Some things just don’t look right in the Bible. Period. And when we come across those things, we do our listeners a favor–especially our relatively un-churched attendees–by pointing it out.
One of my friends at church, Craig, gave me a great example of this a few weeks ago. He was talking about how weird it is for Jesus to be called the good Shepherd, but then for Him to send His sheep out among wolves. What kind of good Shepherd would do that!?!
That’s the kind of stuff that doesn’t look right when you think about it.
Over the years I’ve benefited from James Emery White’s blog, Church & Culture. In Volume 12, No. 53 he imagined what the unchurched would tell us if we listened to them. Number 7 was, “Can we agree that there’s a lot of weird stuff attached to Christianity and the Bible? Okay, it may be true, or real, or whatever, but can we just agree that some of it is a bit…bizarre? For some strange reason, it would make me feel better to hear you acknowledge how it all looks and sounds to someone from the outside.”
Well, one reason it would make them feel better to hear us acknowledge some weirdness in holy Writ is because it’s TRUE. God has recorded some strange stuff in His Word. Another good example is the Judges’ narrative I’ll write about in weeks to come, often labeled, Jephthah’s Tragic Vow. Jephthah promises that if God gives him a strategic victory in battle, he would dedicate the first thing that comes out of his house to greet him. That first thing was only daughter! And what’s totally bizarre is that God allowed Jephthah to carry through with his promise (according to my un-inspired reading of the narrative).
There are a whole lot of well-churched folks who appreciate any time we point out such weirdness. Before Sunday, see if your preaching portion has some bizarre aspects to it. If you bring it out, your listeners will appreciate the honesty and, depending on how you proceed, the mystery that is our God. That assumes you will fight the temptation to explain everything in God’s Word, especially the things that are impossible to explain.
Preach well so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).
Randal
P.S. I usually don’t ask for feedback because I know pastors are busy. However, I am curious to hear your thoughts on why the generation of preachers before us were very hesitant to bring out the bizarre aspects of God’s revelation. Are there any dangers to this approach to interpretation and preaching? Thanks for chiming in.
This post was originally published on August 17, 2016.
Hey Randal, I’m not a pastor, but wanted to pass on a resource that speaks to this idea a bit. I listen to The Bible Project podcast, with Tim Mackie and Jon Collins. One of the things I find refreshing about their approach is listening to Jon ask those kinds of questions. He might ask, “That seems weird, why would God do that?” Tim then responds with great clarity concerning the languages, historical info, etc., all the while, acknowledging at first read, given our cultural lenses, something can seem or sound very weird.
Angela, it’s always good to hear from you. Michele and I appreciate your Bible teaching so much! I love those Bible Project guys to death for so many reasons. Another colleague and I were just talking about how helpful their resources are. I need to fit in time to keep listening/watching them. From what I’ve experienced, I believe they do point out the weirdness without destroying all the mystery. It seems that the way you and I were trained back in the day–I won’t give away our ages!–it was at least implied that our exegetical method should be able to answer all questions. I’ve found it more honest to do our best but also realize that perspicuity of Scripture includes some obscurity and I’m okay with it. Godspeed to effective teaching!