Things I Never Noticed in the Bible

Having finished my Greyfriar’s list of reading, I am spending a great deal of time reading Scripture. We tend to get into a particular mode when reading Scripture of thinking we have read it before and already know it. Thus, end up not really reading it, we simply skim over what we think we already know. And this becomes more true, the more times we make it through.

One way to slow this down is to read a different version of the Bible on subsequent trips through. Another way, and the one I am currently attempting, is to try hard to take note of things that you never noticed before. So, instead of reading the Bible and simply getting out of it what you already know, you are actively working hard to pay attention to the things you never noticed before. As I have been doing this, I am finding out that there is a LOT of things I never noticed before. I am trying to read through the Bible quickly several times. The problem with writing about what I didn’t notice before, is that I didn’t notice a lot of things and it will really slow me down. But I trust I will profit greatly from the process.

So, these upcoming posts will be:

Things I Never Noticed in the Bible

Here’s the first one.

Acts 15- Before Paul and Barnabas head out to Jerusalem men from Judea had come to Antioch to dispute with them, claiming the disciples in Antioch needed to be circumcised in order to be saved. Of course, this precipitates the entire Jerusalem council.

The thing I never noticed before is verse 2, “When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.”

I had always been aware that Paul and Barnabas had gone up to Jerusalem to get the apostles’ take on the Gentile issue. But I had not noticed that they had already been in considerable difficulty with brethren from Judea about the issue. Apparently, even the Apostle Paul was not able to convince these men of the glory of God and the freedom of God to the Gentiles. He tried hard and failed at it. He needed more than just arguments. He also needed the authority of the Church to speak on the issue.

Since I am revealing my ignorance, I also never noticed that ‘other of them’ also went up with Paul and Barnabas. Not sure what that signifies but perhaps that Paul and Barnabas wanted to send a delegation of like-minded men to make their case, rather than simply come up there as the two Gentile missionaries.