January 20 - “Have you not read....?”

        Matthew 19:4 - “Haven’t you read”, Jesus replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’....”

        This response from Jesus to a question about divorce gives us serious implications about what we actually believe to be true in life. Often, we verbalize statements that are based upon what we grew up hearing and/or learning from various sources, such as our grandparents, school teachers, neighbors, or civic leaders, etc. Sometimes these statements are true; sometimes they are assumed to be true, but are only half-truths, old wives’ tales, or downright falsehoods due to ignorance.

        When Jesus responds to the question on divorce by the Pharisees in Matthew 19, he is assuming that they should already know the answer, because they should know what the sacred writings say. In many cases, however, Jesus has to correct their thinking about these writings and/or enlighten them because their understanding is so narrow, rigid, or otherwise skewed.  In four other places mentioned in the book of Matthew (12:3; 21:42; 22:31; & 21:16), Jesus asks the same question - “Have you not read...?”

        In Matthew 22:29f, Jesus goes a little further when he chides the Sadducees: “You are in error, because you do not know the Scriptures, or the power of God.” That sounds like the consequences of being ignorant of what God has already revealed to man. In those days, usually the only people who had regular access to the sacred writings were the religious leaders of Israel. Making copies of writings was not an easy thing to do; it took precious resources of writing material such as vellum, papyrus, or parchment. Then it took so much time to copy word-for-word a document. This is partially why passing down truth via an oral tradition was so widespread. Copies of writings for an ordinary person was basically a luxury.

        Even though the Chinese started wooden moveable type at the end of the first millenium AD, it wasn’t until 1450 when Johannes Gutenberg introduced metal moveable type, that commercial widespread printing started to become a reality. Now we have moved from paper to digital printing. The whole world basically has the opportunity to read countless books. We Christians have no excuse not to read the Bible, Old and New Testaments, since those writings are so prevalent in society. Let’s look at a few more verses to take us from only a few persons with sacred-writing knowledge to the responsibility of us all.

        In Paul's 2^nd letter to his friend Timothy, he states in 2:15, “Show diligence in presenting yourself to God for approval, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, correctly handling the word of truth”. Paul is here referring to the Old Testament writings. One chapter later in verses 15-17, he reminds Timothy of “....how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for good works.” All these commands and benefits are coming from the Old Testament! How much more revelation about faith in Christ is given in the New Testament writings! Kudos to Timothy's parents and grandparents who instilled the sacred writings in Timothy at such an early age. What a blessing!

        Another beautiful verse about Old Testament events is found in 1 Corinthians 10:11 - “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us....” That sounds like something that we should read for our own benefit. Jesus takes this concept up a notch. He states in John 14:23-24, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me”. We can't obey his teaching unless we know what it is, which is why we need to read his words and remind ourselves of them over and over. The apostle John re-itererates this in his first letter. In 2:3-6, he states, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says 'I know him' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. If anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” If we want to know how Jesus walked, we have to read what is written about him. That is our responsibility.

       There is an old blues song called “Nobody's Fault But Mine”, recorded in 1927 by Blind Willie Johnson and which has been covered by countless artists since. Some of the words are: “I got a Bible in my home...I got a Bible in my home...if I don't read and my soul's lost...it's nobody's fault but mine”.