Three Difficult Bible Passages Interpreted
I study the Bible on a regular basis, but I am equally challenged by the content on a regular basis. Perhaps you feel this way too. Here are three passages that have challenged me. If you struggle with understanding them, then I hope the following interpretations, which are no more than educated opinions, will guide your mind in the right direction.
DIFFICULT BIBLE PASSAGE #1
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26, NASB).
INTERPRETATION
"Luke 14:25-26 Jesus could never be accused of appealing to popular opinion. Though it appears He was garnering mass appeal, He was more interested in developing true disciples as opposed to crowds of adoring fans. The difficulty in understanding His teaching to the crowd obviously stems from the harshness of the language He uses. The tendency is to try to rationalize verses like these by thinking that Jesus was only using hyperbole and did not really mean what He was saying. However, Jesus used the word 'hate' for a very specific and purposeful reason. The Greek word miseo is not an absolute but a relative term. It could mean to “love less” (Mt. 10:37). However, here Jesus’ point was that a true disciple’s devotion to Him should make all other relationships appear to be characterized by hate in comparison. This certainly doesn’t lessen the impact of Jesus’ words, especially in a society where honor of one’s parents was viewed as the highest of life’s callings. He still meant that our love for Him takes first priority above all others in our lives. Teachers regularly demanded great respect and affection, but in Jewish tradition only God openly demanded such wholesale devotion as Jesus claims here (Deut. 6:4-5)."
Source: Radical Bible Study (Clarity Publishers, 2010).
DIFFICULT BIBLE PASSAGE #2
"And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance" (Romans 5:3, NASB).
INTERPRETATION
"He who has faith indeed has all the excellent things (which are mentioned in the text), but in a hidden way. Through tribulation they are tried and purified to the highest degree. Whatever (virtues) tribulation finds in us, it develops more fully. If anyone is carnal, weak, blind, wicked, irascible, haughty, and so forth, tribulation will make him more carnal, weak, blind, wicked and irritable. On the other hand, if one is spiritual, strong, wise, pious, gentle and humble, he will become more spiritual, powerful, wise, pious, gentle and humble, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 4:1: 'Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress.'
Those are ignorant, childish and indeed hypocritical who outwardly venerate the relics of the holy Cross, yet flee and detest tribulation and affliction. Holy Scripture calls tribulation the cross of Christ in a special sense, as in Matthew 10:38: 'He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.'
God accepts no one as righteous whom He has not first tried. But He tries us through the fire of affliction, as we read in psalm 11:5: 'The Lord trieth the righteous.' God tries us in this way, in order that we may know whether we really love God for His own sake."
Source: Martin Luther. Commentary on Romans (Zondervan, 1954), pages 90-91.
DIFFICULT BIBLE PASSAGE #3
"Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place" (Matt. 24:34, NASB).
INTERPRETATION
“This generation” indicates the disciples’ generation. The difficulty for many (formerly including myself) was this: if the disciples witness “all these things” in their lifetime, then how can they witness the sign of Jesus’ return, which has not occurred yet (Matt 24:30-31; Mark 13:24-27)? The key to understanding Jesus’s meaning can be found with a little insight into Greek grammar and syntax. I must first give credit to three scholars from whom the following explanation on Mark 13:30 is derived: Robert Stein (Ph.D.), Larry Hurtado (Ph.D.), and Gundry.[i] The phrases, “these things” and “all these things” relate directly to the disciples’ first question from Mark 13:4, “When will these things be?” There are several ways that demonstrative pronouns can be used in the Greek, and, in this case, “these” is used as an adjective to describe the type of things.[ii] The referent being described is “these things” from verse 4, which further refers to the events of the temple destruction from verse 2. In other words, “these things” do not include the events which happen after “these things.” This is further signified by Jesus explaining how the sign of His return will come after “those days” (Matt 24:29; Mark 13:24). “Those,” emphasizes remoteness from what was previously said.[iii] This clarification satisfies Jesus’ prophetic teaching to be understood just as simply as it was taught: no reordering or analogizing of His answers needed to comprehend! Hurtado summarizes how reasonable this interpretation is:
“Logically, if verses 24-27 describe the end, then these verses cannot be the ‘these things’ that assure one that an end will come! Thus, the ‘these things’ of verse 30 must also refer, not to the end itself, but to the tribulations described in verses 5-23. ‘These things’ will happen in the lifetime of the Twelve (v. 30), but that does not mean that the end will happen in so short a period of time.”[iv]
[i] Robert H. Stein. Jesus, the Temple and the Coming Son of Man: A Commentary on Mark 13 (IVP, 2014), 124; Larry W. Hurtado. Mark. Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Baker, 1989), 223; Robert H. Gundry. Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross (Eerdmans, 1993), 746-7. [ii] Bible Hub. “3778. houtos, hauté, touto.” Accessed September 2, 2021. https://biblehub.com/greek/3778.htm. [iii] Daniel B. Wallace. Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Zondervan, 1996), 327. [iv] Larry W. Hurtado. Mark. Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Baker, 1989), 223
Source: S.D. Smith. Excerpt from Revelation Confrontation, pp. 150-151.
Would you like to submit your own interpretations to these Bible passages or submit other questions about the Bible? Feel welcomed to email me here. All emails are subject to appear in future blogs for the benefit of others.
17 November 2017
