Context | Knowable Word

The Reckoning of the Minas

July 31, 2020 By Peter Krol

Have you heard the parable of the ten minas (Luke 19:11-27)? It’s sort of the creepy, leering uncle to the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). I say that because it seems sensible enough for the most part, but it has those quirky parts that would never make it into the children’s Bibles.

But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.
Luke 19:27

For the bulk of my Bible-reading life, I’ve assumed the parable of the minas was just a repetition of the parable of the talents that somehow lost a few things in transmission. It has ten servants instead of three. Each is given one coin, instead of differing amounts. And, of course, those citizens don’t want the guy to be their king, so he has them executed.

But for a number of years now, I’ve argued that we ought to understand such parallel passages on their own, within their own context. Perhaps these two parables really have different things to say to different audiences. So in my current study of Luke, I gave this one a fresh shot.

The Question of When

And now I arrive at my second assumption with respect to this parable. Because of my first assumption (that it’s basically the same as the parable of the talents), I’ve always assumed that it speaks of Jesus’ second coming and the future judgment of humanity.

A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.
Luke 19:12

It seems so self-evident:

As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.
Luke 19:11

They supposed the kingdom of God was to appear immediately, and they were mistaken. So he tells them this parable to inform them of the great delay that must take place before his return. Easy peasy.

But hold on. Luke doesn’t say that they were mistaken. He doesn’t say, either, that Jesus aims to correct them. What if he told the parable not to correct their mistake, but to affirm the fact that they’ve finally started listening to him (see, for example, Luke 17:21)? Maybe it’s not the timing of the kingdom that they’re wrong about, but the nature of it. That, in other words, though it will appear immediately, it will not bring good news for most of them. The time has arrived for a reckoning.

Help from the Context

From the first phrase of Luke 19:11, we must ask: “What things did they hear, which prompted their enthusiasm for the kingdom’s appearance when he got to Jerusalem?” And we get much help in the immediate proximity. Check out Luke 19:9-10.

And we also ought to ask: When did Jesus, and the original audience to this parable, expect this severe reckoning to take place? What exactly is he describing by telling a story about a great king returning home to check on his appointed servants? We get much help in the succeeding vicinity. Check out Luke 19:41-44.

At this point in Luke’s gospel, Jesus has—yet again!—just reminded his disciples why he is going up to Jerusalem (and Luke has spent 10 chapters describing that single-minded journey):

See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
Luke 18:31

So what did the prophets have to say about this arrival in Jerusalem? And how does the parable of the ten minas connect with what those prophets had to say? Help is available, especially in Malachi 3:1-5 and Zechariah 9:9-10:12.

Your Turn

I’ll leave it there for now, so you can examine the text yourself and consider these questions. Hopefully I’ll get to write more on it next week, after you’ve had time to ponder the matter.

The Danger of an Open Bible

July 22, 2020 By Peter Krol

Jared Olivetti has an intriguing piece at Gentle Reformation, where he reflects on how dangerous it can be for people to read their Bibles the wrong way.

When Jesus and Satan had their showdown in the wilderness, what was the Enemy’s great tactic? To quote, misquote, and under-quote God’s Word, giving his lies the appearance of evil (don’t all the best lies do that?). Every great heretic in the history of the church has been an expert in the Bible and has used the Bible to do terrible things. An open Bible is a dangerous thing. More specifically, poor Bible reading is dangerous Bible reading. In all seriousness, consider how many people have been horribly abused with the Bible.
We certainly don’t have the option of not reading or preaching the Bible! But this is a double-edged sword…and just as I wouldn’t want you swinging a sword around without learning how to use it first, Jesus wants you to read and to read well.

I particularly appreciate his concern with the danger of Bible dissection:

…to read with dissection is to read the Bible with a microscope, to read atomistically, on the most minute level possible. This happens when we read without any sense of the context, just waiting for a verse to jump out at us. And when said verse does jump, we make it our verse for the day (or, worse, our “life-verse”), never bothering to wonder what the author intended to say, what the first audience thought, or how it fits into the whole scope of the Bible. This is the instagram way of reading the Bible.

Check it out!

How to Share Scripture While Respecting Context

July 20, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

I’ve argued that the context of Scripture is so important that ignoring it is dangerous. One might conclude that I want people to share the Bible less often.

Nothing could be further from the truth! I want the Bible in the hearts and on the tongues of all people from pole to pole, and that won’t happen unless Christians share God’s word with others.

I don’t want the Bible to be shared less. I want it to be shared better.

Reminder: Context Matters

On this blog we have produced many arguments and examples of why context matters. We will not grasp the intended meaning of a Bible passage if we don’t understand how it fits into the larger picture.

Respecting context is particularly important when we talk about the Bible with others. In these situations we are not only communicating the meaning of the Bible but also the proper use of the Bible.

If we fling around solitary verses, this teaches others to do the same. And many, many bad theologies and heresies have resulted from this practice. (Stay tuned for more on this in my next post.)

Our Top Priority

When we talk about the Bible with our friends, we should labor to communicate what is true. So the first step in sharing Scripture with our friends is to study the Bible passage until we understand it.

Here at Knowable Word we advocate studying the Bible using the OIA framework. We have lots of articles, examples, and resources to help ordinary people learn how to study the Bible.

This will take time and effort. But the payoff will be worth it—we will have confidence that the Scriptures we are passing along mean what we claim.

Here are two suggestions on how to share Scripture while honoring context.

Suggestion #1: Share the Context

One way to avoid ignoring context is to provide the context. Instead of lifting a verse out of a chapter, send along the whole chapter.

Having already studied the passage, we will have a good sense of the literary unit in which the passage lives. This unit (at minimum) is what we should share.

Here’s our first example. If I had a friend who was burdened by the weight of his sins, I might want him to understand that salvation means we no longer fear punishment and hell. I would suggest he read 1 John 4:13–21 and pay special attention to verses 17 and 18. Instead of sending along a verse or two, I’d suggest those verses within their context, all of which my friend should be able to read in one sitting.

Suggestion #2: Summarize the Context

If it is not practical to share the entire context of a Bible passage, another approach is to summarize the context of the passage.

Here’s a second example. If I wanted to encourage a friend with the compassion and grace of Jesus, I might consider his conversation with the thief on the cross. Many people are familiar with Jesus’s final words to him: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). In context, this is less a treatise on what happens to the soul upon death than an example of Jesus offering forgiveness to broken sinners who come to him.

To grasp the context, a person should understand the way Jesus loved and identified with the mocked and scorned throughout his ministry. When Jesus was at the height of his own humiliation, he embraced others who were hated and cast out. And in his final act, he took the place of those he loved—he became ridiculed for the ridiculed.

If I wanted to share this passage with a friend, I would not just quote the punchline verse. I would offer a few words (as in the paragraph above) about Jesus’s ministry and companions in Luke. I would also suggest that my friend read Luke 23:32–43.

In this situation, it isn’t reasonable to ask my friend to read all of Luke. But a short introduction and then the Bible text itself can work as a substitute.

Respecting Every Context

Most of the discussion above uses “context” to refer to the literary context of a passage—the author’s flow of thought and how the passage fits with what precedes and follows it. But we must recognize historical context (the occasion, author, and audience) and biblical context (how other Biblical authors refer or allude to it) as well.

This may result in different practices when sharing portions of the Psalms and Proverbs, for example.

Loving Those with Whom You Share

The way we share the Bible with a friend will depend on that friend’s background. Our communication will differ from a Christian to a non-Christian, from a new believer to a seasoned saint. All of this takes wisdom.

One of the most loving things we can do for our friends is to connect them with God’s word. As we pray for opportunities to do this, let’s work hard to share the Bible in context.

Context Matters: My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

July 10, 2020 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard Jesus’ cry of dereliction while hanging on the cross. “How great the pain of searing loss; the Father turns his face away” (Stuart Townend). Perhaps you knew that Jesus was alluding to David’s lament in Psalm 22. But what exactly was David’s concern, and why was it so devastating? And how did Jesus share that experience in his own crucifixion?

When we learn to read the Bible properly—not as an assortment of quotes and aphorisms—we find that some familiar phrases take on entirely new meanings.

David’s Crisis of Faith

In Psalm 22, David feels utterly abandoned by God (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). The reason is that, as he looks around, he sees no evidence of God’s presence or activity to save (“Why are you so far from saving me?”). David cries and cries, but receives no answer (Ps 22:1-2).

David understands how these things work, and he seeks to console himself with the perspective of history. In Israel’s covenant with her God, there is a direct connection between loyal trust and deliverance.

In you our fathers trusted (Ps 22:4a).
They trusted, and you delivered them (Ps 22:4b).
To you they cried and were rescued (Ps 22:5a).
In you they trusted and were not put to shame (Ps 22:5b).

Those who trusted in God were rescued, and those who proved disloyal were put to open shame. This strengthens David to persevere in trust and believing loyalty (Ps 22:3).

“But I am a worm and not a man” (Ps 22:6). The problem is, it’s not working the way it ought. David has trusted and remained loyal, but he is still put to shame! He is mocked and scorned. His trust in Yahweh is now the very thing for which he is mocked (Ps 22:8).

What’s at stake here is that the connection between trust and deliverance appears to be broken. For generations, the Israelites had a pattern of abandoning God when things didn’t go their way. Will David do the same? Now that he has hard evidence that trust in God will not pay off? Will he change his mind and go back to Egypt? Will he grumble and complain? Will he turn to other gods?

In the rest of the psalm, we see David mature from a questioner (Ps 22:1-10) to a beggar (Ps:11-21), then to a preacher (Ps 22:22-26), and finally to a missionary (Ps 22:27-31). He withstands the test and survives the crisis of faith. With all outward appearances to the contrary, he proclaims that Yahweh remains worthy of fear (Ps 22:23), praise (Ps 22:25), and service (Ps 22:30).

Jesus’ Crisis of Faith

Though David felt that God had abandoned him, we can confidently conclude that this was not truly the case (2 Sam 7:9, 12-15). Yet for Jesus, such abandonment by the Father was in fact a reality. He faced his darkest hour alone (Mark 15:33-34), accompanied only by the sin of the world that had now become his own (2 Cor 5:21).

Once again, we must ask the question of historical habits: Will Jesus survive the crisis of faith? Will he fall to pieces, just like generation upon generation of Jews had done before him? Since trust in the Father is not paying out in deliverance, is it worth it for him to continue trusting at all?

This tension is all the greater when we observe Mark’s attention to the question of perseverance. Those who deride him dare him to come down from the cross (Mark 15:29-30). They doubt his ability to attain salvation for himself (Mark 15:31). They claim they will believe what he has said, only if he will come down (Mark 15:32). If he can’t save himself, they wonder whether Elijah will come to take him down from the cross (Mark 15:36).

But Jesus perseveres. He stays on the cross until all is finished, and he can proclaim that “he has done it” (Ps 22:31; see John 19:30). He remains loyal, even when abandoned by his Father. Because the Father despised and abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and hid his face from him (Ps 22:24), all the families of the nations can now worship before him (Ps 22:27).

And though the answer was delayed three days, we know that he who cried out to his Father was eventually heard (Ps 22:24, Rom 1:4, Heb 5:7-9).

Conclusion

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When you hear or recite the question, don’t allow it’s familiarity to dull your senses to the visceral conflict it betrays. Delight in this hero, who succeeded in every way where Old Covenant Israel failed. Behold the crisis of faith, the disillusionment, and the unbelievable temptation to come down from the cross to prove his worth. And rest assured that you will never have to experience such complete abandonment, because he already went through it once for all.

Tell the coming generations of his righteousness, and that he has done it.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

The Dangerous Consequences of Ignoring Context

July 6, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve read a post or two on this blog stressing the importance of Biblical context. You may have seen a whole catalog of articles showing how familiar verses and phrases may not carry the meanings intended by those who splash them on coffee cups and t-shirts.

Yes, context matters. We won’t tire of repeating this key to interpreting the Bible because ignoring context is not just misguided, it is dangerous.

We Miss the Truth

The obvious danger of neglecting context is that we lose the truth. But we dare not forget how devastating a loss this is. What do we have if we don’t have Biblical truth? We are a parched, dusty land with no hope of rain.

Context drives interpretation. So when we pluck out individual verses we have no chance of arriving at a proper understanding.

In the best situations, this leads to a true teaching through a bad process. (See here for an example.) In the worst cases, we end up with damnable heresy.

We Disrespect God

Imagine writing a letter to a dear friend. You haven’t been in touch for months, so your words stretch into the thousands. You write about children and parents, work and health, joys and sorrows.

Later you learn that your friend lifted one sentence from this letter and posted it on social media. Your friend gave you credit, and the quote didn’t make you look bad, but the meaning is gone. How would this make you feel?

Despite our best intentions, misusing someone’s words always disrespects the author.

God gave us his word to read as 66 books under one cover. When we discount Biblical context, we not only disrespect the original authors, we put ourselves above the Scriptures, insisting we know better how to present it than God himself.

Though perhaps distasteful, we need to name this error accurately. It is arrogance. And God does not think highly of the arrogant (see James 4:1–10, especially James 4:6).

We Mislead Our Neighbors

As Christians we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves, and part of this calling is pointing our neighbors toward God through Jesus Christ.

Whenever we rip verses from their Biblical context and slap them on hats or bumper stickers or (gulp!) church signs, we’re telling our neighbors that this is a proper way to handle God’s word. We’re encouraging them to pick and choose what seems good or inspirational from the Bible.

This misleads our neighbors about the nature of both the Bible and God himself, and it may encourage them in error.

The Bible in Context

Now that I’ve shown how delightful a companion I’d be on your next trip to a Christian bookstore, let me reassure you.

I’m not saying we need to quote the whole Bible or nothing. There are plenty of ways to share powerful, helpful passages of Scripture with a friend or neighbor while still respecting the context of those passages. (I will share some of my suggestions on this in my next post.) I am urging, however, that we must be careful.

God’s word brings us joy and encouragement and comfort. But it is a serious, weighty, and holy matter to have and communicate the very words of God.

After all, context matters.

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Context Matters: Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing

April 13, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard that no one can do anything apart from Jesus. You may have been told this saying refers to our complete reliance upon God. Or, you may have read this phrase during leadership or evangelism training, urging your frequent communication with Jesus.

Context matters. When we learn to read the Bible in context—not just as a collection of memorable phrases—we’ll find that some familiar verses take on richer and deeper meanings.

The Vine and the Branches

The phrase “apart from me you can do nothing” is just a portion of John 15:5. This is part of a long conversation Jesus has with his disciples on the evening of the Last Supper, after Judas departs (John 13:30). Jesus tells them he is the vine and his father is the vinedresser (John 15:1); God takes away branches that do not bear fruit, and he prunes every fruit-bearing branch (John 15:2).

Because of their parallel nature, we need to read John 15:4 and John 15:5 together.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4–5)

In the immediate context, “you can do nothing” is related to “bear[ing] fruit” and “apart from me” stands opposite to “abide in me and I in him.” We cannot know Jesus’s full meaning in John 15:5 without understanding “abiding” and “bearing fruit.”

Abiding

In one way, the metaphor of the vine and branches makes clear the meaning of “abide.” Branches draw nourishment and life from the vine; without that connection, they die.

Abiding in Jesus is not an extra level of discipleship—it is essential! He is life itself; anyone who does not abide in Jesus is thrown away like a branch from the vine and burned (John 15:6).

Abiding in Jesus is also connected to both Jesus’s words and his love. If anyone abides in Jesus, his words abide in them, and their prayers will be answered (John 15:7). Jesus tells the disciples not just to abide in him but to abide in his love (John 15:9). He then explains what this means—if the disciples keep Jesus’s commandments, they will abide in his love (John 15:10). Jesus teaches this not as a burdensome duty but so their joy will be full (John 15:11).

We should also notice the similarity between the words “abide” and “abode,” or dwelling. Unfortunately, some translations obscure this link. Jesus is going to prepare a place for his disciples in his father’s house (dwelling); he wants them to be where he is (John 14:2–3). He speaks of his connection with the father as “the father abiding in me” (John 14:10, NASB). Throughout this discourse, Jesus’s relationship with his disciples shares many features of his relationship with his father.

Any disciple that wants to bear fruit must abide in Jesus and Jesus must abide in them (John 15:5). This mutual abiding, along with the other context summarized above, points to a unity, knowledge, obedience, and love that is life-sustaining and supernatural.

Bearing Fruit

As with abiding, bearing fruit goes hand-in-hand with following Jesus. Jesus says that bearing fruit is the way a person proves to be a disciple (John 15:8). In the metaphor of the vine and branches, bearing fruit is what normal, healthy branches do.

If anyone loves Jesus, they will keep his commandments (John 14:15), and thus we see a connection between bearing fruit and keeping Jesus’s commands. Jesus knows that we need help in this calling, which is why he promises to send “another helper”—the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). The Spirit abides with the disciples and will be in them (John 14:17, NASB).

We see this essential link between love, obedience, and the presence of God in John 14:23.

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:23, NASB)

So bearing fruit is a Spirit-powered yet normal part of being a disciple of Jesus. And it happens as we abide in, love, and obey Jesus.

Abide in Him

Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. When we read this verse in context we see that Jesus is not primarily warning against self-reliance nor dismissing the contributions of non-Christians. Yes, he is drawing a sharp line between those who follow him and those who do not. But this is a call to life.

Those connected to the vine are animated by the life-giving Spirit, and they are fruit-bearing by nature. Apart from the vine, there is no nutrition, no life, no fruit.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Maintaining Both Human and Divine Aspects of Scripture

April 8, 2020 By Peter Krol

Daniel Rowlands has a helpful piece about how to maintain both the human and divine aspects of Scripture. When we aim to read Scripture “in context,” we must keep in mind both the immediate literary/historical context of the human author and the canonical context of the divine author.

In each place there is the immediate context, but there is a broader context—the context of the entire revelation of God contained in the Bible. There are different human authors (i.e. Moses, Hosea, and Matthew), yet there is one divine author—God himself. There is an immediate context, and there is an overall biblical context—the overarching story of God’s mighty acts of redemption in Christ Jesus.

We do not have to choose between these matters in our study of Scripture. We ought to maintain both.

Check it out!

Context Matters: Taste and See That the Lord is Good

March 16, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

Priscilla Du Preez (2017), public domain

Perhaps you’ve heard that Christians need to taste and see that the Lord is good, that God’s blessings extend to all of our senses. Maybe you’ve been given this encouragement in the context of celebrating the Lord’s Supper or as a reminder that God cares for your body. You may even have been told that “taste and see” means that God wants you to have all of the material blessings you can name.

Context matters. When we learn to read the Bible as a whole—not as a collection of disjointed sentences and phrases ready for posters and sermon titles—we’ll find that some familiar expressions have deeper meanings than we thought.

The Immediate Context

The phrase “taste and see that the Lord is good” comes from the middle of Psalm 34.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. (Psalm 34:8–10)

In the immediate context, tasting and seeing God’s goodness is tied to taking refuge in him; this is the path to blessedness (Ps. 34:8). Saints who fear the Lord will lack no good thing (Ps. 34:9–10).

Just after these verses, David (the psalm’s author) mentions one of these “good things.”

What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good? (Ps. 34:12)

This is what seeking the Lord must look like for anyone who wants a long life.

Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it. (Ps. 34:13–14)

The Bigger Picture

Just as we must not ignore the immediate context of Psalm 34:8, we also must not ignore the larger picture. When we read the entire psalm, we see the Lord’s goodness everywhere.

God answers us and delivers us from all our fears (Ps. 34:4)
Those who look to God are radiant and will not be ashamed (Ps. 34:5)
God hears and saves us out of all trouble (Ps. 34:6)
God delivers those who fear him (Ps. 34:7, 17, 19)
The Lord is near and he saves (Ps. 34:18)
The Lord redeems life, none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned (Ps. 34:22)

We often spiritualize the psalms, reasoning that the psalmist was facing military and physical threat while our dangers are moral or spiritual. But David wrote “taste and see” in the middle of this psalm for a reason.

David experienced the Lord’s goodness with his senses, in real life. God’s nearness, his deliverance, his salvation, his redemption, his hearing and answering—and consequently David’s crying out, looking to God, seeking God, and taking refuge in him—were just as real as honey on David’s tongue or the altar in front of David’s face.

And the goodness of the Lord is just as available to us as it was to King David.

Not an Easy Life

If we’re honest, we’d like the Lord’s goodness to eliminate all sickness, hardship, and want. But that is not reality in Psalm 34.

We have fears (Ps. 34:4) and troubles (Ps. 34:6)
We need deliverance (Ps. 34:7, 17)
We need to cry for help (Ps. 34:17)
We are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit (Ps. 34:18)

We see both from this psalm and from David’s life that turning to God does not ensure a life of trouble-free blessing thereafter. Psalm 34 is written to/for “saints of the Lord” (Ps. 34:9), so all the difficulties mentioned above come to God’s people. This is highlighted in the psalm itself: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous” (Ps. 34:19).

David, even as the anointed of the Lord, faced enormous hardship and threats to his life. In the introduction to Psalm 34 he references 1 Samuel 21:10–15. As David fled from Saul, he went to the king of Gath. But news of David’s military success preceded him, so he faked madness to save his life. And it worked! David cried for help, and the Lord heard him and delivered him (Ps. 34.17).

How to “Taste and See”

I had two questions before digging into this psalm: What does it mean that the Lord is good? How do we experience the Lord’s goodness?

The answers to both questions, from a detailed look at this psalm, are clear. When we seek God in humility, he answers and delivers us.

Seeking God in humility is difficult. It means admitting that we are poor (Ps. 34:6) and that we have fears and troubles beyond our ability (Ps. 34:17). Taking refuge in God and learning the fear of the Lord also have dramatic implications for our lives: we boast in the Lord (Ps. 34:2) and bless him at all times (Ps. 34:1), we keep our tongues from evil (Ps. 34:13), and we turn from evil and pursue peace (Ps. 34:14).

But the reward is far greater than the cost. “None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.” Given what we deserve and what we are promised, this is the best news in the world! Even in the middle of this Old Testament book of prayers and songs, we see the work of Jesus—condemned in the place of his people.

So, while “taste and see” has no contextual reference to the Lord’s Supper, and no promise of material blessings, this psalm teaches that God’s people experience his deliverance with their senses. In our actual bodies, God delivers us, he saves us, he hears us, and he is near to us.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Context Matters: Jesus Came to Give Abundant Life

March 2, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard that Jesus didn’t just come to give life, he came to give abundant life. You may have seen teachers urge that Christians should not be poor, should not be sad, should not be sick, should not be lacking in any blessings God can give. After all, how does a less than existence match up with an abundant life?

When we learn to read the Bible properly—not as a series of isolated words and phrases—we find that some familiar phrases take on entirely new meanings.

The Audience

Jesus uses the “abundant life” phrase to a group of Pharisees in John 10. Importantly, these Pharisees gathered after a controversy surrounding Jesus’s healing of a blind man.

In John 9:1–7, Jesus comes across a man born blind. He anoints the man’s eyes with mud, tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, and the man comes back with sight. This starts several rounds of questioning from the Pharisees directed at both this man and his parents. No one wants to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah for fear of the Jews (John 9:22).

However, the man’s life has been changed so dramatically, he cannot help himself. He tells the Pharisees that this man is clearly from God, and the Pharisees cast him out (John 9:33–34). Jesus seeks out the man again, and he confesses Jesus as Lord (John 9:38). The purpose of the healing is realized; the miracle points back to Jesus.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

Jesus launches into an extended figure of speech that leaves the Pharisees confused.

Jesus first tells the Pharisees about the shepherd of the sheep. The sheep will follow the shepherd, because they know his voice. But they will not follow a stranger with a strange voice (John 10:1–6).

Since this first use of a sheep/shepherd metaphor is confusing, Jesus reloads. He uses different metaphors.

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:7–9)

And then we arrive at the verse in question.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)

It’s quite natural, after hearing this, to ask: What does it look like to have life abundantly? John (and Jesus) anticipates this question, because the answer comes quickly.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:11–15)

Having an abundant life means having a good shepherd!

Plenty of employees can perform simple tasks for the sheep, but they don’t care for the sheep at all. They will save their own skin when the wolf howls. But Jesus is so, so different. He is the good shepherd. He knows his sheep, and he lays down his life for his sheep.

Notice that nowhere in this passage do we see a discussion of money, large houses, swimming pools, or everlasting youth. The way Jesus uses this phrase has nothing to do with material possessions or anything doctors or therapists can offer. He intends something much better.

The Greatest Treasure

Jesus came to give himself for his sheep. He calls his sheep, and they perk up their ears and follow him because they recognize his voice. With the good shepherd the sheep will find pasture, shelter, and safety.

Jesus is quite comfortable at the center of this metaphor. Both his healings and his figures of speech point people back to him.

Many sheep are used to thieves and wolves in the field. But with a good shepherd, the sheep have a guide and friend who loves them. He knows them, and they know him. And this—this is abundant life.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Context Matters: Leave the Dead to Bury Their Own Dead

February 28, 2020 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard some of Jesus’ cryptic sayings, such as “Let the dead bury their own dead.” What are we to make of such a mysterious sentence? How shall we go about trying to puzzle it out?

Context matters. When we learn to read the Bible properly—and we don’t just take a guess at the meaning on our own—we’ll find that the clues are right there in the passage waiting to be found.

The Text

The command comes in response to a man who considers following Jesus. The man asks to be allowed to go first and bury his father. Then Jesus speaks the words under consideration: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

This brief scene occurs in both Matthew 8:21-22 and Luke 9:59-60. For the sake of this post, I’m looking at Luke’s version. Because Matthew may have a different use in mind for this scene, I might analyze his version in another post. For this season, however, my head has been in Luke. So I’ll camp there.

Some Options

A number of options have been proposed for how to interpret this command.

Some describe an ancient Jewish practice of “second burial,” where a family would return to the tomb of a loved one a year after burial and rearrange the placement of the bones. They suggest that, because Jesus would presumably never contradict the 5th commandment to honor one’s parents (Ex 20:12), Jesus must be ordering the man to forgo this practice of second burial. “Leave the second-burial dead to bury their own first-burial dead.”

Others claim that the first “dead” in the verse refers to the spiritually dead. And a Christian ought to delegate the responsibility for burying their (physically) dead parents to those who are not Christians. “Leave the spiritually dead to bury their own physically dead.”

Still others suggest that the man’s father was not yet dead, and the potential disciple was merely making excuses not to follow Jesus. “Leave off the excuse of needing to care for the aging.”

Another idea is that the phrase means either that God must come first before all else, or that we must accept that what is done is done. “Bury your priorities and your past as though they were dead, and put me first.”

Still others propose that the command is not relevant to Christians today, but was only for the first apostles. Jesus’ call to them then was so strict as to preclude their responsibility to care for aging or dying parents. But his call on us today is not as strict. “Leave the dead apostles to leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

How are we to choose from among these options? Surely we won’t get the answer by closing our eyes and reflecting on the options until one of them feels right. There have got to be clues in the text itself.

Help from the Structure

In Luke’s account, we’re given three brief scenes with potential disciples, all in a row. The first (Luke 9:57-58) and third (Luke 9:61-62) both take initiative with Jesus and announce “I will follow you.” However, with the second potential disciple, the one we are considering, Jesus makes the first move: “Follow me” (Luke 9:59). This pattern sets up a simple three-part structure:

“I will follow you wherever you go.”
- “Follow me… But as for you…”
“I will follow you, Lord, but…”

The first and third potential disciples are idealists. They’re quick to make promises about what they will do. The first is a broad idealist, offering to follow Jesus “wherever.” And the second one is a narrow idealist, offering to follow Jesus under one small condition (“let me first say farewell to those at my home”). But both remain idealists who need a dose of reality: We won’t have the greatest of accommodations (Luke 9:58), and we need to be singly focused on the kingdom (Luke 9:62).

But the structure of the paragraph points a flashing neon arrow at the second potential disciple. Being at the center of the concentric structure, we ought to expect the punchline to fall there.

And so it does. Not only is Jesus the one to take initiative, but he also closes the vignette with a clear call: “But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60). So in some way, “burying the dead” is in tension with “proclaiming the kingdom of God.” If burying the dead will get in the way of proclaiming the kingdom, then leave the task to the dead.

In brief, then, the structure helps us to see the main point: Go and proclaim the kingdom. But it doesn’t yet help us to grasp the precise interpretation of the phrase “leave the dead to bury their own dead.” We need more help.

Help Before and After

The train of thought in the larger passage may come to the rescue.

The paragraph before the one we’re examining (Luke 9:51-56) launches a major division in Luke’s gospel (see my post on how to navigate the middle of Luke). In that paragraph, James and John ask if Jesus wants them to call down fire on a village that didn’t receive him (Luke 9:53-54). Clearly he doesn’t, because he rebukes them and moves on to another village (Luke 9:55-56). So now is not a time for unflinching judgment.

The paragraphs after the one we’re examining (Luke 10:1-24) show Jesus appointing “seventy-two others” (so not including the Twelve) to go ahead of him (Luke 10:1) and proclaim the kingdom of God (Luke 10:9, 11). For this particular mission, they are to take no supplies and stop to greet no one (Luke 10:4). In other words, they are to leave possessions and ordinary politeness behind. This mission is far too urgent.

So the train of thought takes the following track:

Now is a time not for judgment but for patience—Luke 9:51-56
Now is a time for single-minded and urgent proclamation of the kingdom—Luke 9:57-62
Here are your marching orders for this season of patient yet urgent proclamation—Luke 10:1-24

Conclusion

I don’t think we have reason to believe that “leave the dead to bury their own dead” is intended by Luke as a code or metaphor for something else, as though we need to figure out who exactly the first “dead” are and who the second “dead” are. I also don’t see support from the context for even a precise definition for the saying.

Luke’s purpose here is not to tell us what to do with our dead. His purpose is to paint a picture of the urgency of proclaiming the kingdom of God. In particular, the urgency they had then of proclaiming Jesus’ approach toward Jerusalem to bring that kingdom (Luke 9:51, 53).

In painting this picture, Luke portrays a man who wants to bury his father. And Jesus wants the man to leave the situation alone for now so he can proclaim this urgent kingdom message instead. Somewhat like a modern father of a preschooler, late for a family gathering, telling his daughter to just leave her baby dolls to have their own tea party; we only need to get in the car! She would be missing the point if she began dissecting the question of whether dolls really have the ability to have their own tea parties without her.

So the weight of our interpretation ought to land on the proclamation of the kingdom instead of on deciding allowable burial practices.

Now, while the passage clearly has a particular setting (proclaiming Jesus’ imminent arrival in Jerusalem), I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this means the passage has no application to today (as with the last option on the list above). All Scripture is profitable for teaching and equipping. We can identify principles here for application, but we need to be careful not to read the instructions as though they had been delivered directly to us. There was something unique about Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem, for which those 72 folks had a particular urgency. We likewise face an analogous urgency in our proclamation of the kingdom, but the instructions don’t always directly apply. For example, it may now be appropriate for missionaries to raise support (contra Luke 10:4; see Rom 15:24, Phil 4:15-18).

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

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