Have You Not Read?
Have You Not Read?
Did you know that ten times in the gospels, and six times in the Gospel of Matthew alone, Jesus asks the question, “Have you not read?” What’s most alarming is each time He asks this question He’s asking it to the spiritual leaders of His day. These were men who should have been read and studied up on the things of God, but they were ignorant of a whole host of topics, all of which God had spoken clearly on. For example, in Matthew 12, concerning the Sabbath, “Have you not read?” In Matthew 19, concerning marriage and divorce, “Have you not read?” In Matthew 21, concerning praising God, “Have you not read?” In Matthew 22, concerning the resurrection, “Have you not read?” How about Mark 12, concerning the rejection of the Messiah, “Have you not read?”
The point Jesus was trying to make was, “If you had read and studied the scriptures, as you should have been, then you would not have asked questions about these things in the first place.” Beloved, the same holds true today. The reason trouble has arisen in so many people’s lives is in large part because they have not read, let alone studied, the Scriptures. Paul understood the importance of this when he exhorted another spiritual leader, Timothy, in 1 Timothy 4:13, to “…focus on reading the Scriptures…” and in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to present yourself to God approved, a workman not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Beloved, with the privilege of possessing the Scriptures comes the responsibility to read them, to believe them, and to practice them. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are all spiritual leaders accountable to God for what we have read and for what we have not read. President Harry Truman once said, “All readers are not leaders, but all leaders must be readers.” Today, intentionally decide in your heart that you will begin regularly to read God’s word to be wise, to believe it to be safe, and to practice it to be holy! Or “Have You Not Read” this before in the Scriptures?
This is Laine Wilder for Carry the Light Ministries, bringing you Insights From an Elder.
by Laine Wilder
author of “Insights From an Elder” for
Carry the Light Ministries
