Interpreting Scripture With JesusSample

The beginning of Matthew chapter 19 gives a fascinating account of an interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees ask Jesus about the issue of divorce and Jesus responds with what must have been a bristling rhetorical question, "Haven't you read the scriptures?" Of course, they have! They know it by heart! Knowing the scriptures is the forte of the Pharisees. Jesus doesn't wait for an answer. He takes them right back to Genesis, "God made them male and female."

The Master Teacher explains that God created mankind in pairs. We are born to be united, male and female, by design. God is not about separation, He is about union. Would you have seen the ramifications of divorce in Genesis? I certainly didn't. But Jesus was there at creation. He knows not only what happened but what was the intent. Therefore, when the Pharisees question Him further about the obvious contradiction with Mosaic Law, Jesus has no qualms in saying, "Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended." Jesus taught with the authority of one who knew God's mind.

Jesus is still teaching today. He is still revealing the heart of the Father in scripture. Some scriptures were given as a concession for a specific era or people. Some scriptures hearken to the original intent of God. Jesus knows which ones.

Jesus, you are the Word. Open my mind to see the deep intents of God behind familiar scriptures. Keep me from accepting anything less than the fullness of Your plan for me, in my time and my culture.