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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Biblical interpretation requires the use of common sense; there’s just no way around it. There are other tools and attributes that are helpful, but without common sense, the Bible will never be understood. Someone presses this point and asks, “What is common sense?” Likely as not that person either does not possess it or is trying to be argumentative. Common sense is the same stuff it takes to understand every day speech and communication. Let’s take a look at how it works in biblical interpretation as we continue our thoughts on the subject The Love of the Truth.
“Then they said to Him, ‘Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?’ And He said to them, ‘Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.’” (Luke 5.33-35). When Jesus asked, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them,” He was asking a rhetorical question that had a bearing on the matter at hand, namely it had something to do with fasting. How can we know this? Well, it just makes common sense!
Jesus was not introducing His querists to proper etiquette as regards marriage and the appurtenances thereunto; He was teaching by means of a common sense approach. The answer to His question was obvious, that is, obvious to anyone who had common sense. The love of the truth does not cause one to lose their common sense, it only enhances it as well as one’s ability to understand God through its usage. When an interpretation of the Scripture causes one to abandon common sense, it is more than likely the wrong interpretation!
The obvious import of Jesus’ question is this: One cannot make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is still with them. A wedding is not an occasion conducive to fasting, but rather it is a time of festive and joyful celebration. Fasting, on the one hand, is a solemn experience with an emphasis on introspection, prayer, and one’s relationship to God. On the other hand, a marriage feast is a time of joy. Zechariah had spoken of a time when the fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months “…Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts For the house of Judah.” (Zechariah 8.9). Fasting and festivities simply do not go together; like oil and water, they do not mix! Common sense should have revealed this to any who wished to know!
Bob, a friend from several years ago, began searching for truth. He began visiting various denominations in this quest. On one of these Sunday morning visits, he encountered a “pastor” who claimed that God was giving him his message as he preached. As the preacher "spoke the words that God was giving him," my friend noticed him look at his watch. When Bob related this experience to me, he said, “When I saw him look at his watch, I knew he was not a man of God.” Not quite getting his point, I asked, “How did that cause you to know that he was not being truthful?” Bob said simply, “Well it just makes sense to me; if the Lord was telling him what to say, He would surely tell him when to shut up!”
The Love of the Truth does not cause one to abandon common sense; it embraces it!
Questions:
1. Could Jesus’ questioners have known the answer to their question had they realized His true identity?
2. Why is fasting not compatible with festivity? Could they have known this had they been good students of the Old Testament?
3. Do you think Bob had a valid point? Why or why not? Is common sense a valuable tool in one’s search for truth? Why or why not?
4. Are faith and reason incompatible? Must one abandon reason in order to come to faith?
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