Another Great Post About the Bible from Brian Zahnd
Adding even more to our “How We See the Bible” theme this month, Brian Zahnd has another great post about the Bible on his blog today:
Do you feel the tension? I’m not inventing this tension. It’s right there in the Biblical text! It was right there in my Bible reading this morning! I just happened to read Numbers 15 and John 5 back-to-back. It’s actually an excellent exercise.
In Exodus a guy is stoned to death for picking up sticks on the Sabbath.
In John Jesus heals a guy and tells him to carry his bed on the Sabbath.
Those most committed to Torah wanted to kill Jesus.
Just like Moses killed the Sabbath-breaker.
Do you see the problem? Of course you do!
Except it doesn’t have to be a problem. It shouldn’t be a problem. It’s only a problem if you confuse Biblicism with Christianity. The Bible is not the full revelation of God. Jesus is! This is what John means when he dares to say that no one has seen God. It’s Jesus who reveals God. Jesus makes a clear distinction between Biblicism and what we will come to call Christianity, when he says…
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you will not come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39–40)
