The Word
Do you take the time to eat? Reading the Bible is like eating good food. It refreshes our souls and nourishes our mind. We begin to get an insight into the original plan for our lives. Come to an understanding of the mind of a loving G-d, who created us for Himself. It doesn't take a lot of time to eat. It doesn't take a lot of time to study the Bible. You need to do both to survive. The fact that you are reading this means that you have a real interest in knowing the truth. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote about reading the Bible, in particular the reasons for studying the Book of Proverbs:
"The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young-- let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance-- for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the L-rd is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck." (Proverbs 1:1-9)
These attempts to explain Yeshua' words in this way is an attempt to get around the obvious problem posed by Yeshua. The rich man could not get to heaven by man's effort because a camel could not get through the eye of a needle by man's effort. If it is a literal needle and a literal camel then all is lost. Unless G-d intercedes there is no way to get to heaven. This is exactly what Yeshua is saying. Man is lost without a special effort on G-d's part.
If the Bible is what it claims to be, the Word of G-d, shouldn't we pay attention to what it says? The Bible claims that G-d is its author, that the inspiration of the Bible is not the same as the inspiration of a great painter or writer. It is the actual mind of G-d, the word of G-d. It is as though each writer was a pen in the hand of G-d. The character, style and personality of the individual were present even though the words were coming from G-d. Note that in the book of 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul instructs that:
2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV) "All Scripture is G-d-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,"
If this claim is true, we have the ultimate resource of truth and guidance right in our hands. Coming to the conclusion that the Bible is true doesn't require turning our minds into jelly and babbling some Bible verses. But, if we are reasonable, thinking people, we must pay attention to what the Bible says, not to use it to hammer everyone into submission to a set of rules, but to open their eyes to the truth.
The G-d of the Bible is holy and beyond the reach of man by man's efforts. However, the G-d of the Bible is compassionate and loving. He reaches down to man because man cannot, because of sin, reach up to Him. He cares for those whom He has created and loves them. In the person of Yeshua HaMashiach, G-d makes a way for salvation, from the curse of sin and death, by providing a substitutionary sacrifice in the B'rit Hadashah. In the Tanakh a sacrifice was required for covering of sins. Only by the shedding of blood could that sacrifice be acceptable.
As you study through the Bible text, you will discover that the theme of the entire Bible is what some have termed the "Scarlet Thread of Redemption." From the call of Abraham to the sacrifice of Yeshua HaMashiach and his victorious resurrection, the theme is redemption, not by man's efforts but by G-d himself.
The B'rit Hadashah contains 27 books. Most of these were written to various groups scattered throughout the world. Some were meant to teach about the L-rd Yeshua HaMashiach, while others were intended to correct certain errors that were creeping into the churches.
One problem in Biblical interpretation is that we filter everything through a set of predefined ideas. If I, for example, decided that it is impossible to predict a future event, all prophecy would have to be reevaluated. Bible books that predicted with 100% accuracy some future event, future from the time when the book was supposed to have been written, would cause a problem. So, one way of solving the problem would be to assume that the book was actually written after the event with an earlier date put on it. In other words, I would say that the book actually is a fake written in such a way to attempt to fool me into believing that prophecy was possible.
Another filter that may be imposed is to filter everything through a rational filter. We could say (as some do) that there are no miracles or supernatural events, that these are impossible. Therefore, all the miraculous events listed in the Bible were not miraculous at all. The explanation for these events is placed on superstition, hallucination, faulty reporting, or legend (oral tradition). In this manner all the Biblical events are made to be natural in origin. Amazing explanations are sometimes put forward for the amazing events of the Bible. An example is the explanation for Yeshua walking on the water in Matthew 14:22-33.
Matthew 14:22-33 "Immediately Yeshua made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night Yeshua went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Yeshua immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." "L-rd, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Yeshua. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "L-rd, save me!" Immediately Yeshua reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of G-d.""
The rational explanation we are given is that Yeshua wasn't actually walking on the water. The two explanations I have personally heard go something like the following:
The disciples only thought that Yeshua was walking on the water, when he was really on the shore. The distance and calmness of the water gave the appearance that he was on the water. The disciples were tired and exhausted, so it was easy for them to make this mistake
Yeshua actually wasn't walking on the water. He was standing on rocks in the water. The disciples only thought he was walking on the water.
How do we evaluate these kinds of explanations? First of all, on the surface, they may seem plausible explanations. However, let's look at the implications in a general way.
So, if we discount the fact that this event really happened, we are doubting the voracity of the eyewitnesses. This leads to the conclusion that the disciples were poor witnesses, or at worst, liars. If they were either poor witnesses or liars, the rest of the Scripture, at least the B'rit Hadashah, must be questioned.
Looking at the Tanakh there are many supernatural events such as the plagues that were brought upon Egypt for example. Let's take a look at the crossing of the Red Sea by the children of Israel. The event is recorded in Exodus 14:10-30.
Exodus 14:10-30 "As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the L-rd. They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the L-rd will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The L-rd will fight for you; you need only to be still." Then the L-rd said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the L-rd when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen." Then the angel of G-d, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the L-rd drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the L-rd looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The L-rd is fighting for them against Egypt." Then the L-rd said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the L-rd swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen--the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the L-rd saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore."
The liberal interpreters, who deny supernatural events, offered a number of explanations for the ability of the children of Israel to cross the sea without drowning. Note that the Bible says that the waters were parted.
The water was so shallow that the children of Israel were able to walk across in the shallow water. There was no miracle at all. The story was embellished as time passed and became a legend that was later written down.
Again, we are confronted with a number of problems with this explanation. First of all, why record an event as insignificant as wading through a muddy body of water? Also, why would Pharaoh's army not pursue them into the water? If Pharaoh's army drowned, as recorded in the Bible, how could they have drowned in shallow water? The explanation raises questions about the whole story as told in Exodus, not just this event. We are led to believe that the Israelites were incapable of recording an event accurately. However, as we have seen in lesson 1, the recording of the names of other places, such as Nineveh was extremely accurate.
If we just read and stop trying to readjust all the text to fit our model, we'll be better off. We may not believe the Bible, but let's not try to rewrite it based on our own bias (filter).
Using the same bias we could evaluate the Gettysburg Address, Declaration of Independence, Revolutionary War, Civil War, or any other event and change the entire outcome. Maybe Lincoln didn't really say what history recorded that he said at Gettysburg. Maybe it was someone else. Maybe Lincoln wasn't there at all. After all, everyone was exhausted and overcome with emotion after the battle. Maybe it really wasn't at Gettysburg at all. Since I wasn't there, how could I prove anything? The answer is that I have to rely on the eyewitness accounts as they are recorded. I can't change history just because I don't want it to come out the way it did.
Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001 by James E. Ball