Category Archives: Preacher beware!

Philippians 4:14 – ‘I can do all things’

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4:13 I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.

Ben Witherington has characterised this the ‘Superman Verse’, on the basis of its common misinterpretation.

Noting that this verse is often claimed by athletes, the Apologetics Study Bible for Students explains:

‘Paul is not claiming that Christians can do absolutely anything. After all, is it really possible to run three-minute miles or bench press one thousand pounds? The context shows that Paul actually had Christian perseverance in mind.

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Luke 2:14 – ‘On earth peace, Good will toward men’

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Christmas, as everyone knows, is ‘the season of goodwill’.

It’s a lovely thought, and captures so much of what we all long for.  What’s not to like about ‘peace on earth’ and ‘good will toward men’?  It’s ‘the true meaning of Christmas’, isn’t it?  If only we could do ‘peace’ and ‘good will’ all year round, the world would be a much better place.

But, attractive as the sentiment is, it is not quite what the angels said.…

John 20:15 – ‘Supposing him to be the gardener’

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John 20:15 Jesus said to [Mary], “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.”

‘She thought he was the gardener’ – This supposition has provided rich pickings for preachers who like to domesticate the biblical text while allowing free reign to their own imaginations. …

Psalm 105:15 – ‘Touch not my anointed’

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Psalm 105:14-15 – ‘He let no one oppress them; he disciplined kings for their sake, saying, “Don’t touch my chosen ones! Don’t harm my prophets!”’

This phrase is often thrown around in ‘prosperity gospel’ circles to warn against the dangers involved in criticising God’s ‘anointed’ leaders.  (See, for example, Costi Hinn’s God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel, chapter 3).

Saying negative things about a recognised leader or celebrated preacher can (it is claimed) lead to nasty things happening to you.…

Matthew 18:20 – ‘Where two or three are gathered…’

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Matthew 18:20 “Where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”

Christians regularly appeal to this saying in order to reassure themselves that, no matter how few their numbers when they gather for public worship or for prayer, Jesus himself will be present.

Matthew Henry:

‘Every believer has the presence of Christ with him; but the promise here refers to the meetings where two or three are gathered in his name, not only for discipline, but for religious worship, or any act of Christian communion.’

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Luke 2:8 – Shepherds: a despised class?

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It is sometimes thought (and said, by preachers) that shepherds were a despised class in Israel at this time.

This opinion has been voiced by scholars both old and new.  For example, Butler (2000) wrote,

‘Shepherding had changed from a family business as in David’s time to a despised occupation.’

Stein (1992), wrote:

‘In general, shepherds were dishonest and unclean according to the standards of the law. They represent the outcasts and sinners for whom Jesus came.’

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Luke 2:7 – ‘No place in the inn’

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Luke 2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

So translated by AV, ESV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, God’s Word, Good News.

NIV – ‘…because there was no guest room available for them.’

New Living Translation – ‘…because there was no lodging available for them.’

Unravelling fact and fancy

The traditional translation (‘No room at the inn’) has become engraved in the popular mind and, along with an unfriendly inn-keeper, in many a nativity scene.…

Mk 11:6; 15:13 – “Hosanna!”, “Crucify!” – one crowd, or two?

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When preachers compare the response of the crowd on Palm Sunday (“Hosanna!”, Mk 11:9; Mt 21:9; “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”, Lk 19:38) to that of the crowd just a few days’ later (“Crucify him!”, Mk 15:13; Lk 23:21; Jn 19:15) they often explain this in terms of fickleness (“How quickly they change their minds about Jesus!”).  I’ve done it myself.

So also in the hymn ‘My Song is Love Unknown’:

Sometimes they strew his way/And his sweet praises sing…Then “Crucify!”…

Leviticus 19:18 “Love your neighbour as yourself”

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Baroness Thatcher was a ‘devout Christian’, according to Dr Eliza Filby, author of God and Mrs Thatcher.  She regularly attended the parish church at Chequers, regarded the life of Jesus as exemplary, and drew on the Bible to support her political values.

I will not call into question the sincerity of Baroness Thatcher’s faith.  But I will, however, comment on one rather glaring (mis)understanding of the teaching of Scripture.

As reported in Christianity magazine (June 2013), Filby says says that in the early 1980s the text “Love thy neighbour” was often appealed to in support of the welfare state. …

Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge”

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Mt 7:1 – “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”

I once heard it said that a generation ago the most celebrated verse in the Bible would have been John 3:16 – “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  But nowadays, the speaker went on to say, most people’s favourite verse is possibly Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”…