Juxtaposition

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It is so very interesting to read a book of the Bible straight through. Not only do you glean truth from individual chapters and verses, but the way chapters are placed together can be very telling.  It can really cause you to think when subjects seem to abruptly change or seamlessly dove-tail into one another.

Let me give you a recent example I same across when I was reading through the Gospel according to Matthew.

Matthew chapter 25 is a toughie: it speaks about Christ separating out the sheep and the goats at the time of future judgement, based upon how they treated the poor, sick, imprisoned, etc.  One of the most haunting section of this passage begins in verse 42:

 "For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Obviously, one of the take-home points in this passage is that we are to treat the sick, poor, imprisoned, the "least of these" well, as though we were serving Christ Himself.  Truly, how we treat the poor matters to God, and ought to matter to those of us who are in the family of God.

Now, what I find interesting is that the very next chapter of Matthew tells the story of the woman who breaks an alabaster jar of expensive ointment and anoints Jesus' feet with her hair:

"Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, 'Why this waste?  For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.' But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, 'Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me.  For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.'” (Matthew 26:6-13)

Now here we have a situation where a very expensive flask of ointment--my research tells me that it was worth a full year's wages--was used lavishly on Christ out of an act of sacrifice and love.  However, when one of the disciples criticizes this act and comments that the ointment could have been sold to help the poor, he is chastised by the Lord Himself.

Wait just a minute!  Aren't we supposed to help the poor?  Isn't that what Matthew 25 just spoke about?

It seems Jesus is constantly surprising us, is He not?

However, let's dig a bit deeper here, where the Lord likes to go.  You see, outward actions and appearances never satisfy the Lord, for He look deep into our hearts.

If we jockey over to John and read the parallel passage to this section of Matthew, we learn that the disciple criticizing the woman with the ointment was none other than the traitor, Judas Iscariot.  John records this in chapter 12:

 "Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,'Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?' He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.  Jesus said, 'Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.'” (John 12:3-7)

Fortunately, God gave John insight into Judas' heart when he penned this portion of the scripture, so that we can see from where Judas' question arose: it was not raised out of concern for the poor, in the spirit of Matthew 25.  No sir-ee.  It was asked to test God, out of a motive of greed and selfishness.  And for this reason, Jesus would make sure that this woman's story would never be forgotten, by them and by us today.

Two stories, back-to-back in the scriptures, seemingly contradictory, but each fleshing out the other and making the Bible richer and fuller.  I think our look at Matthew 25 and 26 highlight the reason why it is imperative that we not just have a "devotional" relationship with the Bible, reading this, that, and the other passage, in short bits, topically, as we think they relate to our lives.  No, it is essential that we take in the whole of Scripture, reading books straight through, in large chunks--even reading those seemingly inapplicable portions of the Bible to our day-to-day lives, like Numbers and Leviticus.  God has much to teach us about Himself, ourselves, the nature of sin, and how we are to live in all portions of the Bible, dear friend!  Sometimes it just takes a little bit of digging to see how particular sections apply to our lives and stand in truth alongside other passages.

So, how about it--will you dig alongside me, friend?  If you are not sure where to start, I'd recommend a read through the entire Scriptures using this plan.  If you are not sure you are ready for that, just pick any book of the Bible and start in chapter 1.  You'll find that you can read through most books of the Bible in about a week, if you commit to reading a few chapters each day.  As you read, notice what each chapter says as it relates to the chapter before and after it.  If something makes you pause or scratch your head, pull out a Bible commentary or do a quick online search to answer your questions.  That's all there is to it!  You will be on your way to understanding the Bible and mining its riches and depths as the Spirit shows you His truth each day.  I'd love to hear about what you learn, so shoot me a comment or message anytime!