Have You Not Read?

Have you ever had a hard question and wish you could ask Jesus about it? This happened in Matthew 22 where religious leaders asked what they thought was an unanswerable question. I want to focus less on the actual answer and more on the approach Jesus took in answering…

 "But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read…” Matthew 22:31

 Jesus values Scripture as a source for answering questions. To answer the question, Jesus is going to quote from the Book of Exodus which was written around 1400 years before Christ. Can God write something that can be relevant for thousands of years? Jesus says yes!

Jesus also expects that God’s people are reading, understanding, and applying Scripture. When Jesus asked, “…have you not read…” He knew that they had read the Old Testament (they were Jewish religious leaders!), so He meant more than just reading it or even knowing what it says. We are expected to read Scripture, know Scripture, understand Scripture, and see real life applications and answers to our questions in Scripture. Notice that this is what Jesus expects of God’s people!

“…have you not read what was spoken to you by God…” Matthew 22:31

Jesus says that the Scriptures are God speaking. The verse Jesus quotes from Exodus was written by Moses, but He was writing the words of God. It was God speaking through Moses (as God did with all His prophets). I’m afraid that we don’t always think of the Scriptures in this way. Maybe we want to hear the voice of God in answer to our questions and doubts, but Jesus says that what we read in Scripture, “…was spoken to you by God”. The words of God aren’t less from God or less powerful and authoritative because they were written down. Are we drawn to the Scriptures as something spoken by God?

Jesus says that what was spoken by God, “was spoken to you…” Actually, Exodus 3:6, 15 are words spoken by God to Moses at the burning bush – but Jesus said to Jews 1400+ years later, “was spoken to you”. While it’s true that we have to take things like target audience and covenants into consideration when we apply Scriptures, Jesus is saying that there is something to learn in Scripture for “you.” We must not fail to see personal lessons and applications even in verses that were not directed specifically to us or are parts of covenants we are not under.

So, are we reading the Scriptures? Do we know them? Are we looking for personal, real-life applications?  dd

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4