Have You Not Read?

   Five times the Lord asked different groups of religious leaders a simple question that had profound implications: “Have ye not read?” Twice he asked this of the Pharisees; twice of the chief priests and scribes, and once of the Sadducees. Each of these occasions are described in the Gospel of Matthew; three are found in the parallel passages in Mark.

In Matthew 12, when the Pharisees complained Christ’s disciples were violating the Sabbath by plucking grain to eat, Jesus said, “Have ye not read what David did…?” and “Have ye not read… that on the sabbath day the priests in the temple . . .?” Later, when the Pharisees asked if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause (Matt. 19.4), Christ answered, “Have ye not read?” with reference to Genesis 1.27 and 2.24. Shortly after this, when the chief priests and scribes resented the children’s recognition of Jesus as the Son of David (Matt. 21.16), Jesus asked, “Have ye not read” Psalm 8.2? After giving the parable of the

wicked husbandman to the same group of chief priests and scribes, Jesus asked, “Did ye never read in the Scriptures?” (Matt. 21.42). Finally, during the week of His death, when the Sadducees asked a hypothetical question involving seven brothers successively marrying the same woman, Christ again asked, “Have ye not read that which was spoken unto by God?” before quoting Exodus 3.6 (Matt. 22.31).

Christ was addressing the most educated men in Israel, and at a minimum, He expected them to be able to read. Now, those He addressed could read; in fact, they read their Bible every day. But they didn’t understand what they were reading, and there is no virtue in reading the Bible if you don’t seek to understand it. Blessing comes when we understand what we’re reading. The word read is a rich term; in my Random House Dictionary, thirty definitions are given. The root meaning of the English word is to deliberate, discern, have an idea, think, interpret thought. The Greek word means to know exactly, to recognize, to have knowledge (see Acts 13.15, 2 Cor. 3.14, 1 Tim. 4.13).

Private, serious reading of the Bible is rare. Because of this, many are ignorant of the deeper implications of revealed truth. Because of this, it’s easier for error to enter and take hold. Because of this, it’s easier for us to live in disobedience without feeling any rebuke in our conscience from God. Unless we continually refresh our mind and life by immersion in Scripture, we will not be equal to the stress and strain life will send us. Every trial we encounter will reveal two things: whether we know what God says about our situation and whether we believe what He says. If we try to face trials armed with either ignorance or unbelief, they will destroy us. Let us all determine to make room daily to feed on the bread that comes down from heaven.

Kenny Chumbly