Why Some Passages are Hard to Understand?

There are some things in the Bible that can be easily understood, even by a child, but on the other hand there are passages that are hard to understand.  Nicodemus was a scribe, a ruler of the Jews, well educated, yet he struggled to understand what it meant to be born again. 

John 3:9-12 “Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Vs10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Vs11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.” Notice what Jesus mentions to Nicodemus in verse Vs12 “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”

Matthew Henry once said, “If the regeneration of the soul of man is such a mystery, what then is the incarnation of the Son of God? These are divine and heavenly things indeed.”

John 3:13 “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”

Why Some Passages are Hard to Understand?

1.         It is God’s Word

The Bible is the revelation of God to man; for God is all-knowing, and all-powerful, and His ways differ from ours.

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. Vs 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

2.    Vast Culture Difference

“We are separated from Bible events by thousands of years... God gave the Scriptures for all people of all centuries and He was in control of the time and context of its giving; but at the same time, it is not reasonable to expect there will be no problems in understanding the Scriptures.” ~ David Cloud

3.    Some things are Hidden

God would speak in parables to conceal truth from those who did not have a heart for the truth.

  Matthew 13:13 “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”

4.    A Need for Spiritual Growth

Peter exhorts Christians to “...grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” ~ 2 Peter 3:18.

Prior to these word he explains in verse 16, “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”  1 Cor 2:12-16, Heb 5:11-14

5.    A Need to Study the Scriptures

Studying God’s Word takes time, hard work, patience, passion, and prayer.  God wants each Bible student to rightly divide His truth.  (Next week we will take a look at the golden rules for Bible interpretation)

Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

In Christ Alone,

C Haddad - Galatians 2:20

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