Literally Misunderstanding Jesus
Scripture and Resurrection as Hermeneutical Tools
Have you ever noticed how many people misunderstood Jesus?
Reading the Gospel of John, I was struck by the amount of misunderstanding that Jesus faced because people took him too literally.
Let me hasten to say that I believe we should “take the Bible literally” (though we ought to leave the Bible in the hotel room, if you catch my meaning). But people often misunderstood Jesus when they thought he was simply discussing basics when in fact he was teaching them about spiritual, abstract, and eternal concepts.
It reminded me of the line from the movie Guardians of the Galaxy. During a stressful gun battle, Rocket explains that the character Drax comes from an unusual alien race. He says, “His people are completely literal. Metaphors are gonna go over his head.” Drax retorts, “Nothing goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast. I would catch it.” Their friend Gamora muses, “I’m gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy.”
Watching Jesus in the Gospel of John, we might think that he was surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy. He explained profound principles of revival to his disciples, but they wondered whether someone had brought the Lord something to eat (John 4:33). Jesus spoke about “going to him who sent me,” but the Jewish leaders wondered whether he was going to vacation in the Greek diaspora (John 7:33–36; cf. 8:21–22).
People lacked the categories to understand Christ’s teaching. Their reflexes were too slow; the metaphors went over their heads.
How can we improve our reflexes? How can we catch the metaphors and meanings that Jesus taught his disciples? Jesus revealed that people misunderstand spiritual truth “because [they] know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). Consider these to be two essential proficiencies for catching the teaching and ministry of Jesus.
The Light of Scripture
First, we must know the Scriptures. Throughout the Gospel of John, people misunderstand Jesus’s teaching when they interpret his words at simple face value instead of understanding his meaning to be woven through the rich tapestry of Scripture.
In John 2, the people heard the term “temple” as a simple construction project that took forty-six years. But Jesus invokes Scripture’s imagery, understanding the temple as the place where people encounter God.
In John 3, Nicodemus heard the term “birth” as the simple reproductive process of the womb. But Jesus invokes the language of Scripture to describe the new birth as the entry into a new kingdom and life of the Spirit (Ezekiel 36:25–27; cf. Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 31:33).
In John 4, the Samaritan woman heard the term “water” as simply liquid. But Jesus weaves his language with the rich tapestry of Scripture, teaching that the Lord is the fountain of life (Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13) and wells are sources of salvation (Isaiah 12:3; 44:1–5; 55). Similarly, the Psalms compare thirst for water with longing for God (Psalms 42:1–2; 63:1; 143:6), while Proverbs equates water with wisdom (Proverbs 18:4).
In John 5, the Jewish leaders invoked the name of Moses to simply reference their tradition. But Jesus understands Moses as a prophet who prophesied about a future prophet (Numbers 21:9; Deuteronomy 18:15; and Luke 24:27).[1]
In John 6, the people heard the term “bread” as the fulfillment of strictly physical hunger. But Jesus weaves his language with the context of Passover (Exodus 12), the Son of Man (Daniel 7), manna in the wilderness (Nehemiah 9:15; Psalm 78:24–25; Psalm 105:40; cf. 1 Corinthians 10:3), and Scripture’s teaching about true nourishment (Isaiah 55:2). Using this imagery, Christ offers himself—a saying (Greek logos, John 6:60) that the crowd can not accept. Jesus is the Word (logos, John 1:1) who came to his own, but his own people did not receive him (John 1:11).
In John 8, the Jewish leaders heard the term “Father” as simply DNA ancestry (“Abraham is our father” [8:39], and later, “even God” [8:41]). But Jesus weaves his language with the rich testimony of Scripture (Deuteronomy 32:6; Isaiah 63:16; Isaiah 64:8), steering the conversation away from literal paternity and toward family resemblance. Abraham’s children resemble Abraham by having his faith (cf. Galatians 3:7, 9). The children of God hear God’s words (1 John 4:6) and believe and love God’s Son (1 John 5:1).
Jesus was not only the Word of God, but he also knew the Word of God. He not only quoted Scripture to people, but he also made allusions to the world of Scripture. But as he did this, he was not merely repeating Scripture, but revealing God’s new work to a needy world.[2]
The Light of the Resurrection
Second, “the power of God” is a clue that Jesus’s teaching cannot be understood apart from his resurrection.
We first see this in John’s gospel when Jesus spoke about the destruction and rebuilding of the temple (John 2:22). His words confused both the religious leaders and his own disciples until his resurrection provided the clear meaning. “When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:22).[3] At the cross, zeal for his father’s house literally consumed him (John 2:17; cf. Psalm 69:9). At his resurrection, three days later, he became the cornerstone of a new temple of living stones (1 Peter 2:5).
A second example of how the resurrection provided understanding occurred during the triumphal entry. Christ mounted a donkey and entered Jerusalem, surrounded by a celebrating crowd. John tells us that this scene was confusing and that even “his disciples did not understand … at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him” (John 12:16). Surrounded by the donkey, the branches, and the cheering, the disciples missed the coronation ceremony that they were in the middle of, until the resurrection opened their eyes.
We see a third instance of Christ’s resurrection providing his followers with clarity in John 13. There, Jesus washed a bewildered Peter’s feet and explained, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand” (13:7). A confused Peter could not make heads nor tails of Christ’s lowly acts. But the resurrection revealed that Jesus’s servant heart was at the very center of the kingdom that he was inaugurating.
Walking in the Light
Many circumstances in the life of the believer cannot be understood apart from the rich background of Scripture and the profound promise of Christ’s resurrection.
While the disciples gained understanding retrospectively, believers who live on this side of the resurrection should respond to Christ’s resurrection with faith, obedience, and worship. Christians often wonder how God will provide for us in a dry and weary land. Christ’s resurrection proved that he is the bread of life who offers eternal life and living water.
Christians wonder how God might use the dark portions of our lives and the dark portions of our world for his glory. One of the reasons for Christ’s death and resurrection, Paul explains, was “that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:9). A risen savior demands our obedience.
May we grow in our ability to understand Jesus, forming ears to hear what he says to his people. May the Lord grant us insight to understand our Bibles and faith to see how the resurrection changes everything. And may his resurrection transform both our thinking and our very lives.
Thanks for reading! I’m writing more regularly, now. Watch for a new series on BAPTISM in the days to come
[1] Numbers 21:9, “So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” Deuteronomy 18:15, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen.“ Luke 24:27, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
[2] “It is scriptural, seen not so much in direct quotations as in multiple allusions that take for granted a scriptural world of meaning. Yet Scripture is not simply repeated: John is writing fresh Scripture because something new and unprecedented has happened. “ Ford, Gospel of John, 57.
[3] Which Scriptures did the disciples remember and believe? Perhaps, “You will not let your holy one see decay” (Psalm 16:10).
Even after the resurrection the disciples didn't understand many things. Much more was understood after they received the Holy Ghost on Pentecost, actually moreso.