Interpretation – Part Two: Answering the Questions
Google has us spoiled. I don’t know about you, but anytime I’m enjoying good conversation with a friend and we find ourselves asking a question we don’t know the answer to, I whip out my phone and ask google the question. In less than 30 seconds, I usually have an answer. How many trees are on earth? There are an estimated 3.04 trillion trees. How big is a blue whale? A blue whale can grow up to 90 feet and are over 100,000 lbs. Where is Walmart? Newport or Dave Lyle.
We are now in the important step of interpretation in our Bible reading. The first step was asking the right questions. After we have carefully observed a text, we need to ask the what, why, and so what questions of those observations. Once we have asked the right questions, it is time to start answering those questions. Google may provide some help in answering our interpretation questions, but we need to spend more than 30 seconds on this endeavor.
Before we answer our questions, we need to set some ground rules and clarify what answers we need to look for. First and foremost, we want to find the answers that the text gives us. Remember, our primary goal is to understand the author’s meaning and purpose. If we answer our questions with how we feel or even what others believe, we might miss the author’s point. We want to know how the biblical authors answer our questions because those are the answers we need. Secondly, we need to remember that it is okay not to find answers to every question. This will happen often. That is why Bible reading requires a lifetime of growth. It is good to read the same passage over and over in our lifetime and study that passage again and again.
Okay… we are ready to answer questions. Peter Krol (we’ve been using his helpful book “Knowable Word” quite a bit) lists three kinds of answers we can find in any passage.
The first kind of answer is the assumed answer. Since the biblical authors wrote to believers two thousand years ago, there are some answers that the authors assume their audience knows, but we (the 21st-century audience) do not know. For example, if we read 1 John 2:19 (“They went out from us, but they were not of us”), one of the obvious questions from our observations is: who went out from them? Since John knows their situation and his audience obviously knows their own situation, John does not have to answer this question for them. He assumes they know who he is talking about. We don’t know because we were not in this church in the 1st century. So, how can we answer this question? Well, we can start with the clues that John gives us in the book. He says in the next few verses, “I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it.” So, we can learn that those who went out must be denying the truth in some way. Later in verse 26, John writes, “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you…” So, we learn that those who went out are now trying to deceive this church. You get the point. We can use the clues throughout the book to piece together some necessary information to answer our question.
If we are struggling to find or understand the assumed answers, there are helpful resources like commentaries, Bible dictionaries, or Bible encyclopedias. In these resources, scholars have done the work we are trying to do, and have come up with answers themselves. These things are not the Bible, but they can be helpful tools for answering these questions.
The second kind of answer is the addressed answer. These are answers that the author actually gives to us. For example, if we begin reading 1 John 2:28 (“And now, little children, abide in him…”), we might ask the question: why should we abide in him? Well, John answers that question for us: “so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.” These answers are the soul-refreshing answers. This is where real interpretation happens. After you have asked the right questions, look for the answers that the author gives to you right there in your own passage.
The last kind of answer is the unaddressed answer. Sometimes we ask a good question, but the answer is just not there in the text. In this case, we need to practice patience and dependence. Be patient. We don’t have to have all the answers right now. God is teaching us through our study. We ought to depend on him over our lifetime to teach us the things we need to please him with our lives. As you continue reading Scripture, you may find an answer to your question in another biblical book. That is why we should read all of Scripture, not just passages we are familiar with or like the most.
Take 1 John 3 from last week, look at your what, why, and so what questions and see if you can find answers to those questions. Remember, we are looking for the answers that are actually in the Scriptures.
Pastor Mark