I recently read Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, by Kenneth E. Bailey. This is an excellent book that goes through ways those from the Middle Eastern culture look at the ministry of Jesus. I’d recommend it, and will put it to use in future entries.
Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes is just one of many increasingly popular books that have been released in recent years that seek to enlighten people on other ways to look at Jesus. These books maybe give a new perspective on a parable, or something like that. Can be valuable, but there are also a couple of traps to this readers of such books can fall into if they’re not careful.
The first trap comes from the reader’s motivation for reading such books. Many who read English translations of the Bible, be it KJV, NKJV, NIV, ESV, The Message, or any other version read every word with the question, “can I really trust what this says?” I’ll tell you. Yes. 99.9% of the time you can. Trust your Bible. The voice telling you not to is not the voice of God. It is the voice of doubt placed there to destroy the foundation God gave you to build your life around. Never treat the Bible as something to be viewed with suspicion and doubt. Most of these books say to trust the Bible, and those who aren’t satisfied by that will simply continue to look for any book that tells them otherwise. It’s always possible to find someone who has based their lives around the same doubts Satan wants to fill you with, and he can use their doubt to support yours. Don’t fall for this.
My second note of caution is more important. Some of these books often take a far too humanistic approach to Jesus. They can regularly complain about how we apply things to the teachings of Jesus He would never have been teaching to His audience. It’s said there are some things He couldn’t have possibly known. Don’t fall for this. This is stupid.
Who is Jesus’ audience? Is it not you? Is it not I? Is it not everyone who has called on His name in the over two millennia since He came? Perhaps He spent His ministry speaking to poor Jews, rich rabbis, outcast Samaritans, and a few Gentiles, but the words he spoke may have been meant for more than those who stood before Him as He spoke. He is more than just a Jewish man. He is the Son of God. He knows things we could not possibly know. The only thing he doesn’t know is the one thing he told us He doesn’t (when the end will come). That tells me He knew I would one day be reading His words, and he knew you would be as well.
I consider it not only possible, but likely that Jesus spoke His words so that they would address the concerns of those who came hundreds, or even thousands of years after Him. Jesus was not just trying to teach those before Him, but each of us. His words are so timeless because they were meant to be. He spoke knowing full well how His words could impact future generations, and those in cultures far different than His own. Jesus spoke of the future. He knew the future. He remains alive today, and His words still speak to us. There is very good reason for that. They were meant to.
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