Reading through the Wrong Lens Print
Written by Chris Tiegreen   
Monday, 26 April 2010 19:06

I've recently been studying and writing about the disciples on the Emmaus road, and what stands out to me is how they were completely blind to a major theme of scripture. They didn't realize that the Christ had to suffer and die. As Jesus traveled with them incognito, He showed them all the places in scripture that spoke of Him. And though they were very familiar with scripture, much of it was new information to them. (It's a great story; you can find it in Luke 24:13-32).

The same thing happened right after Peter's confession that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. As soon as Jesus started talking about going to Jerusalem to die and be raised again, Peter began rebuking Him—presumably because he had no idea that the victorious Messiah would ever have to suffer and die. Again, this major scriptural theme was hidden in plain sight.

That makes me wonder what major scriptural themes are "hidden in plain sight" to us. We read the Bible through certain lenses—we all do, even those of us who are convinced we don't—and those lenses cause us to see the verses that support our particular views and miss those that support other views. I believe this is particularly true of "end times" beliefs. A lot of people who think they've got it figured out don't even see the verses that contradict their opinions. But are there more issues and themes like that? I'm sure there are. It's good to ask God to open our eyes to the things we don't already see in His Word. My prayer is that I would be able to read the Bible with fresh eyes every time I come to it—and that you would too.