Years ago, an evangelist visiting the Armenian Bretheren Evangelical Church in Watertown, Massachusetts, gave a sermon that Marash Girl will never forget. For Evangelical Christians, the big push, after accepting Christ as your Personal Savior, is to read the Bible and live your life accordingly. The evangelist emphasized the importance of reading the Bible and understanding it as a whole rather than in bits and pieces.
To illustrate his point, he told the story of a newly Born-Again Christian who, enthusiastic in his new found faith, had promised to live his life according to the Bible. That very evening, the newly Born Again Christian sat in the corner of his room holding his Bible, and with his eyes closed, he opened his Bible, and pointed to a verse. Opening his eyes, he read aloud the verse he had pointed to: "And Judas went and hanged himself." (Matthew 27:5) Still seeking inspiration, he closed his Bible, closed his eyes, opened his Bible again, and, pointing to a verse, he opened his eyes and read, "Jesus said, 'Go and do thou likewise.'" Luke 10:37.
The congregation laughed. The evangelist had made his point.
I am glad that the evangelist closed his eyes before pointing out Judas' dangling fate in Matthew, and not the more visceral one in Acts. "And falling headlong, he [Judas] burst asunder in the midst, and all of his bowels gushed out (Acts 1:18). Ergo, the whole is better than bits and pieces in understanding the point.
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