Digging deeper into the Bible?

Last Sunday, as a part of our 'Jesus is Good News' series in Mark's gospel, we were looking at Mark 13. This is the passage where the disciples comment on how impressive the temple in Jerusalem is and Jesus tells them that not one stone of the temple will remain standing on another. The disciples ask him when this will happen. And then Jesus answers them by either, i) just talking about the destruction of the temple for the rest of the chapter, or ii) starts off talking about the destruction of the temple but then goes on to talk about the end times or iii) talks about the destruction of the temple but sees this as a picture of what will happen at the end times. You can read the chapter for yourself here. 

There was a lot that I didn't get a chance to say on Sunday, but as part of the introduction we talked about what we do when we come across a Bible passage we don't understand. 

As a Christian, I believe that the Bible is the word of God, and whatever else I might mean  by that phrase, it certainly includes the expectation that I will be changed through the process of reading. As I read the Bible I expect it to challenge my behaviour, my attitudes, my thinking, my understanding, my hopes... I read it with the 'so what?' question in mind.

And for any passage in the Bible, however simple and straightforward it may seem, a key part of answering that 'so what?' question is to first of all understand what it meant then - what was it trying to do then - because once we find the answer to that question we can then start to work out what it means for us today.

But very often we need help answering that first question because of the gap that exists between when the text was written and when we're reading it. Gaps in language, time, culture, experience, religious worldview etc. Sometimes, especially if we're reading something apparently straightforward, we can forget this gap exists - which can lead to problems because we forget to answer the first question (what did it mean then?) and jump straight onto the second question (what does it mean now?)

But when we come to a passage like Mark 13, which leaves us scratching our heads and wondering what it's all about - what do we do? What do we do when we find a passage we're not sure we really understand? How do we go about working out what the author meant by the phrase 'the abomination that causes desolation' and where is it standing and why shouldn't it be there?

Because if we believe that the Bible is the word of God then surely we need to do something. We can't just shrug our shoulders and move on to another passage that is easier to apply. Or maybe we do.

But if we want to study a passage in more detail, if we want to dig around until we find some answers where do we start?

Hopefully, it goes without saying, but we start with prayer. Although there is this huge gap in language, time, culture etc one of the amazing things is that because the Bible is God's word then we have access to the author.

Prayer does not excuse us from the discipline of study - but our study must be done within the context of prayer.

We were not intended to read the Bible in isolation and so hopefully you are part of a church community, and within that community there will be others that you can go to for help with your questions. Or maybe you are part of a small group and can tackle your questions together.

For an increasing number of people today the starting point when they have a question is to ask Google, Siri, or Alexa - other search engines are available. But whilst there is a lot of good material on the internet there is also a lot of rubbish. Anyone can write anything, they can claim anything, they can present anything as fact - and you have access to it. No one has had to check what I've written here before I posted it online - I can make any claims I like. So if we're going to use online resources to help us understand the Bible we need to check our sources carefully.

I have often referred to The Bible Project - a website where you will find some great resources.

[added 31/3 - I have also recently come across the Biblegateway Plus resource, free for a month and then about $4 a month after that - will write another post after Easter]

But I think there comes a point where you will have to buy some books - either electronic or paper. These days I mainly buy electronic books within the Olive Tree Bible software app. These books are no cheaper than on paper but many of them are hyper-linked so that when I am reading a passage in the Bible I can immediately see which of my commentaries, dictionaries etc have something to say on that passage (see the numbers down the right hand side of the image below). Obviously, this saves a lot of time, but it also means I can carry a whole library around with me on my phone or laptop which is great.

So, what should I buy to get started? 

A good study Bible and a single volume Bible commentary will get you started. 

If you were looking for paper versions I'd recommend
the NIV Study Bible which will cost about £40 and the New Bible Commentary which is also around the £40 mark.

Within my Olive Tree app I use the NIV Word Study Bible which allows you to click on any word and get useful information - and allowing you to search the Bible for other occurrences of that word - but this search is based on the biblical languages rather than the English. 

[Coming back to Mark 13 briefly - in verse 2 Jesus says 'do you see' but that is the same Greek word used in verse 5 translated 'watch out'. It is also used three other times in this chapter. This is really helpful in seeing links that might be missed because we're reading in English.]

If you're wondering which version of the Bible to use then I have previously written on that here.

And one last great resource that's well worth reading - 'How to read the Bible for all it's worth'.