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Post by henrythee3rd on Sept 15, 2013 22:48:18 GMT -5
Hi Pastor Mike, In Luke, chapter 7 verse 39, it says, "Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” How did the writer know this? Was it revealed to him by God or did he ask the Pharisee...How did he get this information- the thoughts of this Pharisee? Or when it says "says to himself" does that mean he said it out loud because the next verse says "Jesus answering him"?- "And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” Im not sure that I stated my question clearly, but basically I'm wondering how, if this was a private thought of the Pharisee, -how the writer learned of those thoughts.
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Post by Mike Miller on Sept 16, 2013 11:11:04 GMT -5
Great observations on this text! For the Pharisee to say something to himself is basically saying that these were his inner thoughts. He probably didn't say anything aloud, or it would have been worded differently. As to how Luke knew what he was thinking, we can only conclude that the Holy Spirit revealed this to him. All Scripture is inspired by God. It is His very word. Therefore, God knew the thoughts of the Pharisee, and as God's Spirit inspired Luke to record this story, He gave him this knowledge. See 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:21.
For Jesus to "answer" the Pharisee shows that Jesus knew the Pharisee's thoughts. This is actually one of the significant truths in the passage, though subtly stated. The Pharisee, who did not treat Jesus well (he didn't kiss his cheek or have his feet washed), had contemptuous thoughts about Jesus. Jesus, however, knew those thoughts and responded to them. Can you imagine the shock of the Pharisee when this happened? See also Luke 6:6-11 (esp. verse 8), Matthew 9:1-8 (esp. verse 4), and John 2:23-25 for a few more examples of Jesus knowing what was in people's hearts and minds.
I want to say again what great observations you have made. You read the Bible very well, and I want to encourage you to continue probing the depths of Scripture. As you can see, it is such a treasure, and it would be easy to miss its riches with a casual reading. Keep up the good work, and feel free to post again if you have any more questions.
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Post by henrythee3rd on Sept 16, 2013 17:34:42 GMT -5
What exactly do you mean by "all scripture is inspired by God"?- the 2 Peter 1:21 verse says "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." Does the "inspired" part relate to the ending words of that verse- "carried along by the Holy Spirit"? Another version said "All scripture is God breathed.." Are those (God breathed, inspired by God, carried along by the Holy Spirit) meaning the same thing?
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Post by Mike Miller on Sept 17, 2013 8:45:14 GMT -5
Yes. All those passages are referring to the same thing. What we mean by inspiration is that all the words of Scripture are the Words of God. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all Scripture is literally the breath of God. We don't really know how He did it, but the Holy Spirit so moved in the human authors of Scripture that they wrote exactly what God wanted them to say. This is how Luke could write about the thoughts of the Pharisee. The Holy Spirit of God, who knows the thoughts of everyone, moved Luke to write what He did.
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