Phew!
I feel like I climbed Mount Ranier in reading the first book I've completed in the Bible: The Book of Matthew.
Or rather this was the first time I read a book in the Bible that I actually understood.
My first encounter with the Bible was marked by pure incomprehension. The year was 1992, the location: Saint Francis High School in Mountain View- a Catholic school run by the Brothers of St. Francis of Assisi.
Freshman year we read the Bible. Most of my classmates had some foundation- they prior attended Christian elementary and middle school, went to Sunday School. I did not. My only Christian experience was one time in middle school my friend's family brought me to Church as I sat perplexed the entire time (my only clear memory was eating the communion wafer).
As we read the Bible in Grade 9, something was missing. As students, we took turns reading verses out loud and yet the whole text seemed so archaic and incomprehensible to me without context:
The teacher, Brother Frey, an aging disciplinarian, taught the class with a seriousness that made it intimidating to ask questions. I kept my head down, memorized the information so I could pass the class, but it never made any sense to me. That was my first encounter and unfortunately my last for 27 years.
Now at 41, I've picked the Bible back up, determined to not just read it, but comprehend its meaning. I don't know if I'm alone when I say this: but the Bible is a very complex book to understand.
Every sentence written seems to be only the tip of a very large glacier underneath which consists of cultural context and Biblical context (meaning other sections of the Bible help you understand the verse you're reading). Added to that, what you read appears to be exoteric - a version simplified for the public but on its own, seemingly incoherent (parables being an example).
For example:
Excuse me?
Sure Jesus, pass the cup and yes I can handle being dunked in water like you were by John the Baptist!
(Later my pastor helpfully explained the meaning of the Cup as it was used elsewhere in the Bible to refer to God's wrath which Jesus would accept on behalf of all of our sins; and my study Bible explained the baptism had to do with Jesus's abuse and crucifixion)
The esoteric appears to be only gained if a) some wise teacher informs you, b) you find commentary that helps you explain what actually the Cup and Baptism that Jesus refers to here is.
Some say Study Bibles help but my study bible seems to explain bits and pieces while leaving whole sections unexamined (although in fairness, it could be the deficiencies of the one I chose).
My first encounter with the Bible was in 1992 and the Internet was not around. Today it is. What a difference that makes!!! In reading the Book of Matthew in 2020 (which seems very futuristic after just referencing 1992!), I have hundreds of sites just waiting to explain each sentence in wonderful detail. One site I love is Enduring Word. I was constantly checking it during Matthew to gain a proper understanding of the true meaning.
Here's an example:
This quote is attributed to Jesus and then the section ends and moves on to Jesus raising the dead and healing another woman. No further explanation about the wineskins is given.
Yet in the corresponding Enduring Word page for Matthew Chapter 9, it says helpfully:
Wow, this is great!! That makes a ton of sense, especially as you consider all the ways that Jesus calls out the Pharisees for misleading the Jewish people and corrupting the Jewish faith. It makes clear what Jesus intended by the metaphor and what his goals were at a high-level in terms of starting anew, fresh with the Church. While it adopts elements of the Old Testament, it represents a new religion.
Meanwhile my study bible has no such explanation of the "wineskins" expression. Perhaps one benefit of the Internet is being unbounded by # of pages in the book. EnduringWord seems to have explanations that are 3x the size of the verse it explains. If it were in print (instead of online), a theoretical Enduring Word Study Bible would be something like 6,000 pages long!
One trap I fell into early on was spending too much time in EnduringWord. As described, the commentary there may make up something like 4,500 pages on its own and as a new believer, I do not need to understand the intricacies of every Biblical sentence. Now I'm using it more selectively on an as-need basis for the key passages.
Now that I'm done with the Book of Matthew, I have about 20 pages of notes (granted, much of this is copy/pasting commentary from Enduring Word, and few other sources such as: BibleRef, DesiringGod, UCG.org, and CompellingTruth.org). Before I charge ahead, I'd like to spend more time in the notes, and make sure I have a good grasp of the key stories (and dive deeper where the Internet commentary I consulted was too shallow). Especially because it seems Matthew, Mark, and Luke share a lot in common (synoptic gospels) and so I may as well learn these common areas fully.
The Triple Tradition being sections of the Gospels that are common to the 3 books (Matthew, Mark, Luke). The Double Tradition are sections common to Luke and Matthew. I checked this out on Wikipedia when I realized Mark seemed awfully similar to Matthew! Haha. I had to double-take several times to make sure I was reading the right book!
The Book of Matthew has many references to Jewish tradition which had me hunting for explanation in the Old Testament and online. I enjoy the mode of seeking. I always felt during school that while I did well, lectures were either, at times, too slow or too fast. I prefer my own pace and going on my own explorations. And now it seems we have abundant tools to do so. Enduring Word was put together over 20 years by David Guzik, a pastor in Simi Valley, California.
I'm very grateful the pastor of my Church is discipling me as there are many areas that all the reading in the world don't seem to get me any closer to the truth. Added to that, learning to be a good Christian is more than seeking God's word, which is critical, but the areas of practice such as prayer, repenting sins, and living the Bible's teachings in real life are areas I need help in.
1 down, 65 to go!
I feel like I climbed Mount Ranier in reading the first book I've completed in the Bible: The Book of Matthew.
Or rather this was the first time I read a book in the Bible that I actually understood.
My first encounter with the Bible was marked by pure incomprehension. The year was 1992, the location: Saint Francis High School in Mountain View- a Catholic school run by the Brothers of St. Francis of Assisi.
Freshman year we read the Bible. Most of my classmates had some foundation- they prior attended Christian elementary and middle school, went to Sunday School. I did not. My only Christian experience was one time in middle school my friend's family brought me to Church as I sat perplexed the entire time (my only clear memory was eating the communion wafer).
As we read the Bible in Grade 9, something was missing. As students, we took turns reading verses out loud and yet the whole text seemed so archaic and incomprehensible to me without context:
- Don't covet thy neighbor's ass (Exodus 20:17)
- Noah getting drunk and ending up naked. He enslaves the son that saw him and tattled on him to his other sons.
- "Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. ..." (1 Chronicles 1: 4-27) (My thought was: Who? Why? as in why are we learning this?)
The teacher, Brother Frey, an aging disciplinarian, taught the class with a seriousness that made it intimidating to ask questions. I kept my head down, memorized the information so I could pass the class, but it never made any sense to me. That was my first encounter and unfortunately my last for 27 years.
Now at 41, I've picked the Bible back up, determined to not just read it, but comprehend its meaning. I don't know if I'm alone when I say this: but the Bible is a very complex book to understand.
Every sentence written seems to be only the tip of a very large glacier underneath which consists of cultural context and Biblical context (meaning other sections of the Bible help you understand the verse you're reading). Added to that, what you read appears to be exoteric - a version simplified for the public but on its own, seemingly incoherent (parables being an example).
For example:
Excuse me?
Sure Jesus, pass the cup and yes I can handle being dunked in water like you were by John the Baptist!
(Later my pastor helpfully explained the meaning of the Cup as it was used elsewhere in the Bible to refer to God's wrath which Jesus would accept on behalf of all of our sins; and my study Bible explained the baptism had to do with Jesus's abuse and crucifixion)
The esoteric appears to be only gained if a) some wise teacher informs you, b) you find commentary that helps you explain what actually the Cup and Baptism that Jesus refers to here is.
Some say Study Bibles help but my study bible seems to explain bits and pieces while leaving whole sections unexamined (although in fairness, it could be the deficiencies of the one I chose).
My first encounter with the Bible was in 1992 and the Internet was not around. Today it is. What a difference that makes!!! In reading the Book of Matthew in 2020 (which seems very futuristic after just referencing 1992!), I have hundreds of sites just waiting to explain each sentence in wonderful detail. One site I love is Enduring Word. I was constantly checking it during Matthew to gain a proper understanding of the true meaning.
Here's an example:
This quote is attributed to Jesus and then the section ends and moves on to Jesus raising the dead and healing another woman. No further explanation about the wineskins is given.
Yet in the corresponding Enduring Word page for Matthew Chapter 9, it says helpfully:
Wow, this is great!! That makes a ton of sense, especially as you consider all the ways that Jesus calls out the Pharisees for misleading the Jewish people and corrupting the Jewish faith. It makes clear what Jesus intended by the metaphor and what his goals were at a high-level in terms of starting anew, fresh with the Church. While it adopts elements of the Old Testament, it represents a new religion.
Meanwhile my study bible has no such explanation of the "wineskins" expression. Perhaps one benefit of the Internet is being unbounded by # of pages in the book. EnduringWord seems to have explanations that are 3x the size of the verse it explains. If it were in print (instead of online), a theoretical Enduring Word Study Bible would be something like 6,000 pages long!
One trap I fell into early on was spending too much time in EnduringWord. As described, the commentary there may make up something like 4,500 pages on its own and as a new believer, I do not need to understand the intricacies of every Biblical sentence. Now I'm using it more selectively on an as-need basis for the key passages.
Now that I'm done with the Book of Matthew, I have about 20 pages of notes (granted, much of this is copy/pasting commentary from Enduring Word, and few other sources such as: BibleRef, DesiringGod, UCG.org, and CompellingTruth.org). Before I charge ahead, I'd like to spend more time in the notes, and make sure I have a good grasp of the key stories (and dive deeper where the Internet commentary I consulted was too shallow). Especially because it seems Matthew, Mark, and Luke share a lot in common (synoptic gospels) and so I may as well learn these common areas fully.
The Triple Tradition being sections of the Gospels that are common to the 3 books (Matthew, Mark, Luke). The Double Tradition are sections common to Luke and Matthew. I checked this out on Wikipedia when I realized Mark seemed awfully similar to Matthew! Haha. I had to double-take several times to make sure I was reading the right book!
The Book of Matthew has many references to Jewish tradition which had me hunting for explanation in the Old Testament and online. I enjoy the mode of seeking. I always felt during school that while I did well, lectures were either, at times, too slow or too fast. I prefer my own pace and going on my own explorations. And now it seems we have abundant tools to do so. Enduring Word was put together over 20 years by David Guzik, a pastor in Simi Valley, California.
I'm very grateful the pastor of my Church is discipling me as there are many areas that all the reading in the world don't seem to get me any closer to the truth. Added to that, learning to be a good Christian is more than seeking God's word, which is critical, but the areas of practice such as prayer, repenting sins, and living the Bible's teachings in real life are areas I need help in.
1 down, 65 to go!
