As I sat in a church revival service in San Antonio, I heard a three-point message from the Bible: (1) Jesus commanded his disciples to heal the sick, (2) Jesus called us to be his disciples, (3) therefore, Jesus called us to heal the sick. On the surface this seemed logical, but as I studied the Bible, I found myself in a quandary.
Many times in the gospels, we find Jesus giving commands to his disciples which seem to apply to us today. For instance, consider the following:
- Matt 9:37 Ask the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into the harvest
- Luke 17:3 If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.
- John 14:11 Do not let your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me
On other occasions, Jesus gave commands to his disciples which most would consider not to apply to us today. Consider these:
- Matt 10:5 Don’t preach to Gentiles or Samaritans, but only go to the Jews
- Matt 16:20 Don’t tell anyone that I am the Christ
- Luke 22:36 If you don’t have a sword, sell your coat and buy one
So how does one tell which commands of Jesus were time specific to his disciples, and which are still applicable in our day? This is a question which falls under the area of hermeneutics, principles used to interpret the Scriptures.
I came to the understanding that if Jesus was speaking to an individual by name, the command most likely is applicable only to that person, such as when Jesus commanded Peter to walk on water. But if Jesus was speaking to a larger community, it likely applies to all. I ask myself the following questions when determining if a command applies directly to me.
- Was Jesus speaking to a crowd in addition to the disciples? For instance, the Sermon on the Mount was addressed to a great crowd.
- Was Jesus speaking in the third person “he” (applies to everyone) as opposed to the second person “you” (applies to an individual)? For example, Matthew 10:37-39 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
- Did Jesus use generic terms (whoever, anyone, a man) for people when giving the command. For example, Matt 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
- Is the command given later in the New Testament letters to the churches? For example, Jesus commanded his disciples to wash each other’s feet, but we don’t find this commanded or practiced later by the disciples. On the other hand, we do find breaking bread together practiced in Acts and the letters to the churches.
Paul instructed Timothy to study to show himself approved to God by rightly dividing the word of God. That is a command which still applies to us today.
(all biblical quotes are from the New King James translation, image from Creative Commons Public domain)