The Good News About What the Bible DOESN’T Tell Us
By Michael Kelley
There are several places in Scripture that leave us… wondering. In these sections of Scripture, God’s Word tells us something that happened but it doesn’t tell us exactly how it happened. We get the main point of action, but we don’t get the specifics. Here are a few examples:
He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. Everyone ate and was satisfied (Mark 6:41-42).
This, of course, is Mark’s recording of the miraculous feeding of the 5,000. We know that from five loaves and two fish that the whole crowd was fed, but we don’t know how. Did Jesus just keep breaking off piece after piece of bread, each time the bread regrew? Did the bread instantaneously appear? We know what happened, but we don’t know the specifics.
Here’s another example:
When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They got up, drove him out of town, and brought him to the edge of the hill that their town was built on, intending to hurl him over the cliff. But he passed right through the crowd and went on his way (Luke 4:28-30).
Jesus was teaching in Nazareth, and the people didn’t like what they heard. In fact, they meant to kill Him by driving him off the edge of the cliff… and “he passed through the crowd.” Did the people forget what they were doing for a few seconds? Did they freeze in place? Again, we know what happened, but we don’t know the specifics.
In one sense, that’s kind of fun. It leaves things to our imaginations. But in another sense, it can be frustrating. It makes us wonder and we are left unsatisfied with the amount of information given to us. So what can be encouraging about what the Bible leaves out? What’s the good news about what the Bible DOESN’T tell us?
The good news is simply this: By leaving out some of these details, the Bible forces us to recognize the main point without getting lost in those details.
Let’s say the Bible did give the play-by-play of how the miracle occurred on the hillside. Or let’s say it told us exactly how Jesus passed through the crowd. It’s very likely that we would be so enamored by those details that we might miss the overall message of the text.
We might be so captivated by the HOW that we miss the WHAT.
The “what” is that Jesus is powerful. He’s powerful enough to feed 5,000 as if they were one. And He’s powerful enough to not let the whimsy of man disrupt His plans. The message here is that because Jesus is powerful, we can trust in His provision. In His plan. In His ability to carry it out. In other words, though the “how” is missing the “Who” is not.
So don’t be frustrated by what the Bible doesn’t tell. Look instead where the Bible directs us to. And when we do, we will always find the “Who” even if we don’t find the “how.”
Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.
