100 Prison Meditations: Cries of Truth from Behind the Iron Curtain by Richard Wurmbrand
Authors: Richard Wurmbrand
Tags: Philosophy
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days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh” (Acts 2:17). A hundred persons can hardly be called “all flesh.”
Such statements are normally called exaggerations. But if a man cannot readily find simple words for his feelings, if he clothes them in superlatives, should we call this a lie? Is
Faust
a lie because Goethe, feeling the power and complexity of evil, personified it as Mephistopheles? Peter was so overwhelmed by the fiery divided tongues which had sat upon each of the disciples (Acts 2:3) that he could not speak except in superlatives.
Nehemiah exaggerates too when he says, “You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven” (9:23). There are billions of stars, but not that many Jews.
The Bible is not an Anglo-Saxon book. One cannot appreciate its truth simply by applying Anglo-Saxon standards to it. The rules of truthfulness vary from one culture to another. In the Anglo-Saxon world, a statement is true only when it exactly fits reality. In fact, understatements are often preferred. With the Japanese and other cultures it is otherwise. It is correct to say what is pleasing to your listener, even if this is not the real state of affairs. Hyperbole is the norm for an Oriental. God has made His revelation to us through a “Middle Eastern” book, and the Bible is inerrant according to the mentality that produced it.
21
Sayings Missing in the New Testament
It is important to observe in the Bible not only what it contains, but also what it omits.
One interesting feature of the New Testament is that Jesus never asked anyone to tell Him about the circumstances of his sins. He knew men to be sinful, so the details of their trespasses, be they small offenses or huge crimes, did not interest Him. Instead of probing in dirt, He went from one man to another saying, “Be of good cheer, son; be of good cheer, daughter. Your sins are forgiven.”
Another important feature is that no one ever said to Jesus, “Please, forgive me,” or, “I am sorry.” On the last evening all the apostles fled and one denied Him. Later, when the resurrected Lord appeared to them, it would have been appropriate for them to ask His forgiveness. None did.
Whoever looked into Jesus’ face saw there so much love and goodness that he felt, “With Jesus forgiveness is self-evident. His willingness to forgive me is much greater than my readiness to ask for forgiveness. His wish for me to be saved is far greater than my own. His desire for my fellowship in heaven is greater than my wish to go there.” They did not approach Jesus with words of apology, but only trusted in His goodness.
There is something else that cannot be found in the New Testament: Jesus never turned down anyone’s invitation. To refuse an invitation would be foreign to His nature. You just invite Him into your home and heart. He accepted invitations even from His worst enemies. He will surely accept yours. He gives us His word: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
Let us be attentive to the verses missing in the Bible.
22
Words Missing in the Bible
Now that, being a prisoner, I have nothing, I realize the importance of the fact that in the Old Testament the verb “to have” never occurs. It does not exist in the Hebrew language, not even in modern Hebrew. To lack even a word for expressing the idea of having is real “not having.”
It is sinful to have. All the first Christians who were “possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 4:34,35). They were Jews and discovered, thanks to Jesus, what had long since been revealed through the genius of their language: it is wrong for God’s people to have. A child of God does not truly have by owning, but can only administrate things that really belong
Such statements are normally called exaggerations. But if a man cannot readily find simple words for his feelings, if he clothes them in superlatives, should we call this a lie? Is
Faust
a lie because Goethe, feeling the power and complexity of evil, personified it as Mephistopheles? Peter was so overwhelmed by the fiery divided tongues which had sat upon each of the disciples (Acts 2:3) that he could not speak except in superlatives.
Nehemiah exaggerates too when he says, “You also multiplied their children as the stars of heaven” (9:23). There are billions of stars, but not that many Jews.
The Bible is not an Anglo-Saxon book. One cannot appreciate its truth simply by applying Anglo-Saxon standards to it. The rules of truthfulness vary from one culture to another. In the Anglo-Saxon world, a statement is true only when it exactly fits reality. In fact, understatements are often preferred. With the Japanese and other cultures it is otherwise. It is correct to say what is pleasing to your listener, even if this is not the real state of affairs. Hyperbole is the norm for an Oriental. God has made His revelation to us through a “Middle Eastern” book, and the Bible is inerrant according to the mentality that produced it.
21
Sayings Missing in the New Testament
It is important to observe in the Bible not only what it contains, but also what it omits.
One interesting feature of the New Testament is that Jesus never asked anyone to tell Him about the circumstances of his sins. He knew men to be sinful, so the details of their trespasses, be they small offenses or huge crimes, did not interest Him. Instead of probing in dirt, He went from one man to another saying, “Be of good cheer, son; be of good cheer, daughter. Your sins are forgiven.”
Another important feature is that no one ever said to Jesus, “Please, forgive me,” or, “I am sorry.” On the last evening all the apostles fled and one denied Him. Later, when the resurrected Lord appeared to them, it would have been appropriate for them to ask His forgiveness. None did.
Whoever looked into Jesus’ face saw there so much love and goodness that he felt, “With Jesus forgiveness is self-evident. His willingness to forgive me is much greater than my readiness to ask for forgiveness. His wish for me to be saved is far greater than my own. His desire for my fellowship in heaven is greater than my wish to go there.” They did not approach Jesus with words of apology, but only trusted in His goodness.
There is something else that cannot be found in the New Testament: Jesus never turned down anyone’s invitation. To refuse an invitation would be foreign to His nature. You just invite Him into your home and heart. He accepted invitations even from His worst enemies. He will surely accept yours. He gives us His word: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
Let us be attentive to the verses missing in the Bible.
22
Words Missing in the Bible
Now that, being a prisoner, I have nothing, I realize the importance of the fact that in the Old Testament the verb “to have” never occurs. It does not exist in the Hebrew language, not even in modern Hebrew. To lack even a word for expressing the idea of having is real “not having.”
It is sinful to have. All the first Christians who were “possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 4:34,35). They were Jews and discovered, thanks to Jesus, what had long since been revealed through the genius of their language: it is wrong for God’s people to have. A child of God does not truly have by owning, but can only administrate things that really belong
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