The Bible is a library of historical documents, mythology, philosophy, Gospels, poetry, prophecy, and letters, written over approximately 1500 years by people living in different cultures and circumstances. As a result, it is essential to understand which elements of it are more central to the Gospel than others. Believers need to understand the context of everything they read, or risk becoming confused and developing harmful ideas about God. Perhaps the simplest and best approach is to interpret scripture as Jesus did. He is our perfect example, after all.
Jesus honored the Hebrew scriptures.
It is clear from the Gospel texts that Jesus greatly valued the scriptures available to him, which would have been the Hebrew books that now form the Old Testament. He quoted them regularly, interpreting them through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. At the age of 12, Jesus was found debating with his Hebrew elders at the temple in Jerusalem; he quoted Isaiah 61 to announce the beginning of his ministry; when tempted while fasting in the wilderness, he used scripture to send Satan packing. It seems clear that Jesus saw the scriptures as essential to a life of faith.
That said, he didn’t treat scripture as many modern-day believers do. Importantly, he didn’t consider it to be beyond reinterpretation or question and chose at times to correct or reframe it.
Jesus had a complex relationship with the Hebrew law.
The Hebrew Law had a single purpose, and that was to set a standard none of us can reach, so that we accept our need for grace instead of trying to earn God’s favor through perfect behavior. Despite the fact Jesus spoke respectfully of the Law, he didn’t attempt to live by it. In fact, he outright overruled it when it was important to do so.
In Matthew 5, Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount and reframed Old Testament scriptures in a way that showed they had to be understood differently by his audience. For example, Matthew 5:43-45:
You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
In John 8, a woman caught in adultery was dragged before Jesus by men demanding she be stoned to death. This was entirely consistent with the Hebrew Law, which Jesus saw fit to overrule once again, choosing compassion over legalism.
Jesus came to dispel illusions about the nature of God.
Without a clear understanding of the differences between the Old and New Covenants, it’s easy to fall into the trap of reading the Bible as a flat, two-dimensional text in which all verses are of equal importance. It seems obvious, however, that this isn’t a sensible way to approach the Bible. For example, when we read the depressive ramblings of the writer of Ecclesiastes, we are not to hold them as absolute truth. ‘Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless’ is not as important or true a sentiment as New Testament statements about the Lordship of Jesus. We need to have a structure in place that helps us understand how or even if to apply Biblical passages, just as Jesus did.
The heart of the Christian faith is the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus, making the Gospel accounts of the highest importance. If we read an Old Testament passage that contradicts the nature of God as revealed in Jesus, we can simply hold to the image of the Father Jesus gave us.
Jesus made this absolutely clear when the disciples wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan village that didn’t welcome him on his way to Jerusalem. His disciples were thinking of Elijah doing the same, and were simply following the pattern of scripture, but Jesus rebuked them sternly, saying:
You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.
That’s a pretty strong statement, but it shines a light on how to interpret scripture, and on the question posed in this article – are all parts of the Bible equally important? For Christians, the answer has to be no, just as they weren’t for Jesus’ disciples. Part of Jesus’ mission on Earth was to clear up any confusion about the image of God and gave us a singular expression of the true nature of God – himself.
John 14:9, Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
That really should be the end of the matter, but confusion still abounds. Understanding how to treat different parts of the Bible would calm much of the turmoil and give us a simple measuring stick by which to order and know the truth. Old Testament passages that paint God as angry and vengeful do not chime with the character of God as revealed in Jesus, and based on Jesus’ own approach to those scriptures, should be overruled.
Believers have the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all the truth, so we are fully capable of discerning the Spirit of Jesus in the Bible. Just as Jesus relied on the Spirit for inspiration and leading, we are called to walk closely with God and trust him to illuminate our minds and hearts through the scriptures.
In the final analysis, understanding the Bible works on the same basis as everything else in the Christian faith – we follow the example of Jesus. Jesus loved the scriptures, meditated in them and sowed them deeply into his heart, and he would have us do the same. He also understood when one set of ideas had been replaced by a fuller, more loving understanding of the nature of God, and he would have us be clear on that also. When interpreted through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, the scriptures are the deepest, most wonderful resource for personal transformation, and will draw us ever deeper into union with Jesus.
