Title: On the Spirit and the Word
Church: Redeemer Church, La Mirada, CA
Date: Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 2012
On the Spirit and the Word
On Hermeneutics & Interpreting the Bible
I once heard a pastor say, “It doesn’t really matter what people think about the Bible.” He went on to explain that, in this statement, he is addressing a (mostly) “bible-belt phenomenon” in which people get together for informal Bible studies, “pool their collective ignorance”, and without any real authority on the matter claim “Well, I think the text means this or that.” He concludes that this practice reflects a break down of basic hermeneutical skills, because it empties the text of its objective meaning by making it dependent upon what a person brings to it.
Now, let me just say that I share this pastor’s concern. In our study of the Biblical text, we must give interpretive priority to the meaning that the original authors – both divine and human – intended in light of their historical and cultural context. However, it would be easy for someone with no seminary or bible college training to infer from this that it is impossible to really understand the Bible without the proper training in hermeneutics & Bible study methods. From this, they might even conclude that it is pointless to even read/study the Bible on their own or that they should really just leave study of the Bible to the “experts” (read scholars/pastors) who have been trained to do it. As the Apostle Paul would say, “May it never be!”
In other words, we must affirm, as one of our fundamental theological values, something called the perspicuity of Scripture. We must believe that the message of Holy Scripture is essentially clear and understandable to any and all who are willing to open its pages. Of course, this does not mean that every nuance is easily defined or that there are no obstacles to overcome in the interpretive process. However, it does mean that God has revealed himself in the Bible in a way that He meant for us to be able to understand.
Scripture can be and is read with profit, with appreciation and with transformative results. It is open and transparent to earnest readers; it is intelligible and comprehensible to attentive readers. Scripture itself is coherent and obvious. It is direct and unambiguous as written; what is written is sufficient. Scripture’s concern or focal point is readily presented as the redemptive story of God. It displays a progressively more specific identification of that story, culminating in the gospel of Jesus Christ. All this is to say: Scripture is clear about what it is about. (Callahan, The Clarity of Scripture, 9)
Secondly, as pastors and teachers, if we truly believe that a basic understanding of hermeneutical principles and bible study methods is necessary in the study of the bible – and it is – then we should include this as a foundational part of the teaching/preaching ministry of the church, both implicitly and explicitly. Implicitly, we must model good hermeneutics in the pulpit; yes, our lessons and sermons must serve as examples of how to study the Bible well. We must let principles like authorial intent, historical/cultural context, literary flow-of-thought, and the big idea guide us in our sermon/teaching preparation. We must give first priority to what the text says over our own thoughts (read soapboxes). On the other hand, explicitly, we should make it a goal to teach people how to study the Bible, both from the pulpit in a large gathering and in a small group setting. People need to understand the contours of the biblical genres, and they need to know how to evaluate and use the wide range of Bible study resources that are so readily available in today’s information culture. They could even stand to learn a little about the biblical languages and how they work. In other words, our goal in preaching and teaching should be to work ourselves out of a job, i.e. to teach people how to study and understand the Bible for themselves.
Lastly, we should trust the Holy Spirit. He is the one who inspired Holy Scripture, and He is the one who illuminates our minds to its truths. Moreover, He is the one who applies those truths in our lives to bring about radical lifechange. In other words, engaging in the study of the Bible without giving attention to the work of the Spirit can never be more than historical investigation, no matter how consistently the principles of hermeneutics are applied. We must remember that Bible study is one of the spiritual disciplines by which the Spirit makes us more like Christ, and He can be trusted to testify to the truth. (John 14:26, 15:26, 16:12-15) This does not negate the role of the preacher/Bible teacher, but it does move our dependency from fallible human beings to the Holy Spirit of God. He is the only infallible interpreter of Scripture.
Ultimately, hermeneutical considerations are a means to an end, and that end is a more accurate and clearer understanding the biblical text itself. Studying hermeneutics gives us the basic skills and tools to understand the Bible better, i.e. the way the original audience would have understood it, the way that the inspired authors intended for it to be understood. So, what we need to say is: “It doesn’t matter what people think; it matters what the text says!”
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On Persistence in Prayer – Part 3
I have recently been considering Jesus’ teaching on the topic of prayer. In my last post in particular, I looked at Luke 11 and the parable of the friend at midnight, and I concluded that Jesus is calling us to a persistence in prayer that is general in scope, a persistence in the spiritual discipline of prayer, itself. Our Father is not the kind of God who needs to worn down, pestered, or annoyed into answering our prayers. He is an essentially good and trustworthy father who knows what His children need before we even ask him, and he delights in meeting the needs of his children.
Now, in chapter 18, just seven chapters later, Luke presents a parable that would seem to negate that very conclusion. In Luke 18:1, Luke states that “Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up,” and he goes on to relay the parable of the unjust judge in which a widow repeatedly goes before a local magistrate seeking justice against her “adversary.” Ultimately, the judge concludes that “because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so that she doesn’t wear me out by her persistent coming.” (v5-6) If we assume that this parable relates to the practice of prayer in general, then we have no choice but to conclude that perhaps we need pester God into giving in to our requests.
This is exactly the assumption that we must reconsider in this passage: is Luke and, by way of implication, Jesus telling this parable to illustrate something about prayer in general? I think not.
Luke often arranges the teaching and parabolic material of Jesus topically, and he indicates the topic usually at the beginning of a new section. So, in Luke 17:20, Luke begins a new section about “when the kingdom of God would come,” and this section dealing with the coming of the kingdom begins in 17:20 and extends all the way until Luke 18:8. (Remember, Luke did not originally have chapter divisions). Then, in Luke 18:9, he begins a new section in which “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else.” This informs us that Jesus is not addressing our practice of prayer in general, but he is addressing a very specific kind of prayer, i.e. the prayer for the coming of the kingdom.
Secondly, in order to understand the exact nature of the widow’s request, we have to see her in light of the first century world in which Jesus lived. In Jesus’ day, women were essentially powerless, and, if their husband died, then they were left without many options for survival. Most likely, this widow was not allowed to inherit her husband’s property. So, her only options were to remain with her husband’s family where she would probably be treated as a servant, or to return to her family and repay her dowry to her parents. If she could not do either of these, she would probably be sold as a slave for debt. She was faced with homelessness, poverty, and starvation. So, her request to the judge “give me justice against my adversary” is a once-in-a-lifetime request, it was unique to her situation, and it was not something she would repeat ever again. Her situation is desperate, and she is powerless to change it.
Lastly, just like in Luke 11, so here we must recognize that Jesus is using a rhetorical technique called “from the lesser to the greater”; he is making a “how much more” argument, and he is doing so by way of contrast and not comparison. It is patently obvious in this passage that we are not supposed to identify God with the unjust judge, since the passage tells us twice that he neither feared God nor respected men. The God of the Bible is fair, good, and just. He treats all people equally; He blesses those who call upon him in faith. No, God is not like the judge in this passage.
So, hear Jesus’ conclusion,
“Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay in helping them? I tell you he will swiftly grant them justice.” (vv6-8)
In the final analysis, Jesus is teaching us to pray always as he taught us in The Lord’s Prayer, “May your kingdom come,” and not give up hope. He is coming soon. “Amen, come Lord Jesus!”
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On Persistence in Prayer – Part 2
“Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1) A seemingly simple question, but what is striking is that the disciples must have known how to pray. After all, they were raised in a Jewish religious system that placed a significant value on prayer. Nevertheless, when they compared their experience to that of Jesus, they couldn’t help but conclude that there must be something that they were missing out on in their practice of prayer.
And Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question is the Lord’s prayer, a text that is probably not completely unfamiliar to most. (Luke 11:2-4) So, in lieu of an extended discussion on all the clauses of this “model prayer”, we may simply conclude that Jesus’ understanding of prayer was grounded in His relationship with the Father which He had by nature as the Son of God, and, in the gospel, that relationship is extended to us by grace through faith. We may now bring all of our needs and concerns to God in prayer, because He has become our Father and we have become His children. (On this, see my post: On the Lord’s Prayer)
Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question, however, doesn’t simply stop with the model prayer. He goes on in this passage to describe what kind of a father God actually is, i.e. a good and trustworthy Father who responds to the requests of his children. This much is explicitly stated in Luke 11:11-13; this much seems reasonably clear. The difficulty, though, lies in between these two seemingly clear pieces of Jesus’ answer, and this being the “parable of the friend at midnight”. (Luke 11:5-8)
5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. (ESV)
On a first reading, it might seem that Jesus is suggesting that, when we have a particular need or concern, we ought to persistently bring that request to God in prayer until He responds. After all, isn’t that what the friend in the parable had to do to get his neighbor to give in to his request? And doesn’t Jesus say that it is because of the friend’s persistence (cf. v8, so NASB, NET, NKJV, HCSB) that causes the neighbor to rise and respond to his request.
However, there are several exegetical and theological problems with this “persistence” interpretation
- In vv. 5-7, Jesus is asking a rhetorical question similar to the question he asks a little later in the same passage in vv. 11-12. In both places, the question is simply “would any of you do something like this?”, and in both places, the implied answer is “No!” Just as no father would give their child something that is harmful like a snake or a scorpion, no person in Jesus’ day would act like the friend in this parable.
- Jesus confirms this when he describes the friends actions as “impudence” (v.8, so ESV). Now, a quick survey of the major translations reveals quite a bit of diversity in the translation of this word even though, most translations opt for something like “persistence”. The problem is that this is the only occurrence of this Greek word in the entire NT, a hapax legomena, and when we look at the uses of this word outside of the NT, it is reasonably clear that it never means anything like persistence. It always carries a negative connotation of something like shamelessness, impertinence, impudence, ignoring of convention. It describes a lack of sensitivity to what is proper, or a carelessness about the good opinion of others (so BDAG).
- Lastly, Jesus is making an argument from the lesser to the greater, a how much more argument, and he is doing so by way of contrast and not comparison. In other words, if this sleeping neighbor will respond to the embarrassing, culturally inappropriate, shameless request of his friend, then how much more will God certainly respond to the appropriate and legitimate requests of His children. The parallel question in the passage, which we alluded to earlier (v. 11-13) drives this point home: God will certainly give His children good things when they ask Him.
For these reasons, it is unfortunate that translators and commentators continue to import the idea of persistence into this parable. Jesus is not calling us to be more persistent (read insistent) in our prayers; rather, he is calling us to grow in our faith and trust that God is a good father who responds to the needs of His children when they bring them to Him in prayer. If this is so then, one cannot help but wonder if there is not some other scriptural warrant upon which we might base a theology of persistence in prayer. In this regard, some turn to the “ask, seek, knock” saying in 11:9-10.
9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
The imperatives in this saying – ask! seek! knock! – are in the present tense, and in the original language, this usually refers to a continuous action. So, the HCSB translation “keep asking… keep searching… keep knocking” is not completely unwarranted. However, it would be wrong to conclude that repetition in asking, seeking, and knocking is what causes it to be given to or opened for us, especially in light of the preceding parable of the friend at midnight. In light of what we said there, it seems more likely that Jesus is saying that we should keep on asking, seeking, and knocking because we can trust God our Father to give and to open. In other words, the cause-effect relationship does not flow from prayers voiced to answers received, but the other way around. God’s fatherly goodness should motivate us to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking.
So, we may need to reconsider our definition of persistence in prayer. Most of the time, when people think of persistence in prayer, they think of the repetitive bringing of the same request over and over to God until He gives us an answer. However, this definition simply doesn’t reflect what Jesus is teaching in this passage. Further, the path between this kind of “persistence” and sinful insistence would seem to be quite slippery indeed. No, I think Jesus is envisioning a different kind of persistence – one that is more general in its scope, one that is grounded in faithfulness to the spiritual discipline of prayer itself, one that is motivated by our fundamental belief in God’s Fatherly goodness. In other words, Jesus is calling us to a persistence that is characterized by the regular bringing of all our requests to God in prayer, always trusting in Him to respond to our needs as a Father.
For further study:
Sermon: Lord, Teach Us to Pray! (Luke 11:1-13)
Series: The Parables of Jesus
Church: Redeemer Church, La Mirada, CA
Date: June 19, 2011
See also Snodgrass, Klyne. Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2008.
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On the Lord’s Prayer – Part 1
Title: How, then, should we pray? (Matt 6:9-15)
Series: Lord, Teach Us to Pray
Church: Wynne Baptist Church, Wynne, AR
Date: May 16, 2010
Faith seeking Understanding 