Week 2 - Tuesday - "Understanding Cultural Context"

Week Two – Tuesday

“Understanding Cultural Context”

All cultures have values and patterns of behavior that have an effect on how they interact and communicate with each other in those cultures.  For instance, when you and I greet someone we may shake hands with them.  Maybe when saying goodbye to friends or family, we may hug them.  In the South, particularly, the greetings maybe more personal than in other places. These are examples of modern-day cultural characteristics.

 

Every passage in the Bible, from the writings of Moses to the letters of Paul, were greatly influenced by cultural contexts. Andreas Kostenberger defined cultural context this way:

 

“Culture has to do with attitudes, patterns of behavior, or expressions of a particular society; and these are aspects of the ancient world that have an impact on our understanding of the Bible.”

Examples of cultural details that would affect the way we read the Bible might include worship practices in the eight century, the beliefs and practices of a Pharisee, Paul’s teaching on head coverings (see 1Corinthians 11:4-6), first century behavior at funerals or weddings, and food eaten by people in the Bible.

 

Cultural patterns like these can be seen and very evident in Scripture, and we need to be sensitive to these patters in order to understand the meaning of the passage for the original readers and for our daily lives.

Ø      Today let’s read the following passages:

o        Leviticus 19:32

o        Proverbs 16:31

Ø      In your journal, note what cultural patterns or attitudes these verses reflect?

Jewish culture in the Old Testament held the elderly in a very high regard.  In the passages you read, respect for the elderly is paired with the fear of God, and gray hair is equated with righteousness.  God’s law instructed the Israelites to respect and honor old people.  When you understand the cultural assumptions behind a Biblical teaching, you can more meaningfully apply that teaching to your own culture and your own life.

 

• How does our culture view the elderly?

• Note some examples of the way people in our culture might express their attitudes toward aging.  For example, what might be said or done at a birthday party for someone turning 50?

• What are the presumptions in our culture that lead to these attitudes toward old age?

• What changes do we need to make to bring your attitude in line with what God says about aging in these passages?

Let’s look at another example from the life of Jesus.  He said to a group of people gathered one day “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24 E.S.V.)

For many of us today the cross is a positive symbol of religious identification.  We normally see a cross on top of a church, on a necklace or on a wall.  Made of gold or silver, these crosses are almost always smooth and beautiful.  But for those in Jesus’ culture, the cross was not a positive symbol. Rather, it was such a symbol of horror and shame that a person might not feel comfortable even saying the word in polite conversation.  It was a shocking word because the cross was used as a means of torture and execution for people who were not Roman citizens or for traitors against the Roman Empire.

 Most of the people in Jesus’ audience would have seen people crucified along the roads of Palestine, and it was a horrifying sight.  The purpose of crucifixion was to make the victim suffer and linger in that suffering.  Although no vital organs were damaged, the nails penetrated main nerve systems.  Breathing was made tortuous because the person’s legs were pushed up toward his torso as his arms were spread above his head.  This position forced the diaphragm to press against the victims lungs, making it very hard to breathe.  The only way to relieve pressure on the lungs was to push up with the ankles and feet, which had nails through them.  Crucifixion was everyone’s worst nightmare.

• How does this understanding of crucifixion help you understand the force of Jesus’ words in Luke 9:23-24?

• What are the implications of Jesus’ words for the way we live each day as His followers?

• Spend a few minutes thinking about what Jesus suffered in this context on the cross.  Then spend a few more thanking Him for His sacrifice.  NOW, spend more time expressing your willingness to die to self each day.