A Slave For Christ Part 11
Scriptures: Acts 5:33-39; Matthew 13:3-23; John 14:26
Introduction:
Last week I shared with you that Paul became a threat to Judaism because he was able to “prove” that Jesus was in fact the Messiah. When Paul talked (and debated) with the Jewish leaders, he knew what they knew as it related to the Old Testament Scriptures because they shared a similar training background (i.e. that of a Pharisee.) This morning I want to dig a little deeper into this training because it was Paul’s training that made him so dangerous while at the same time, so effective in converting and winning souls for Christ. By understanding his training I hope to show you not only how our own study of God’s word will empower us, but how our studying will give the Holy Spirit something to work with as we interact with others. If you gain nothing else this morning remember this; the Jewish leaders that Paul was debating with knew what Paul knew as they had very similar training. However, the difference maker was the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit expanded Paul’s understanding of what he thought he knew and it was this knowledge that empowered him to prove that Jesus was the Messiah. He is the same One who empowers us!
I. Paul’s Early Education and Training
When a Jewish male reached the age of five, they began their formal training in the synagogues by a Rabbi. This training continued until they reached the age of eighteen. When they reached the age of eighteen, they could continue their learning by attending another more formal school (what we would sometime refer to as a college) focusing on different areas of study or trades. Paul chose to be trained as a Pharisee. The Pharisees were one of the prominent religious parties in Judaism during the New Testament times. The name “Pharisee” denoted “separatists,” meaning that this religious group would have separated themselves from anything unclean. Those who joined and trained under this group voluntarily took upon themselves a strict regimen of laws pertaining to purity, Sabbath observance, prayer and tithing. They restricted their dealings with the people of the land whom they considered to be lax in their observance of the law. Some of the Pharisees were scribes also, but most were not. A Pharisee was usually a layman without scribal education, whereas a scribe was trained in rabbinic law and had official status. The Pharisees and scribes observed and perpetuated an oral tradition of laws handed down from the former teachers and wise men of Israel. This oral law was highly venerated by the Pharisees and scribes. They taught that it had been handed down from Moses and was to be given the same respect as the written laws of the Pentateuch. They were strict in their beliefs and how they practiced it. This training fueled Paul’s dedication to his beliefs and how he carried them out prior to accepting Christ.
As it relates to their specific training, a large number of Pharisees were probably trained in the school of Hillel, the most influential rabbinical school of Judaism. Hillel was the grandfather of Gamaliel, a celebrated Pharisee who was a doctor of Jewish Law. Gamaliel would later become president of the Sanhedrin. (The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in Israel. The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court and consisted of seventy-one judges.) We first learn of Gamaliel in the fifth chapter of the book of Acts. In this chapter (verses thirty-three through thirty-nine) he stands before the Great Sanhedrin and counsels them against killing the apostles. Verse thirty-four records the following: “But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.” (Acts 5:34) Once the apostles left the room he counseled them about not killing the apostles reminding them about previous revolts which had been based on beliefs that other individuals were prophesied as the messiah and had collapsed quickly after the deaths of those individuals. He also told them basically that if they were wrong they could possibly find themselves fighting against God. Gamaliel is also the one who personally trained Paul and had a personal relationship with him (Acts 22:3). Of note, the Talmud (a central text of mainstream Judaism and consists of the rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, custom and history) describes Gamaliel as teaching a student who displayed “impudence in learning” which some have identified as a reference to Paul. At some point during Paul’s training, it was instilled within him a fervent hatred for Christ and His followers and thus he became the perfect agent in the employment of the Sanhedrin against the Christians. Gamaliel could have been the one to recommend Paul for this position as he had personally trained him. With this as a background, let’s examine how Paul was taught and through this I will demonstrate how the Holy Spirit expanded on his knowledge.
II. The Four Methods of Teaching
According to early Jewish teachings, there are four “methods” for interpreting Biblical texts. These four ways of interpreting the Bible were taught and/or used to understand the message being delivered in the story or text as accurately as possible. Those choosing to become Pharisees would have been schooled in these methods. The four methods were: Pashat; Remez; Drash; and Sod. By using these four methods of interpreting Scripture, the Pharisees were able to understand that many Scriptures which seemed to have been written in a literal form also contained layers of more profound meanings. I will explain each of these and then we will examine one of the parables of Jesus and use these four methods to understand the fullness of the story. We will start with the first one Pashat.
• Pashat (simple understanding): It means to interpret the text literally (the surface meaning). All Jewish students were expected to learn the text in this fashion before trying to gain additional information from the text. This was deemed the “safest” way to interpret what was being read.
• Remez (hinted meaning): Using this method you’re searching for the meaning that is not apparent from the surface (Pashat) meaning. This involves cross referencing different Scriptural texts based on key words or concepts, to gain the full meaning of a particular text. This method often involved doing word studies in detail.
• Drash (allegorical explanation): This method involves learning the moral and philosophical lessons from a given text (especially the stories and parables). During Jesus times the Rabbis tended to be divided into two types of teachers; those who focused on the Law; and those who focused on the moral lessons based on the law. These teachers focused on the Drash method of teaching/learning Scripture.
• Sod (esoteric understanding): Learning the hidden, secret, or deeper meaning of Scripture. It often involved in learning Scripture text from a totally non-literal position. This is the method that influenced Paul and others who were led by the Holy Spirit. The word esoteric means to be “meant for or understood by a chosen few.” Keep this in mind as we read the following parable of Jesus.
III. The Parable of The Sower
While Jesus was sitting by the sea, a large crowd gathered to Him and He began to teach them many things in parables. Turn to Matthew chapter thirteen and we will begin reading at verse 3.
“And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, ‘Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matt. 13:3-9)
Let’s examine this story as Paul would have done based on his training and prior to his conversion and being empowered by the Holy Spirit. The first thing Paul would have done was apply the Pashat method. He would have read it for what it was gaining the simple understanding. So here is the simple understanding of the parable of the sower:
• Pashat: A man (or woman) sows some seeds but not all of the seeds fell on the good soil. The seeds that feel beside the road did not have time to grow because the birds came and ate them. The seeds that fell into the rocky places did not have much soil so they sprang up immediately but were quickly scorched by the sun because they had no deep roots. The seeds that fell among the thorns could not grow because the thorns choked them out. Finally the seeds that actually landed where the sower wanted them to go (in the good soil) actually grew and produced fruit. This is the simple, literal meaning of these verses.
Once Paul understood this parable utilizing the Pashat method, he would then move on to the second method (Remez) for a deeper understanding of the parable.
• Remez: Utilizing this method, we would gain the following understanding of this parable. Remember, this method focuses on the “hinted” meaning. To look for the hinted meaning Paul would have cross referenced this parable with others similar to it. He would have read similar passages in Mark’s gospel and he would have examined the “spiritual meanings” of sowing seeds. Paul possibly would have interpreted the deeper meaning of sowing seeds as doing good deeds for others and as a Pharisee, being careful who you did those deeds for because that would have an impact on the results that followed. (My interpretation). If Paul took this understanding then he would feel good about doing things for other Pharisees and justified in not doing anything for non-Pharisees.
Continuing to move forward, Paul would now examine the parable utilizing the Drash method. He would search it for the moral and/or philosophical lessons from the text.
• Drash: When Paul thought about the moral and/or philosophical lessons from the text, He could possibly have landed on the fact that morally we have an obligation to make sure the things we do are done to those deserving it. Remember, as a Pharisee, he was a separatist who believed that non-Pharisees were not as “dedicated” as they were and therefore were not truly worthy of their time. He could have easily justified only doing things for other Pharisees only and this parable could easily have been interpreted that way to justify his actions.
Finally Paul would have spent a lot of time thinking about the hidden message of the parable. There would have been a lot of things that would go through his mind as to what to gleam from it. He would have reflected on all of the Oral teaching of the Pharisees to gather additional thoughts on what he was reading. Finally he would land on a belief that would probably be totally wrong.
This is the process that Paul went through to interpret and understand scripture prior to his conversion. This is the same process that Paul’s peers went through when they too were taught how to interpret and understand Scripture. As you read this parable the way Paul would have prior to his conversion, you can see why he would have had the understanding that he did. But this understanding would not have been enough for Paul to argue with his peers and prove that Jesus was the Christ for his peers at this point also knew what Paul knew. So what happened? The Holy Spirit happened. Let read a few more verses from this chapter included Jesus’ explanation of the hidden (Sod) meaning of the parable.
After Jesus told this parable, His disciples asked Him why He talked to the people in parables. Understand Jesus’ answer: “Jesus answered them, ‘To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted…..Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:11;13) You see this? Jesus told His disciples that they were granted the benefit of knowing the mysteries of heaven. Paul, prior to his conversion, had not understood the mysteries of heaven because he was not linked in to the source for the understanding. Before the Holy Spirit was sent, the only way to understanding the hidden meanings of Scripture was through Christ. When Jesus left here and sent the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit took up where Jesus left off. No one could understand the hidden meaning without the Holy Spirit directing them. This is why prior to Paul’s conversion he was so steadfast in his hatred of Christ and His followers. Based on his “limited” understanding of Scripture (Pashat, Remez and Drash only) he understood a “different type” of Messiah would come and Jesus did not fit that bill. After his conversion, the Holy Spirit revealed to him the hidden (Sod) meaning of the Scripture and Paul was able to make the link between what he had learned in the Old Testament and what was being revealed to him supernaturally through the Holy Spirit. This is the same process that we too should experience according to John 14:26 which says “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” The Holy Spirit is doing the same thing today for us that He did for Paul. Paul understood the Old Testament from learning the Pashat, Remez and Drash method of studying but it took the Holy Spirit to reveal to him the Sod. When that happened Paul could stand toe to toe to any of his peers and confound them because he understood what they did not because they could not understand without the help of the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus told His disciples the “hidden” meaning of the parable of the sower, He said the following in verses eighteen through twenty-three of Matthew chapter 13: “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” (Matt. 13:18-23)
Here is what I want you to see. When Jesus translated the parable to the disciples it carried a totally different meaning that could not have been gotten by just reading the parable and taking it literally. There was no way someone could gleam all of the “hinted” meaning or the real moral meaning of what was said. This was not a philosophical parable He taught, but a fact. The disciples did not understand the hidden meaning until Jesus revealed it to them. If you think about what Paul could have gotten from this parable using the four methods for interpreting the Scripture available to him prior to his conversion, he would never had gotten to the real meaning. He would not have linked Satan to stealing the word of God away from him. He would not have linked how afflictions and persecutions cause someone to fall away because the Word has no deep roots within them. This understanding can only come through the revealed word and the one who reveals it is the Holy Spirit.
Paul was able to stand before his peers and prove that Jesus was the Messiah because of the Holy Spirit revealing to him the hidden meaning of the Scriptures he had already learned. Paul used Pashat, Remez, Drash and Sod to learn the Scriptural meaning but it was the Holy Spirit who really revealed the “Sod” to him. When this was done, he stood alone in his understanding of the Scriptures and was able to confound learned men who assumed that he knew nothing more than what they too had been taught.
So that brings me to us. This series is about being a slave for Christ. Paul sold out immediately and became a slave. His willingness opened him up to be taught by the Holy Spirit. What he thought he knew he had to unlearn and apply differently. Are you giving the Holy Spirit anything to work with in your life?
I will continue with this series in three weeks as next Sunday is Father’s Day and I must share with you “my thought” on the bond that fathers have with their children to balance out my Mother’s day message.
Have a blessed and wonderful week this week!
