“… and love your neighbor as yourself.” – Luke 10:27
I want you to play a game with me. Imagine you live in the day of the American Civil War and you stumble across a document of unknown origin but written in what appears to be your native English. A portion of it says,
Today I downloaded a cropped picture of my BFF onto my I-pad and printed it out. He is so gay!
Knowing what a normal Union Soldier would know in the 1860’s what are the odds you would be able to correctly interpret what the message intended? I think you would agree the odds are next to impossible. You may come up with something like this …
Today I lowered a picture of corn and loaded it onto my cart and painted on it. He is so happy!
If so, you would be so wrong simply because you don’t know the culture, vernacular or customs of the day from which the message was written.
This same concept is true when we read the Bible. None of us were around when Jesus lived and not many of us know Hebrew or Koine Greek, the languages the original Scriptures were written in. So, it’s difficult to understand some of the passages in the Scriptures. Because it’s difficult we often get frustrated and simply give up on understanding what it is that God is trying to convey to us.
A classic example is the story of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10:30-37. It’s a good story with a good moral. However, the main point Jesus was conveying to his disciples can’t be properly driven home until you understand who the Samaritan’s were. They were a people despised and hated by the Jews. In this story, Jesus is emphasizing that the 2nd commandment, mentioned in vs 27, love your neighbor, will be difficult to do. It requires loving those people who are a challenge to love. It requires going the extra mile in being nice to those people who persecute you. It requires loving your enemies! Ouch!
Jesus isn’t just telling a story, He’s conveying a thought, a new way of thinking that must be instilled in the disciples if they are to spread the Gospel. This was a radical teaching, a hard teaching, a teaching that I’m sure the disciples had to go home and chew on.
I want to encourage you to take the time to study the Scriptures, not just read them, dig deeper! They truly are astounding! You will enjoy the revelations God has in store for you.
In Christ,
Dave
Questions to Ponder:
- Research the three Greek words for love and see which of these Jesus used in John 21:15-17. Which did Peter respond with? And why did Jesus ask Peter three times if he loved Him?
- In Galatians 4:24 the apostle Paul interprets a famous Old Testament story allegorically. Why? Is it ok to interpret some of the Old Testament stories allegorically? What was the purpose for which Paul interpreted it?
- How does the story of the Exodus relate to your own personal journey of salvation?
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