There is no doubt that Jesus was a master teacher. No other person could challenge, encourage, rebuke, and teach the way that He could. One of His methods of instruction included asking questions that made His listeners think. One of the most asked questions from Jesus was, “Have you never read?” or some variation of that question. Jesus asked this question to highlight the religious leaders’ misunderstanding or complete neglect of God’s Word. Each time Jesus points to important truths they had avoided and often corrects their misinterpretations. One such occurrence is in Matthew 12:1-8.
When Jesus disciples were picking grain on the Sabbath, the Pharisees got their feathers ruffled and accused them of breaking the Sabbath law. Jesus asks, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry…?” Jesus redirects their minds by teaching them that sometimes there are needs that supersede ritual requirements. Continuing to address their accusations Jesus adds another example. He asks again, “Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless”. Here Jesus points to the work the priests do on the Sabbath in service to God but how they are still blameless.
But the point that I want to make is not even about the work on the Sabbath. The point I want to make is this. Are we guilty of not reading with understanding the Word of God and then making up what we think is right and wrong? What if what we believe is more of a tradition than it is doctrine? What do you think Jesus would say to us? Are there areas of understanding where we have missed the point that Jesus would ask us, “Have you never read”? How embarrassing if the master teacher were to ask us if we even read the material we were supposed to learn based on our misunderstanding or misapplication of Scripture. It’s something to consider for sure and it should motivate us to be better students of the Word.
For the Lord,
Alex Mills