I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited to be in the New Testament. Don't get me wrong - these last several months of pouring over the Old Testament have added such amazing depth to my knowledge of God and this great epic we're in. I've loved it.
But I'm ready for some straight up Jesus. I'm hungry to study the fulfillment and continuation of this epic tale in the life and death of Christ. I'm anxious to be reminded of how the New Covenant has and should forever change the way we live.
But what I'm NOT ready for is something EASIER. Sometimes I hear comments like this: "The Old Testament is ok, but it's just so hard to understand. I like the New Testament because it's so much easier to read."
That statement is not false. The New Testament, generally speaking, is easier to read. What I don't like about that statement is the insinuation that the New Testament is easier to UNDERSTAND.
On that issue, I disagree.
I think the New Testament seems easier to understand because we are able to read it at face value and feel satisfied with a marginal understanding of what's going on. I think we find comfort in each individual story, challenge in each individual command or call, and hope in each promise of future glory. That's not wrong - but it shouldn't be ALL.
What we often miss is the beauty of understanding the whole picture. We lose the perspective of the authors and what they are trying to communicate through each book as a WHOLE. We neglect to study not just each individual passage but how all of the parts fit together into a WHOLE.
I want to offer a challenge to each and everyone of you: As you begin to study the New Testament in the days to come, dig deeper and wider than you ever have before. Give your FULL attention to the passages you study. Look at how stories are strung together; remember that there was an actual person who sat down and put them in that exact order for a reason. There was something he was trying to communicate to you even in the way he arranged each story.
When I say dig deeper and wider I mean getting into the depths of each story while keeping the LARGER picture in view at all times. I remember trying to study Scripture on a deeper level in college. One night that resulted in me sitting down with my Bible, a notepad, and a Strong's Concordance. I looked up every single word in John 3:16 desperate to find some deeper meaning - some hidden pearl of wisdom that wasn't apparent in the English translation. What did I discover? That God loved the whole world so much He sent Jesus as the payment for our sins.
Pretty much exactly what it says.
I remember feeling a little let down. I thought if I "dug deeper" there would be some greater revelation in the words. What I've discovered in the years that have passed since then is that the deeper revelations don't always come with a microscope. Sometimes they come from looking through a wide angle lens - analyzing the surroundings of the passage instead of just the passage itself.
I think the reason we often neglect to do this is that it's harder. If we're honest with ourselves, it's much easier to read a few verses and focus intently on them for a few moments than it is to read 3 or 4 chapters and focus our minds on how they fit together. It takes more time. Often it takes more resources (commentaries and such which are SOO helpful!).
But it's so WORTH IT.
The gospels have so much to offer beyond their face value. There is such beauty and knowledge awaiting those who are willing to do the work to dig in and discover the layers beneath the surface.
So as you open the New Testament this week REFUSE to be easily satisfied. REJECT the notion that the words therein are "easier." GIVE your time sacrificially to studying not just each story but how all of the stories connect together. Read Matt's blog posts and ponder on them till it all makes some sense. And when it doesn't, ASK someone else for help.
Take it from the girl who would rather feel her way through the Bible on an emotional level than analyze the Bible on an intellectual level any day: it's worth it.
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