Reading Scripture

Misreading the Bible Misses the Mark

A pastor search committee interviewed a recent seminary graduate. The candidate was young, and the committee wondered about his level of Bible knowledge. The chairman of the committee asked the student, “Do you know the Bible?”
“Of course,” he replied, “I just graduated from seminary!”


“Then tell us a story of the Bible—how about the ‘Good Samaritan’?” replied the chairman.
“No problem,” said the pastoral candidate.


“There was a man of the Samaritans named Nicodemus. He went down to Jerusalem by night, and he fell among the stony ground, and the thorns choked him half to death. “So he said, ‘What shall I do? I will arise and go to my father’s house.’ So he arose and climbed up into a sycamore tree. The next day the three wise men came and got him and carried him to the ark for Moses to take care of him. But, as he was going into the eastern gate into the ark, he caught his hair in a limb, and he hung there for forty days and forty nights. Afterward he was hungry, and the ravens came and fed him. read more

  • April 18, 2024