Thoughts on Bible Passages

Further thoughts on Bible passages will be added here gradually.

Thought: How could Jesus Christ cleanse us from our sin?

How was it possible for Christ to take our sins upon Him and pay for them even though the Bible says that sins are not transferable between individuals (Ezekiel 18:20: "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor the father bear the iniquity of the son.")?

To get a clearer understanding of this most important question, we have to look at creation. When Christ created everything through the power of His word (John 1:1-3, Hebrews 1:2+10), He shared something with His creation. He gave creation life. The life that is in him, borrowed, underived (John 5:26), He took out from Himself and shared it with us. There is a parallel to this, also in the creation story, where the woman, Eve was created from a rib taken out of Adam. Since Adam is seen as a type of Christ (Romans 5:14),  Eve could be seen as humanity. The Bible states that "therefore shall leave a man his mother and father and cleave to his wife and they twain shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). Therefore, humanity came out of Jesus Christ, is part of him and not created separately. This becomes important when the plan of salvation is considered because Jesus could not have died for our sins if we (humanity) were not part of him. As the Bible says, sin is not transferable between individuals. Therefore, if humanity would not have been formed by Christ and in a way out of Christ through the sharing of the life that is in Him, He could not have taken our sin on Him to pay for it with His blood.

Thought: The legion and the herd of swine - Luke 8:30-32

Luke 8:30-32: Why did Jesus permit the Legion to enter the swine? Why did He grant them a request, even though they live in rebellion against Him and cannot be saved?

Because of the character of God. He is pitiful and merciful, even towards His enemies. And the demons knew this, since they begged him for mercy not to send them to the abyss. This means that they knew that God is not a tyrant but a merciful God, even towards His enemies.

There is also another lesson in it. Even though, the demons are living in rebellion, when there is the direct command, they obey the Word of God, they do not fight or resist Him but humbly beg Him for mercy. This is because they know who He is. Not only His character, as we saw in their pleading, but also His authority. Even Satan Himself obeys the authority of Jesus when directly confronted with it. They are aware that everything is under His authority. How come then that men (humans), that are made a little lower than the angels are not obeying God's commands? I think the difference here between angels and humans is the knowledge of God. A knowledge about who He is and what His character is. It is shown right after how the humans reacted, that did not know Him. The act of mercy, permitting the demons to enter the swine rather than sending them into the abyss, was seen by them as an act of destruction and violence, causing fear and the rejection of Jesus. In the same way, us, if we do not know God and understand His character, His law seems burdensome to us, His judgements frightful and His rule tyrannical or unjust. At the same time not knowing who He is, will lead to the error to negate His universal authority.

Therefore this passage shows that only if we come to know God and His character that we, even though coming short of the law of God, have the certainty, to be able to come to Him and ask Him for mercy to save us from the abyss.

Thought: The attire of John the Baptist - Matthew 3:4

Matthew 3:4 John the Baptist, living in the desert, living a humble and simple life, declared by Jesus to be the greatest of those born by woman (Matthew 11:11) and more than a prophet (Matthew 11:9), wore a leather belt (Matthew 3:4). Leather is made out of animal skins. Like God prepared animal skins for Adam and Eve to cover their sin by a sacrifice, pointing to Jesus' sacrifice, so even John, the greatest of all men born by a woman and living such a simple and pure life was dependent on the sacrifice of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. In contrast, Jesus when he comes a second time will be girded by a belt of gold signifying his royal status.

Further, his role was to announce the arrival of Messiah. Normally, a herald (a person to announce a king's arrival) is dressed in good attire and are bearing the king's insignia. Here, the simple garment of camels hair (Matthew 3:4) indicates that even though John is there to announce the arrival of the Messiah, that this Messiah will not arrive in the usual pomp of earthly kings but with the humbleness of the King of kings. Jesus himself even drew the attention to this fact by asking those around him concerning John the Baptist: "But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. " (Matthew 11:8)

Thought: Why did Jesus get baptised? - Matthew 3:15

Why did Jesus want to get baptised by John? He said, that it was to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15) - to fulfill all that is right and good. 

Jesus being baptised served as a confirmation of the preaching and practices of John by Jesus, confirming his message and the need for repentance, to be being born again. 

In addition to this, Jesus clearly said that it will fulfill all righteousness. Righteousness is the keeping of the law (Romans 2:13: "It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified). It therefore seems that Christ is saying that being baptised is a fulfillment of the law.

In Matthew 22: 37-40 Jesus says:"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." It is therefore evident, that the law of God is a law of love and that love towards God and towards our neighbour fulfills the law. Jesus saying that His baptism would fulfill all righteousness (fulfill the law) is therefore pointing to an act of love. This love can be seen in two things, his love and obedience towards the Father, and his love and mercy towards us by humbling Himself to our level and living the life for us that we should live. Jesus, as John rightly pointed out, had no need to be baptised as a sign for repentance and to be born again. He did it, humbling Himself out of love to show us the right way. His baptism was therefore an act of love, obedience and mercy, fulfilling all righteousness.

Thought: How can salt lose its savour? - Matthew 5:13

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus is describing believers as the salt of the earth:"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."  How can salt lose its savour? Here, like for all other teachings of Jesus, we have to look at the spiritual applications. We are the salt, and what is the most important thing that we have and through which God can work in and through us? It is faith. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) and "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26). The savour that Christ is talking about could therefore be our faith. It could be suggested by the warning what happens to salt that lost its savour, that Jesus was pointing towards the old covenant system which became a system of salvation by works.

Thought: Why is Jesus thanking the Father for withholding knowledge? - Matthew 11:25

In Matthew 11:25 Jesus is thanking the Father that He hid the light and the truth from the wise and prudent (prudent = conservative, traditionalists?). Since Jesus loves every human how can He thank the Father? The answer can be found in Isaiah 5:21:" Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!". It therefore seems, that Jesus gives thanks to the Father, because He knows that these wise and prudent would have rejected the truth which would have resulted in greater condemnation for them. This is parallel to the text before with Capernaum and Sodom (Matthew 11: 23). "It will be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgement because the rejected little light (maybe Jesus is referring to the time of Lot?) whereas Capernaum rejected the full light of the Son of God. Therefore, Jesus thanks the Father that he prevented further condemnation from the wise and prudent by mercifully withholding the truth from them that they would have rejected anyways, because they are too proud and too wise in their own eyes as to accept the truth presented to them.

Thought: Why did Jesus pray to the Father to not lead us into temptation as part of the Lord's prayer? - Matthew 6:13

Matthew 6:13:" And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen." This passage of the Lord's prayer has often raised questions in me, since we know that God does not tempt us or lead us into temptation (James 1:13: "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone." and 1 John 1:5: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.").

Why is Jesus then teaching us this prayer? Looking in more detail, the Greek word for "lead" Strong G1533 also means to "carry inward (literally or figuratively)". If we exchange "lead" with "carry inward" the line could read "And let us not carry temptation in us but deliver us from evil". We know that temptation is the origin of sin in us (James 1: 14-15:"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.) and we are often warned to not be tempted. With this part of the prayer we would then be asking God to help us to remove the temptations that we are carrying within us, the temptations of the flesh, and deliver us from this evil that brings forth lust and sin and thereby death. And how can God do this great work in us? Through the creation of His character in us through the Holy Spirit. Where the Holy Spirit and God's character is present there is His kingdom, His power and His glory.

Thought: How can the kingdom of heaven suffer violence? - Matthew 11:12

Matthew 11:12 "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffered violence, and the violent take it by force." This is a very negative statement when reading it at first. But how can the kingdom of heaven be taken by force. Impossible. It can only be given by grace. There is no-one or anything that can take anything by force from God. How can this verse then be understood. Looking at the Greek uses for the translation, the verse could be translated like this: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven "is pressed into", and energetic people (believers) are pressing into it. These people could be those who believed John when he preached the need for repentance and baptised them. Those believers, through their belief and their repentance were pressing into the kingdom of heaven through the forgiveness of their sins based on their repentance. This was a switch for them from the old to the new covenant even before Jesus implemented it and sealed it with His blood. The terminology could therefore refer to this that these people that followed the preaching of John the Baptist did not follow the legally prescribed way which was the sacrificial system, but pressed into it in a new way as by force, already accepting the new covenant of grace which was for this time not understood or recognised by the Jews. Understand this viewpoint of the old covenant Jews that Jesus was dressing, those that trusted grace, but not the ceremonial law, were lawless, taking the kingdom by force. This is further emphasised by verse 13:" For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John". Already hinting to the switch from the old to the new covenant in Jesus Christ, away from sacrifice and the ceremonial laws which were only a symbol for the forgiveness of sins in Christ, towards the law of grace.

Thought: Paul and Barnabas, why did God make them travel together? - Acts 13:2

One of the reasons why Paul and Barnabas were travelling together might be this: Barnabas was a Levite (Acts 4:36), Paul a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). The Levites were responsible for the tabernacle/temple, which is representing the plan of salvation (grace and mercy). On the other hand, the Pharisees represented the law (justice). Together they combine mercy and justice, exactly what the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross did as well. It might be that Paul who had been given great light was especially able to explain the true meaning of the law, whereas Barnabas was in a position to explain all of the symbolism behind the sanctuary with the light that God had given him, making the two of them a very effective duo to talk to Jews and Gentiles alike.

Thought: Why is marriage and faithfulness in marriage so important to God?

As part of the 10 commandments, God enshrined the Seventh Commandment ("You shall not commit adultery," Exodus 20:14) with His finger in stone. Why is it so important for God that marriage is between one woman and one man and why is it so important from Him that we are faithful in this marriage? God has given humanity many symbols and types from daily life in order to explain to us spiritual truths. What is the spiritual meaning for this institution that God already instigated in Eden (Genesis 2:24)?

In old times, the bridegroom, during the engagement period, before the wedding, had the responsibility to prepare a house for the bride with all the necessary things in order to receive her and create a home for a family. During this time, the bridegroom was absent for a prolongued period of time in order to make the needed arrangements. The role of the bride was to stay faithful to her bridegroom and remain pure in his absence. This historical tradition finds its parallel in the departing of Christ after His resurrection, ascending into heaven and saying: "In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." (John 14:2+3). At the same time, the Bible clarifies that the church which Christ is addressing with this promise is considered His bride (Ephesians 5:25-27 and 2 Corinthians 11:2). Christ is therefore preparing a place for His bride, which He will take to Himself at the time of the wedding (second coming) (Ephesians 5:31-32 and Revelation 19:7). Here we see how the spiritual application of the role of the husband. 

Looking at the side of the bride to be, what does it then mean for her to remain faithful and pure in a spiritual sense? Remaining faithful to one's spouse means to not have sexual relations with other people. In the Bible, God's people/ the church that is going after other God's is compared to a harlot, a woman that sleeps with many men (James 4:4). The link between physical adultery and spiritual adultery is therefore made. At the same time, pureness in the Bible is compared with righteousness (2 Timothy 2:22). Taken together, Christ's the spiritual application to His church/bride is stay faithful to Him by holing fast to Him as our God and Saviour while remaining unstained from sin.

Taken this further, to the actual marriage, the Bible says in Genesis 2:24: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." This wedding union also find its counterpart in the spiritual:"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:31-32).

Marriage therefore, besides of all the important implications for our life here on earth, also seems to be a physical example given by God for us to understand a spiritual truth. Our faithfulness and pureness towards Christ are of essential importance for the plan of salvation. Christ cannot marry a harlot or dirty bride as the Bible states that a man joined to a harlot is a harlot as well (1 Corinthians 6:15-16) but "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5). Christ therefore cannot marry a harlot or unpure bride. Since this marriage is a symbol for salvation, all of those that are not ready to be married to Christ are symbolising those that are not saved.