Do You Make This Costly Mistake When Interpreting The Bible?

 

Without moving back and forth, let me put it to you that most mistakes Bible preachers and teachers make when interpreting the Bible stem from the incorrect selection of Bible passages. 

In other words, mistake is almost inevitable in interpreting the scripture once a wrong choice is made in the selection of Bible passage. 

For instance, if a Bible preacher or teacher or Bible study administrator or Sunday school coordinator make use of Acts chapter 9 to teach or preach about the conversion of Saul, if care is not taken, such a person will interpret that Bible topic wrongly. 

Why?

The answer is not farfetched. I told you at the introductory part of this Christian article that once a wrong choice is made in the selection of a Bible passage, a Bible interpretation mistake will be almost inevitable.

Atleast, every Christian who goes to church knows this story of the conversion of Saul. 

To start with, read that Acts 9 that I mentioned earlier. Please, don't jump over the Bible text so that you won't miss out on this vital point.

 Acts 9:1-22

Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 

2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 

3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 

4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" 

5 And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." 

6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." 

7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 

8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 

9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." 

11 So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 

12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight." 

13 Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 

14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." 

15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 

16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake." 

17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 

18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. 

19 So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. 

21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, "Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?" 

22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

That of course is the story of the conversion of Saul. 

Reading up this particular story of the conversion of Saul in that book of Acts chapter 9, you will discover Luke, the writer, wrote the story in detail. 

Mind you, as I always point out to my followers to be wary of Bible writers who give detailed information about Bible events that took place in their absence, so will I do so at this point in time.

For sure, Luke, the writer of the amazing book of Acts, was not there when Saul went on this cruel persecution mission. The only people present during the incident were the people who followed Saul and Saul himself. 

Now, had it been Apostle Paul never narrate this his conversion story himself, everyone of us Bible readers would have assumed Luke's conversion story of Saul was right, down to its details.

In case you are wondering what i mean by that statement, read what Apostle Paul himself said about his conversion on his way to Damascus below. Ensure you don't skip any of part of the Bible text below...

Acts 22:1-16

 "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now." 

2 And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said:

3 "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. 

4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 

5 as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.

6 Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. 

7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' 

8 So I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' 

9 And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. 

10 So I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.' 

11 And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. 

12 Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, 

13 came to me; and he stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him. 

14 Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. 

15 For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 

16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'

If you didn't jump the Bible passage above, I mean the Acts 22:1-16, you would have discovered something I  wrong with the conversion story of Saul as narrated by Luke. 

To point you in the right direction, take a second look at what Apostle Paul said in Acts 22:9...

9 And those who were with me indeed SAW THE LIGHT and were afraid, BUT THEY DID NOT HEAR THE VOICE of Him who spoke to me. 

Now, read what Luke said about this same thing in Acts 9:7 below...

7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 

Can you see what I'm talking about?

The person who experienced this whole thing, in the person of Apostle Paul, said the people that followed him DID NOT HEAR THE VOICE of Jesus that spoke with him. Whereas, 

Luke who was not there during the incident said the people who followed Apostle Paul HEARD THE VOICE that spoke with him. 

That implies that anyone who teaches or preaches about the conversion of Saul using Acts chapter 9 will be teaching or preaching what exactly did not happen, as Jesus might have his reason for making ONLY Apostle Paul to hear his voice during the incident. 

In case, you think that is too small to build a rock on, take note that there are lot of other passages in the Bible with similar scenario. 

Okay, let's see the resurrection of our savior.

RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH

Out of the other instances where same Bible stories were written by different people and penned down in different books of the Bible, I will only point out this very one on resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

If you are VERY familiar with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you will have known that Peter, John and Mary all saw the empty tomb of Jesus.  

From these three individual, only one of them wrote about this glorious event. And that was John.

Then, apart from John the apostle, two other people, Matthew, that tax collector, and Luke, the physician, wrote something about the event, too.

For Luke, we can't consider his write-up at all because he was not even among the 11 apostles after Judas committed suicide. He never saw the empty tomb or witnessed the appearance of Jesus to his disciples after the resurrection. All he wrote were just the report he got from people. 

And for Matthew, he was among the disciples who received the news that the Lord had risen. Mind you, his write-up on the resurrection of Jesus is completely different from what John, who witnessed it too, wrote.

Of course, going by how the resurrection event unfolded, John is the best person to tell us what really happened on that day, which was the first day of the week.

John saw the empty tomb as narrated by him. He went inside the tomb with Peter, before they both left there to their respective houses.

Now, read what John, who witnessed the resurrection of Jesus, wrote about it below (pay close attention here)...

John 11:1-18

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 

2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." 

3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 

4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 

5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 

6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 

7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 

8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 

9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 

10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 

12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 

13 Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." 

14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 

15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away." 

16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher). 

17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.' " 

18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

Okay... take note of all the details given by John the apostle above, then move on to read this same resurrection story as narrated by Luke who was not there...

Luke 24:1-12

Now, on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 

2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 

3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 

4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 

5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 

6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 

7 saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' " 

8 And they remembered His words. 

9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 

10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 

11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 

12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

By now, you will have realized Luke's resurrection story of Jesus was completely different from that of John's.

In fact, I'm still in awe of where Matthew who was among the 11 left apostles got his own side of the resurrection story from. Read Matthew's own below...

Matthew 28:1-10

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 

2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 

3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 

4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. 

5 But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 

6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 

7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you." 

8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. 

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 

10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

No doubt, this is really interesting and exhausting, all at the same time. 

Can you see what is going on?

Luke said those who went to the tomb of Jesus were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna and other women; Matthew said they were just two: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary while John said it was only Mary Magdalene.

John continued by stating that Mary Magdalene did not have any discussion with any Angel before she came to call Peter and him. That it was after the two of them left the tomb to their respective homes that Mary Magdalene saw two Angels. 

On the contrary, Luke and Matthew said it was as a result of the conversation the women had with the angels that made them ran to the apostles to inform them of what happened. 

In fact, Matthew said they saw just one angel while Luke agreed with John that they were two Angels.

And then, nobody recorded the incident of earthquake occuring before or after the angel appeared except only Matthew.

I can go on and on. 

As confusing as this may sound, we Bible enthusiasts know that John who witnessed this glorious event on a first hand basis has the real and correct take on this resurrection story of Jesus. 

So, there is no way on earth a Bible preacher or teacher will teach about the resurrection of Jesus from the book of Matthew and Luke without misleading the people of God.

BUT WHY DO WE HAVE ALL THESE MISTAKES, CONTRADICTIONS AND ERRORS IN OUR DEAR BIBLE?

Truth be told, all these contradictions are not the handiwork of our creator, they are just mere human errors. 

In fact, it's another way of confirming that the Bible was not thrown down from heaven as some believers would make you believe. 

If you've ever seen how dirty and horrible a gold ore is, you will never ever believe that it is from that dirty looking thing that pure gold comes from. And for the fact that ore is dirty and horrible does not mean it is not from God. 

More so and quite similarly, if a powerful car has a dent in it's body, it does not in any way make the car less efficient. Even when there is a dent on the body of a car, anyone who dares underrate its speed and power can lose his or her life in the fraction of a second if the person stands in its way when the car is working at full speed. 

And trust me, a lot has been done in correcting all these Bible anomaly.

Personally, I've written to several bible publishers on the mistakes, contradictions and errors I found during my intense personal period of Bible study. 

Glory be to God, from the responses I got, I discovered a lot of christians from different parts of the world too wrote to them. For this reason do we have NEW VERSIONS of King James Bible. 

A lot of corrections have been made. However, some of our complaints are yet to be attended to. 

So, I'm particularly optimistic that in the coming years, many more Bible publishers will come up with newer versions of the Bible that will take away all these Bible anomaly and give us the perfect Bible we are clamouring for so that the number of incorrect Bible interpretations can reduce to a bare minimum from wrong choice of Bible passages as we discovered earlier from this expository article.

Shalom.