That Was the Whole Point

   There is no way for people to look at scripture objectively. Unbelievers approach scriptures as ancient myths to help the ignorant cope with life. Believers understand scripture is divinely inspired, accurate to events of the past and applicable for all time to all people. This is the correct view, but it is not objective either. Beyond that, we bring our own assumptions to how we understand what we read, and that can skew things too. I recently heard a speaker on the radio say that most Jewish women, and Mary in particular, understood that the Messiah was to be born of a virgin. Not likely. It is possible that Jewish women hoped to give birth to the Messiah, even Eve may have had that hope when she said, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man," (Gen. 4:1) but that is hardly conclusive. If Jewish parents had understood Messiah would be virgin born, they would not have married their daughters off as teenagers. It would be far more prestigious for their daughter to be mother of the Savior than married to a doctor. The whole point of Mary's question, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?' is that she did not understand. 

    Another place preconceptions affect interpretation is when Jesus turned water into wine. Some people do not like the idea of Jesus drinking, much less making, a potentially intoxicating beverage. However, the word used for wine in John 2, is the same word for fermented fruit of the vine used everywhere else in scripture. There are two instances where another word, translated new wine is used. In the Old Testament instance, the word might refer to grape juice, but in the other (Acts 2:13), it means an especially strong, intoxicating wine. That is what the Pentecost crowd accused the tongue speaking Christians of drinking. In the Middle East, before refrigeration, non-fermented grape juice was not a long term option anyway. But in case of confusion, John added the banquet master's comment, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." The wine Jesus created out of water moments before it was served, tasted like a well aged wine. That was the whole point of John including this in scripture. I wouldn't know the difference, but a banquet master would.  

   Recently in BSF, we studied John 7, where Jesus' brothers taunted him about going to the Feast of Tabernacles, "Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there can see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things (Amp. version--if you must act like this) show yourself to the world." (vs. 3, 4) Sounds decidedly snarky to me, and I know my snark, but there was still some theorizing in class that maybe the brothers believed enough to want to enjoy a little of big brother's fame. So in case there was any question, John adds verse 5, "For even his own brothers did not believe in him." Clarifying that was the whole point. Sad as it seems, it is probably a good thing Jesus' brothers did not believe during his earthly ministry because they certainly would have suffered with Him. And if His brothers were killed with Him, the early church would have lost James' leadership and the New Testament would contain neither James' epistle, nor Jude's.

    I enjoy speculating about the many things the Bible does not include--conversations, expressions, emotions, etc. but when verses are given for clarification, my assumptions must bow to what is written in the Bible. When we study the Bible, that is the whole point.