The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:3-6)

The Importance Of Reading

Jesus is the Son of God, Creator, Divinity, and all-knowing, yet He reminds men of the importance of knowing the word of God. From the beginning of creation, God revealed Himself to the world through natural and special revelation. Creation heralds the nature of God as the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen. A man can know there is a higher being viewing the creation, but he cannot know the character of God. Understanding the will and character of God can only come from special revelation. Adam and Eve knew what God said when they were told not to eat of the forbidden fruit. They disobeyed His word. Noah understood the command to build an ark and the impending flood. He did what God said.

Moses received the law from God at Sinai that became the code of conduct for righteousness for the Hebrews. Everything a Jew needed to know about his relationship with God was found in the Law of Moses. Parents were commanded to teach their children the law. A priesthood was established to carry out the law. Kings were required to read the law and obey it. The Gentiles were a law to themselves as God revealed Himself to them, and Israel followed the Law of Moses. No one could plead ignorance to what God required of them.

During the ministry of Jesus, the Son of God referred to the word of His Father for His authority. When Satan came to Jesus in the wilderness, the Son of God did not rely on His wisdom to battle His adversary. On each occasion of Satan’s wiles, Jesus said, “It is written.” He appeals to the word for authority. The Jewish leaders continually attacked the teaching of Jesus, and His reply was, “Have you not read?” This itinerant preacher from Nazareth kept referring His enemies back to the word of God. The Pharisees charged the disciples of Jesus with breaking the Sabbath. To vindicate what His disciples did, Jesus told them to read what David did when hungry. He reminded them of what the priests had to do on the Sabbath to prepare sacrifices but were blameless.

Jesus defended what He taught by appealing to the word of God. The Sadducees challenged Jesus with a question about the resurrection, and His answer was to direct them to read what God had spoken to them. There was ample evidence in the Old Testament scriptures that proved there was such a thing as the resurrection. The Sadducees were wrong because they had failed to read the word of God. If they had read what Moses had written down, they would have had the answers they sought.

Reading is fundamental to faith. If people believe they will find faith apart from reading the word, they are mistaken. Jesus knew the word because He took the time to read the word. A man’s faith will be measured by how much time he spends or does not spend reading the word of God. Paul explained that faith comes from hearing and that hearing evolves from the word of God. Amos summed up the failure of God’s people when he wrote, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” A faithful child of God is a faithful reader of the Book. Reading is power because it brings knowledge. Take time to read. Have you not read?