The Bible As A Barrier

Jesus once said something to the Pharisees that sounds strange at first. The Pharisees were known for their knowledge of the Bible and had a reputation for their meticulous attention to doing what it says. A good Pharisee had much of the Old Testament Scripture committed to memory. They were recognized as authorities on the Bible.

It was to that group that Jesus said these words: "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life" (John 5:39-40). "You diligently study the Bible," Jesus said, but then He goes on to tell them how their Bible study had no productive value in their lives at all. "The Bible serves its purpose by bringing people into an intimate relationship to me, but you've missed that fact completely," is the point He was making.

To the Pharisee, studying the Bible was an end unto itself. They studied the Bible to know the Bible. It was the final authority on their faith and actions. The problem was that the Pharisees turned the Bible into a manual for living. Jesus minced no words in making it clear that they had become blinded to Him by their own Bible study.

It's a strange phenomenon but not one that has passed away with the decline of the religious sect called "the Pharisees." I grew up being taught that the group to which I belonged were "people of the Book." That's how we identified ourselves. I read the Bible to learn the Bible - to understand its content - to know how I was supposed to live. I used to say, "I live by the Bible."

It all sounds so right on the surface that it's impossible to see the flawed logic of such an approach apart from the Holy Spirit opening our eyes to our error. It is not your Father's intent that you live by the Bible. It never has been. Paul described the proper protocol for living when he said, "the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

We are not to live by the Bible, but are intended to live by the life of the indwelling Christ. The Scripture can give us no life at all. "You think that by them you possess eternal life," Jesus told the Pharisees, clearly making that point that life doesn't come from the Bible but from Himself.

I know it's risky business to talk this way in the climate of the modern church. If you've been taught that the Bible is the pinnacle of your walk with the Father, then it may sound to you like I'm diminishing the Bible but I'm not. I'm exalting Jesus Christ. I believe the Bible but also think it's important to know what our Bible is intended to accomplish.

The Bible became a barrier between the Pharisees and Jesus because they thought that Scripture was to be their final destination. Many think the same today, but it's not. The Bible isn't our destination. It's a sign post, pointing us toward our Destination, which is Christ Jesus.

C.S. Lewis once described how that when he pointed toward something and said to his dog, "Look at that!" the dog didn't see what he was pointing at. Instead, his dog looked at the end of the index finger Lewis used to point. That's how many people have become with their Bible. They don't understand that it serves to point them to their God, not to itself.

As we read and study the Bible, let us pray that the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see our Triune God and His love for us. If all we see are doctrines to be learned, Greek words to be parsed, church history to be understood and religious rules to be followed, we've missed the point altogether. The Bible isn't a text book. It's a photo album with pictures of Jesus on every page. Until we see Him in our Bibles, we haven't looked closely enough.