the contrary, this is the thing [= oracle; prophecy] having been spoken through the prophet (one who had light ahead of time and spoke before folks) Joel."

He then goes on to quote Joel 2:28-32, as his "proof text." Peter, in his sermon to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem, goes on, in 2:25-29, to cite David (Ps. 16:8) as a counterpart to Christ. In vs. 31, interpreting David's words, he says,

"seeing and perceiving beforehand, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither left down within the midst, in (or: [sinking] into) the Unseen (or: Hades; = Hebrew: sheol; the realm or abode of the dead; often used for "the grave"), nor did His flesh (= organic body) see (= experience) corruption or decay."

Acts 7 records Stephen's defense (early apologetics) before the ranking priests. There, he recounts a history of Israel, beginning with Abraham, and concludes with the accusation that, just as their ancestors had done, his audience was resisting the Holy Spirit, and had murdered Jesus,

"the Just One" (vss. 51-52).

He ended his life sharing with them what he was at that moment experiencing:

"And so he said, ‘Look! I am presently watching the atmosphere and skies (or: the heavens) having been fully opened up... and the Son of the Man (the Human Being; = Adam's Son; [p74 reads: God's Son]) standing at God's right [hand, or, side] (or: having taken a stand from out of the midst of the right [parts] of God)!'" (vs. 56).

In Acts 8:26-40, we read of the incident of Philip encountering the eunuch, the treasurer of the queen of Ethiopia, as he was sitting in his chariot, reading. This man was reading in Isaiah 53:7-8, and he asked Philip of whom the prophet was speaking. In vs. 35, we read:

"Philip, opening his mouth and beginning from this Scripture, presents to him Jesus, as the news of goodness, ease and well-being (or: declared to him the good news about Jesus)."

This verse does not give us the details of what Philip said, or say anything about Philip's methodology or form of exegesis. He simply told this man that those verses were speaking of Jesus, and the Good News that He would bring. The eunuch was convinced, and confessed his belief, that "Jesus Christ is the Son of God," and Philip immersed him in the water that was along the road. Philip read that passage of Scripture as a prophecy about Jesus. How simple. It reminds us of how Jesus read the Scriptures, in Lu. 24, cited above. Might we say that Luke, the author of these two books, was, by his manner of reporting both of these incidents, displaying accepted first century exegesis?

Luke, in Acts 17, offers us another picture of folks looking into the OT to see if the Gospel message is true:

10. So then the brothers (= fellow believers) immediately sent both Paul and Silas out by (or: through [the]) night into Berea (or: Beroia), who, upon arriving unto the synagogue of the Jews, continued being away [there].

11. Now these folks were (or: existed being) more noble (well-born; = noble-minded and having the character that comes from being raised in a good family) than those in Thessalonica. [They were] folks who received and welcomed the Logos (the Word; the message; the idea) with all eagerness (rushing forward), repeatedly examining again, separating back and sifting up and down the Scriptures - day by day - to determine if these continue having it thus (or: holding it in this way).

12. Indeed, therefore, many from out of their midst trusted and believed - and from the respectable (those who had good form, decorum, manners and propriety; reputable; may = prominent and influential) Greek women and men, not a few [D reads: a considerable number became loyal].

Again, we are told nothing about "how" they read the OT, but those Scriptures apparently convinced them.

We are told that Philo of Alexandria (a contemporary of Paul) used the allegorical method to interpret OT passages. Also, if we read the first century Epistle of Barnabas, we see that it is full of symbolic interpretation of the Law, in which the author presents Jesus as the fulfillment of specific details of various sacrifices (in what scholars today would call an "atomistic interpretation"). Might such folks therefore instruct us as to how we should read the Scriptures of that era and culture?

So, let us consider how Paul read the Scriptures. In 1 Cor. 10, we read:

Paul was a Jew, interpreting his own Jewish Scriptures, and seeing Christ in those historical writings. And in Gal. 4, we read:

21. Go on telling me, those of you constantly wanting or intending to be under Law (or: exist [controlled] by a legalistic principle, custom, system, or [Torah]), do you not continue listening to and hearing the Law (or: paying attention to the [Torah])?

22. For it has been, and stands, written that, Abraham had two sons: one forth from out of the servant girl (the maid; the female slave), and one from out of the Freewoman.

23. But, on the one hand, the one from out of the servant girl (the maid) had been born (generated and birthed) down from (in accord with; on the level of; in the sphere of) flesh (= by human means: the ordinary course of the natural realm); on the other hand, the one from out of the freewoman [was] through Promise (or: through means of a declared promise; or: because of announced promises)

24. - which things are habitually being allegorized (or: are normally being expressed in, or as, an allegory; are commonly spoken of as something other [than what the language literally means]) - for you see, these women are (= represent) two settled arrangements (covenants; contracts; wills): one, on the one hand, from Mount Sinai, habitually (repeatedly; continuously) giving birth into slavery (or: bondage) - which is Hagar. [cf Ex. 19:17 (LXX)]

25. Now this Hagar is (= represents) Mount Sinai, within Arabia, and she continuously stands in the same line (or: keeps step in the same rank; marches in a column; walks or stands in a parallel row; or: is habitually rudimentary together; or: = corresponds to) with the present-day Jerusalem, for she continues in slavery (or: functioning in bondage) with her children.

26. Yet, on the other hand, the Jerusalem above is (continues being) free, who is our mother (or: which particular one continues being a mother of US).

27. For, in fact, it has been and stands written, "Be made well-minded (Be given a competent way of thinking; Be made glad; Be turned to a good attitude), O barren (or: sterile) woman; O woman consistently not bringing forth (not bearing; not giving birth; not producing)! Break forth (or: Shatter) in pieces and shout for joy (or: implore aloud), O woman consistently not having labor pains (birth pangs), because many [are] the children (the born-ones) of the desolate woman (of the abandoned woman of the desert), rather than of the woman continuously holding the husband (repeatedly having the man; presently possessing the male)." [Isa. 54:1, LXX]

28. Now we [other MSS: you folks], brothers (folks from the same womb; = fellow believers; = my family), down from (or: corresponding to; in the sphere and manner of) Isaac, are (continuously exist being) children of Promise (or: ones-born from a declared promise).

29. But nevertheless, just as then, the one being born down from (in accordance with; corresponding to; on the level of; in the sphere of) flesh (= human efforts; = the natural realm) was constantly pursuing and persecuting the one down from (in accordance with; corresponding to; in the sphere of) Spirit (or: Breath-effect), so also now. [Gen. 21:9]

30. Still, what does the Scripture yet say? "Cast out (or: At once expel) the servant girl (the slave-girl; the maid) and her son, for by no means will the son of the servant girl (the slave-girl; the maid) be an heir (take possession of and enjoy the distributed allotment) with the son of the freewoman." [Gen. 21:10]

31. Wherefore, brothers (folks from the same womb; = fellow believers; family), we are not (we do not exist being) children of a slave-girl (a servant girl; a maid), but, to the contrary, of, and from, the (or: this) Freewoman.

These all seem to beg the question: How should we read the Scriptures? The Epistle to the Hebrews is replete with figurative readings which interpret OT passages and Israel's sacrificial cultus as being types of the work of Christ (e.g., Melchisedec, the rest that is to be entered, ch. 9 and the Day of Atonement, etc.).

The lives of Israel's ancestors are parables of trust, faith and faithfulness (ch. 11). Heb. 12:22-24 presents a mystical, or apocalyptic, picture of the present reality ("you folks have approached so that you are now at Mount Zion" - vs. 22) of the finished work of Christ and the spiritual realm of existence now enjoyed by those who are in Christ. This epistle offers us an overarching view from the book of Genesis to the coming of the Messiah. Paul refers to God's new economy as a "new creation," in 2 Cor. 5:17. The book of Revelation is filled with apocalyptic visions that are replete with allusions to OT texts and symbols - which must be taken into account for a proper understanding of this symbolic book.

We suggest that the Scriptures, from Gen. to Rev., are a single story composed of many voices, which begins in a Garden, and ends in a Garden. They present a tapestry of the human journey, with many side trails along the way. They reveal that Christ is both the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, of this Story. But like the parables, both given and lived out, by Jesus (cf Robert Farrar Capon, Kingdom, Grace, Judgment - Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus, W. B. Eerdmans, 2002), the Scriptures are more for our personal meditation and growth in Christ, and for the Life of the Spirit which we draw from them, than for just learning the facts of the histories or for the creation of scientific and logical dogmatic systems of a religion. From them we learn that God is Love, which is expressed in His Grace and Mercy, and that consciously dwelling in Him (i.e., in Love) is the Way to truly live. If our reading of the Scriptures leads us to love and accept others, it seems to us that we are on the right track.

In our day, as has long been the case, many folks want to "correct" those who hold different views, and who have alternate interpretations of the texts. This is a natural stance for any of us who feel that we have a better reading of these texts, but it behooves us to simply offer, in the Spirit of Love, what we see, and this, with no underlying agenda of control, nor with any kind of force or pressure. After all, do we all really NEED to read the Scriptures in the same way? And who determines which method of exegesis is the correct one? What we should ask is, "Does this reading exemplify the image of Christ... does it bring Life... does it make sense with what we discern to be the author's message... is it Good News... does this reading enable us to be the light of, and for, the world (Mat. 5:14)?"

The ministry of apologetics is valid and useful. But does this need to be based on factual verification? Tradition has a place in our readings, but as Jesus said, traditions can also make God's Word of no effect (Mk. 7:13). History and archaeology are useful tools, but just as valid are the witnesses of personal experiences (e.g., Saul on the road to Damascus - Acts 9), for we submit that the personal relationship of "abiding in the Vine" (Jn. 15) is how we produce the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). Teachings (doctrines) are important and useful, but Paul instructs us that

"those who are led by the Spirit are God's sons" (Rom. 8:14).

Friedrich Schleiermacher (The Christian Faith, the apocryphile press, 2011), opens his definition of Dogmatics, in chapter 1, section 1 (p 5), "The Conception of the Church: Propositions borrowed from Ethics," with the following statement as a header:

"The piety which forms the basis of all ecclesiastical communions is, considered purely in itself, neither a Knowing nor a Doing, but a modification of Feeling, or of immediate self-consciousness." Now his text seems, at first, to modify this in saying that, "Knowing and Feeling stand together in antithesis to Doing" (p 8). But he further expands his thoughts, stating that, "piety is a state in which Knowing, Feeling and Doing are combined" (p 11). Now this "feeling" he describes as "a feeling of absolute dependence [on God]... always determined... by what is given ... [in] which we have a feeling of freedom" (p 16, brackets mine). So why have I included these thoughts? It is because of his prefaced interpretation of "the Christian Faith" as at least INVOLVING "feeling," in the realm of our self-consciousness, into which "God-consciousness" has arisen. We are reminded of "feeling," in Neh. 8:10b, "the Joy (or: exhilaration) of Yahweh is your strength." Our Life with Christ is organic - as a branch abiding in the Vine, and as sheep following their Shepherd. It is also relational (as with Christ and the ecclesia - Eph. 5:30-32). Within us the Word is planted, as a Seed, and grows unto maturity in, and which is, Christ. These last two statements are examples of how WE happen to read the Scriptures.

Karl Barth opposed what he considered to be the subjectivity of Schleiermacher's views, yet Barth has been paraphrased as saying, "the Bible is not the word of God until God speaks it into your heart" (John Gavazzoni, in a private email). In his Theology of the New Testament, the liberal theologian Rudolf Bultmann stated that when the Gospel is proclaimed, the listener is confronted by the risen Christ (a paraphrase, from having read that work back in the 1980's).

We agree that we will have a better understanding of what we read if we understand the rhetorical devices that the authors employed. Furthermore, a familiarity with the cultures, and with the genre of the literature that we are reading, are tools that should be employed. Nonetheless, engagement with the Spirit that inspires the texts is, we suggest, the foremost ingredient necessary for our ventures into the Word of Life. Jesus said, in Jn. 6:63,

"The Spirit (or: Breath-effect; or: spirit; Breath; Attitude) is (or: continues being) the One continuously creating Life (or: repeatedly making alive; habitually forming life). The flesh [= the non-spiritual, natural realm] continues being of no help or benefit to anything (furthers or augments not one thing). The declarations (gush-effects; spoken words; sayings; results of the Flow) which I, Myself, have spoken to you folks are (or: continue to be) Spirit (or: spirit; Breath-effect; attitude) and they are (or: continue being) Life."

Also, Jesus advised us to let His creation (which is a materialization of His Word - Jn. 1:3) speak to us:

"Focus your mind down on and consider the lilies. [Note] how it progressively (or: repeatedly) grows and increases. It is not constantly working hard (toiling; spent with labor), neither is it continuously spinning thread [for cloth]! ..." (Lu. 12:27a).

He gave similar instruction in Mat. 6:26a,

"Make an intense observation into the birds of the sky (or: atmosphere), so as to carefully consider them."

And then, in Mat. 10:29, He informs us that,

"Are not two sparrows normally sold for a penny? And yet not one from among them will proceed falling upon the ground without (or: apart from) your Father!"

In all of creation, His Spirit can speak to our understanding. (cf Ps. 19:1-4)

Added to this, we have been given the ability to receive wisdom, knowledge and understanding from God, for the following reasons:

"And further, you folks continue having the effects (or: constantly hold and progressively possess the results) of an anointing from the set-apart One (or: the Holy One), and so you all, yourselves, have seen and are thus aware (or: know; perceive)" (1 Jn. 2:20).
"So, if any one of you is continually left behind (or: lacking) in regard to wisdom, he or she must keep on asking (requesting) from the side (= immediate presence) of the God [Who is] continuously giving to everyone simply, singly, and in an open-handed, generous manner" (Jas. 1:5).

Recall the psalmist, in Ps. 119:11a,

"In my heart I hid Your brief messages (the little Words, reasons, thoughts, ideas and blueprints, from You)..." (LXX, JM)

We who are joined to Christ (1 Cor. 6:17) have a gift, within us, from the new covenant:

"'Because this is the Arrangement (covenant; disposition) which I will continue arranging for the house of Israel, after those days,' says the LORD: 'progressively giving My Laws into their thought (into that which goes through their mind; into their perception and comprehension), and I will progressively imprint them (write or inscribe) upon their hearts..." (Heb. 8:10a).

So, how do you read the Scriptures?

Jonathan

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