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Scripture indeed explains Scripture, especially in the area of theology. But some parts of Scripture aren't explained, things our culture doesn't understand. To the people who lived as Jews, in the Jewish culture, the things written or said were understood by the Jewish people because what was written or said was presented from the Jewish culture, Jewish history, and Jewish theology. When Jesus said, "The eye is the lamp of the body..."(Mat 6:22), the Jews listening to him knew exactly what he meant. Nobody from the crowd said, "Uh, wait, what does that mean?" This was a Jewish metaphor familiar to the Jewish people.
When we read this in our English translations, this is confusing. We don't know what this means. It is not a recognized phrase, and we have nothing in our culture that allows us to make a connection. However, since this was something Jesus said, we who seek Scripture truth understand that we need to find out what Jesus meant. It is essential to know the meaning.
The average churchgoer depends on the "pastor" to explain what things in Scripture mean. Even those who do a little study for themselves will still rely on that the "pastor" has spent far more time in study and should know much more than someone in the pew. Part-time study only allows for a bit of learning over a long period.
Culture determines what words mean. If I was talking to another guy about an incident I had with another man, I might say something like,
"Man, that dude so dissed me, I wanted to get up in his grill. I was so P.O! I knew I had two courses of action. I could open a can of whoop ass on him or boogie to my crib and chill out."
The average American knows exactly what I said. If I spoke or wrote these exact words in a foreign language, that foreigner, with a different language and culture, would not have any understanding of what I said. When translating one language into another, you always encounter the problem of syntax. Every language has its own syntax. The syntax is a set of rules determining how words are arranged in a sentence. When one language is translated into another, the second translators will always strive to translate using the syntax of the second language so that things can be read in the second language. But this leads to problems. The original meaning is lost in the second language by using a different syntax in translation. We have many occurrences of this in our English translations. Even if a foreigner were to learn English as a second language but were unfamiliar with American culture, he would still not understand what I had said.
When we read, "The eye is the lamp of the body," it was a Jewish way to say a person is generous. To have an "evil eye" means a person is greedy. While we might not grasp the whole scope of what Jesus meant, we will know the basic meaning and be able to understand that Jesus was speaking about being generous.
Being a preacher is, without a doubt, a calling by God. It is not a career choice or following a family tradition. God creates a man to be a preacher. He gives him the intellect, ability to reason and use logic, and tenacity. While a man with other employment will spend 8-10 hours daily performing his duties, a preacher will spend 8-12 hours studying Scripture. A faithful preacher will have a burning, insatiable desire to learn as much as he can about Scripture and pass on what he has learned to others eager to hear. A preacher will never come to a point and believe, "Well, I've learned everything I can from Scripture."
When a preacher comes across something in Scripture that he doesn't understand and is aware that those he is teaching will also not understand, he is determined to find out what it means. Because he knows, and takes very seriously, the knowledge that others are counting on him to present the truth of Scripture.
When I first came across "The eye is the lamp of the body," I was clueless! I didn't know what it meant! I had to make a choice. I could try to figure it out based on my culture, life experience, English language, and vocabulary. I could practice private interpretation (2Pet 1:20) and make something up, or I could check my references and bible study tools created by others who have more knowledge than I do. There is nothing wrong with not knowing something, admitting you don't know something, and recognizing that you must learn from others. You have got to have this mindset when you study Scripture. And that is precisely what I did. If I encounter a word I am unfamiliar with, I look it up in a dictionary. If I want to learn more about a person or country, I go to an encyclopedia, as we all do. If you want to build something you have never made before, do you begin the project without the knowledge, or do you buy some magazines or a book?
Okay, now a practical demonstration, using the book, The Manners and Customs of Bible Times by Ralph Gower. This book was first published in 1953. This book has been available for any "pastor" to purchase and use for over 69 years.
A verse that has been subjected to an ongoing debate for many years is Heb 13:2,
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it."
The debate centers around whether the word "angels" means spirit beings or pastors, as the term is used to describe both. So, we go to the book's section on hospitality and see that Mr. Gower wrote under the heading, Angels unaware. "The Jews believed that God sometimes sent angels in disguise to test whether people obeyed the law of hospitality. They knew that this had happened to Abraham (Gen 18:2-13) and Gideon (Judges 6:17-22), and they believed therefore that the same thing might happen to them..."
Three things to note here. We now know what Hebrews 13:2 means by angels, which ends any debate. But more important to grasp. Mr. Gower wrote that the Jews "believed" this to be true, not that this was true. Other times, an angel visited people (Num 22:21-23, Judges, chapter 13). Nowhere in these three accounts is anything expressed as "God sending angels to see if these people were practicing the law of hospitality!" They appeared to deliver a message from Jehovah. Nowhere in the Tanaka does Adonai determine that He would test the Jews to see if they were following the law of hospitality.
2. At some point in time before the days of Jesus, someone, probably a Pharisee, made up this "teaching" and began teaching it. Others, who agreed with this false teaching, also began to teach it, and over time, it became a part of the "oral law." Over time, this "Tradition of Men" became fully ingrained in the minds of the Jewish people. We see another example in Acts 10:28. God had never declared this in the Tanaka! But, somewhere in time, a Pharisee added this to the "oral law," Again, the Jews believed something to be scriptural when it was not. Two more examples of the power of tradition.
3. Something that the "pastors" have never learned is there are places in the N.T. that describe what the Jews "believed" but were not true. In John 5:1-9, there is no doubt that verse 4 was added by someone who felt the need for an explanation. The teaching that an angel would stir up the water... comes straight from paganism! Every healing in all of Scripture is always God, through one person, would heal another. The main problem with verse 4 is that it is written as if this was an actual event, that an angel would heal the first one into the water by stirring up the water. Show me one time when an angel ever healed a human! While angels are very powerful, they don't have the gift of healing.
Believers know that there is no such thing as a ghost. Yet twice, the Apostles' thought Jesus was a ghost. (Mat 14:26, Lk 24:36-37) Jesus gave the parable, Lk 16:19-31, based on what the Jews believed. He was not telling a "true story, a factual account."
In John 10:11-13, Jesus mentions the "hireling." It is easy to deduce from the word alone that it is a person hired to do something. But since this word is only used in these verses in the entire N.T. It must have some significance. In Mr. Gower's book, he has a section titled, "A shepherd's task." '...Not accidentally, Jesus said that the Good Shepherd had to give his life for the sheep (John 10:11). The shepherd had to fight back (my insertion, when a predator, a wild animal, tried to snatch a sheep) because he had to make good any losses to the owners (Gen 31:39; Exodus 22:10-13). Any hired help the shepherd might have used did not have the same commitment.
Doesn't this little information give a fuller meaning to what Jesus said? Doesn't it increase your depth of understanding? Isn't this an obligation of "pastors" to provide the background of a passage? So those listening get the full impact and significance of a passage? So the listeners understand what something in Scripture means? Did you notice that Mr. Gower cited O.T. verses to validate what he wrote?
All Jewish people who heard Jesus speak these words knew precisely what Jesus was talking about. They knew the background from their own life, living in Jewish culture. (Incidentally, if you read John 10 from verse one to verse ten, it is straightforward to see that when Jesus talks about the "thief" in verse ten, he is talking about false teachers, not Satan!) Those of us Gentiles who have never been a shepherd, have never known a shepherd, or are not familiar with what it means to be a shepherd, upon reading the tenth chapter of John, have to learn what the things mean in the chapter. Everything Jesus said or taught was based on the Torah, Jewish culture, Jewish life, Jewish history, the current social environment of life in those days and how the different cultures operated, Roman law, the political scene, and the paganism of the other Gentile peoples that impacted the Jewish people. Paul taught in the same way!
In another book titled, The New (New meaning updated) Manners and Customs of the Bible, written by James W. Freeman, we find a different approach to helping people understand the meaning of Scripture. He goes through every book in Scripture, and he explains the other verses in each book that Gentile readers do not understand. He gives the historical and Jewish cultural meaning to the verses.
In another book titled, A Hebrew Understanding Of The Difficult Passages In The Bible, written by Dr. Roy Blizzard Jr., Ph.D., you will read,"...In Hebrew idiomatic language, "hearing" does not simply refer to passive listening, it also implies understanding and discernment...Hearing in this sense was not simply the auditory perception of sound; it implied hearing and discernment of what they had heard could be understood and acted upon." If I may, to a Jewish person, to "hear" also meant to obey what was said. You can then apply this understanding when you read the times that Jesus said, "He who has ears, let him hear," Mat 11:15, 13:9, 43, Lk 8:8, 14:35. Or when Jesus said, "Let these words sink into your ears, Lk 9:44. To the Jewish people, when you hear God's word, you obey God's word! This same concept equally applies to Gentile believers. Another tidbit, whenever Jesus spoke the words, "Follow me," to certain individuals, he was not giving an invitation. He wasn't asking for or allowing these people to follow him. Every time he said those words to certain individuals, it was in the imperative mood; it was a command! And as sheep, those people had to obey the command of their master. We see Peter and Andrew in Mat 4:18-20, and Matthew, Mat 9:9, immediately stopped what they were doing, dropped everything, and went with Jesus. None of the three said to Jesus, "Uh, okay, but let me get someone to cover me, or I need to make arrangements." Matthew walked away from a lucrative position, a position that provided him with a "good life" in those days. Matthew walked away from the things of the world to follow Jesus. There is no indication in Scripture or tradition that Matthew ever returned to being a tax collector.
End of part 1.
When we read this in our English translations, this is confusing. We don't know what this means. It is not a recognized phrase, and we have nothing in our culture that allows us to make a connection. However, since this was something Jesus said, we who seek Scripture truth understand that we need to find out what Jesus meant. It is essential to know the meaning.
The average churchgoer depends on the "pastor" to explain what things in Scripture mean. Even those who do a little study for themselves will still rely on that the "pastor" has spent far more time in study and should know much more than someone in the pew. Part-time study only allows for a bit of learning over a long period.
Culture determines what words mean. If I was talking to another guy about an incident I had with another man, I might say something like,
"Man, that dude so dissed me, I wanted to get up in his grill. I was so P.O! I knew I had two courses of action. I could open a can of whoop ass on him or boogie to my crib and chill out."
The average American knows exactly what I said. If I spoke or wrote these exact words in a foreign language, that foreigner, with a different language and culture, would not have any understanding of what I said. When translating one language into another, you always encounter the problem of syntax. Every language has its own syntax. The syntax is a set of rules determining how words are arranged in a sentence. When one language is translated into another, the second translators will always strive to translate using the syntax of the second language so that things can be read in the second language. But this leads to problems. The original meaning is lost in the second language by using a different syntax in translation. We have many occurrences of this in our English translations. Even if a foreigner were to learn English as a second language but were unfamiliar with American culture, he would still not understand what I had said.
When we read, "The eye is the lamp of the body," it was a Jewish way to say a person is generous. To have an "evil eye" means a person is greedy. While we might not grasp the whole scope of what Jesus meant, we will know the basic meaning and be able to understand that Jesus was speaking about being generous.
Being a preacher is, without a doubt, a calling by God. It is not a career choice or following a family tradition. God creates a man to be a preacher. He gives him the intellect, ability to reason and use logic, and tenacity. While a man with other employment will spend 8-10 hours daily performing his duties, a preacher will spend 8-12 hours studying Scripture. A faithful preacher will have a burning, insatiable desire to learn as much as he can about Scripture and pass on what he has learned to others eager to hear. A preacher will never come to a point and believe, "Well, I've learned everything I can from Scripture."
When a preacher comes across something in Scripture that he doesn't understand and is aware that those he is teaching will also not understand, he is determined to find out what it means. Because he knows, and takes very seriously, the knowledge that others are counting on him to present the truth of Scripture.
When I first came across "The eye is the lamp of the body," I was clueless! I didn't know what it meant! I had to make a choice. I could try to figure it out based on my culture, life experience, English language, and vocabulary. I could practice private interpretation (2Pet 1:20) and make something up, or I could check my references and bible study tools created by others who have more knowledge than I do. There is nothing wrong with not knowing something, admitting you don't know something, and recognizing that you must learn from others. You have got to have this mindset when you study Scripture. And that is precisely what I did. If I encounter a word I am unfamiliar with, I look it up in a dictionary. If I want to learn more about a person or country, I go to an encyclopedia, as we all do. If you want to build something you have never made before, do you begin the project without the knowledge, or do you buy some magazines or a book?
Okay, now a practical demonstration, using the book, The Manners and Customs of Bible Times by Ralph Gower. This book was first published in 1953. This book has been available for any "pastor" to purchase and use for over 69 years.
A verse that has been subjected to an ongoing debate for many years is Heb 13:2,
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it."
The debate centers around whether the word "angels" means spirit beings or pastors, as the term is used to describe both. So, we go to the book's section on hospitality and see that Mr. Gower wrote under the heading, Angels unaware. "The Jews believed that God sometimes sent angels in disguise to test whether people obeyed the law of hospitality. They knew that this had happened to Abraham (Gen 18:2-13) and Gideon (Judges 6:17-22), and they believed therefore that the same thing might happen to them..."
Three things to note here. We now know what Hebrews 13:2 means by angels, which ends any debate. But more important to grasp. Mr. Gower wrote that the Jews "believed" this to be true, not that this was true. Other times, an angel visited people (Num 22:21-23, Judges, chapter 13). Nowhere in these three accounts is anything expressed as "God sending angels to see if these people were practicing the law of hospitality!" They appeared to deliver a message from Jehovah. Nowhere in the Tanaka does Adonai determine that He would test the Jews to see if they were following the law of hospitality.
2. At some point in time before the days of Jesus, someone, probably a Pharisee, made up this "teaching" and began teaching it. Others, who agreed with this false teaching, also began to teach it, and over time, it became a part of the "oral law." Over time, this "Tradition of Men" became fully ingrained in the minds of the Jewish people. We see another example in Acts 10:28. God had never declared this in the Tanaka! But, somewhere in time, a Pharisee added this to the "oral law," Again, the Jews believed something to be scriptural when it was not. Two more examples of the power of tradition.
3. Something that the "pastors" have never learned is there are places in the N.T. that describe what the Jews "believed" but were not true. In John 5:1-9, there is no doubt that verse 4 was added by someone who felt the need for an explanation. The teaching that an angel would stir up the water... comes straight from paganism! Every healing in all of Scripture is always God, through one person, would heal another. The main problem with verse 4 is that it is written as if this was an actual event, that an angel would heal the first one into the water by stirring up the water. Show me one time when an angel ever healed a human! While angels are very powerful, they don't have the gift of healing.
Believers know that there is no such thing as a ghost. Yet twice, the Apostles' thought Jesus was a ghost. (Mat 14:26, Lk 24:36-37) Jesus gave the parable, Lk 16:19-31, based on what the Jews believed. He was not telling a "true story, a factual account."
In John 10:11-13, Jesus mentions the "hireling." It is easy to deduce from the word alone that it is a person hired to do something. But since this word is only used in these verses in the entire N.T. It must have some significance. In Mr. Gower's book, he has a section titled, "A shepherd's task." '...Not accidentally, Jesus said that the Good Shepherd had to give his life for the sheep (John 10:11). The shepherd had to fight back (my insertion, when a predator, a wild animal, tried to snatch a sheep) because he had to make good any losses to the owners (Gen 31:39; Exodus 22:10-13). Any hired help the shepherd might have used did not have the same commitment.
Doesn't this little information give a fuller meaning to what Jesus said? Doesn't it increase your depth of understanding? Isn't this an obligation of "pastors" to provide the background of a passage? So those listening get the full impact and significance of a passage? So the listeners understand what something in Scripture means? Did you notice that Mr. Gower cited O.T. verses to validate what he wrote?
All Jewish people who heard Jesus speak these words knew precisely what Jesus was talking about. They knew the background from their own life, living in Jewish culture. (Incidentally, if you read John 10 from verse one to verse ten, it is straightforward to see that when Jesus talks about the "thief" in verse ten, he is talking about false teachers, not Satan!) Those of us Gentiles who have never been a shepherd, have never known a shepherd, or are not familiar with what it means to be a shepherd, upon reading the tenth chapter of John, have to learn what the things mean in the chapter. Everything Jesus said or taught was based on the Torah, Jewish culture, Jewish life, Jewish history, the current social environment of life in those days and how the different cultures operated, Roman law, the political scene, and the paganism of the other Gentile peoples that impacted the Jewish people. Paul taught in the same way!
In another book titled, The New (New meaning updated) Manners and Customs of the Bible, written by James W. Freeman, we find a different approach to helping people understand the meaning of Scripture. He goes through every book in Scripture, and he explains the other verses in each book that Gentile readers do not understand. He gives the historical and Jewish cultural meaning to the verses.
In another book titled, A Hebrew Understanding Of The Difficult Passages In The Bible, written by Dr. Roy Blizzard Jr., Ph.D., you will read,"...In Hebrew idiomatic language, "hearing" does not simply refer to passive listening, it also implies understanding and discernment...Hearing in this sense was not simply the auditory perception of sound; it implied hearing and discernment of what they had heard could be understood and acted upon." If I may, to a Jewish person, to "hear" also meant to obey what was said. You can then apply this understanding when you read the times that Jesus said, "He who has ears, let him hear," Mat 11:15, 13:9, 43, Lk 8:8, 14:35. Or when Jesus said, "Let these words sink into your ears, Lk 9:44. To the Jewish people, when you hear God's word, you obey God's word! This same concept equally applies to Gentile believers. Another tidbit, whenever Jesus spoke the words, "Follow me," to certain individuals, he was not giving an invitation. He wasn't asking for or allowing these people to follow him. Every time he said those words to certain individuals, it was in the imperative mood; it was a command! And as sheep, those people had to obey the command of their master. We see Peter and Andrew in Mat 4:18-20, and Matthew, Mat 9:9, immediately stopped what they were doing, dropped everything, and went with Jesus. None of the three said to Jesus, "Uh, okay, but let me get someone to cover me, or I need to make arrangements." Matthew walked away from a lucrative position, a position that provided him with a "good life" in those days. Matthew walked away from the things of the world to follow Jesus. There is no indication in Scripture or tradition that Matthew ever returned to being a tax collector.
End of part 1.
