How To Study The Bible #3
Get The Whole Truth
By Jody L. Apple
Learning how to study the Bible does not need to be difficult. We have
learned two basic principles that are fairly simple: read to learn (know),
and develop an intense desire to discover the truth.
We will now focus on a third principle that is just as basic. Reading
is necessary to understand the meaning of scripture and, as we have noted,
it must be reading with the goal of gaining knowledge. But, there exists
an additional dimension to this principle of reading: We must read all
that the scriptures have to say about a subject in order to have a complete
understanding of that subject. We must, in essence, get the whole truth.
Not Just Headline News
As you might suspect, this principle is one that we understand and respect
in areas of study outside the Bible. No one assumes that a newspaper headline
conveys all of the truth contained in the article that follows it. The
headline, while grabbing your attention and certainly functioning as a
memorable part of the story is just that - only a part of the story. Likewise,
when you read a passage in the Bible, it is important to keep in mind that
it is only part of the story.
Consider the first verse in the Bible, Genesis 1:1, which states: "In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." What is taught concerning
the creation of the physical world in this passage is true, but it is certainly
not all that the Bible has to say about the subject. There is so much more
to be understood. To illustrate this note: (1) Psalm 33:6-9 informs us
that God created and sustains the world by His word; (2) Hebrews 11:3 teaches
us that God made the creation out of nothing; and (3) John 1:1-3, Colossians
1:15-17 and Hebrews 1:2 instruct us that Christ played a role in the creation.
These three corollary thoughts to creation are not exhaustive either; to
be complete we would have to survey all of the Bible and glean every passage
that relates to the topic. Only then would we be able to say that we have
fairly represented what the Bible teaches about creation.
The Whole Truth: An Example
To further impress upon you just how important this principle is, consider
this lengthier Bible account. On the night that he was betrayed, Jesus
went to the garden of Gethsemane. All four of the "gospels" refer to the
events of this night, and it is by examining the totality of their teaching
that we demonstrate the importance of getting the whole truth.
When we examine the events of this night, as Mark 14:47 states, we note:
"And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of
the high priest, and cut off his ear." If you were teaching somebody about
the events that took place on this occasion, and you referred to this passage,
you would be examining a passage that taught the truth, but you would not
be examining all that the Bible teaches about the subject.
In addition to studying Mark's account, we must note what else the Bible
says about this subject. Matthew says: "And suddenly, one of those who
were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant
of the high priest, and cut off his ear." (Matthew 26:51) Mark's account
told us: (1) someone near Jesus drew a sword and (2) that person hit a
servant of the high priest with the sword, thus cutting off his ear. Matthew
adds the following information: (1) The person standing nearby was "with
Jesus" and (2) he used "his sword" (as opposed to someone else's) to cut
off the ear of the high priest's servant (KJV in Mark simply says "drew
a sword," but other translations say "drew his sword.")
Upon closer examination, we learn that this is still not all of the
truth. Luke states: "When those around Him saw what was going to happen,
they said to Him, 'Lord, shall we strike with the sword?' And one of them
struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus
answered and said, 'Permit even this.' And He touched this ear and healed
him" (Luke 22:49-51). From Luke we learn: (1) Those with Jesus first asked
about using swords. (2) It was the right ear of the high priest's servant
that was cut off. (3) Jesus said "Permit even this." And, (4) Jesus touched
the ear of the servant and healed him. Had we consulted only Mark or Matthew,
or even both, we would have missed this additional information. Only Luke
presents it. To have ignored what Luke said would be tantamount to studying
only part of the truth.
There exists one more account of this event. John informs us: "Then
Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant,
and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. . . . One of
the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut
off, said, 'Did I not see you in the garden with Him?'" (John 18:10, 26).
From this passage we learn: (1) It was Simon Peter who drew his sword
and cut off the ear of the high priest's servant. (2) The servant was Malchus.
And, (3) one of Malchus' relatives was present at the time of the incident.
Conclusion
Though each of the four accounts presented the truth, no single account
presented all of the truth. We learned all of the truth when we studied
all of the evidence. Everything that we learned up to that point was true,
but it was only part of the truth.
The lesson is clear. We must study all of the Bible's teaching on a
subject before we claim to know the truth. This principle applies to everything
the Bible teaches. If we only study some of what the Bible says about a
topic, then it is possible that we will have overlooked some passage that
would shed more light on our study. Such is the case with the example given
about the events that took place in the garden of Gethsemane on the night
that Jesus was betrayed, and such is the case with all Bible subjects.
Before we can know all about the Bible - we must be willing to study
all of the Bible.
Read to learn. Study with great desire. Read all you can.
Copyright 1999, may be
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