This week’s study includes a section often referred to as the ‘Olivet Discourse.’ It’s found in chapter 24 of Matthew. The name is derived from the location where Jesus responds to the disciple’s question concerning the timing of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem that He had informed them about earlier in the evening.
The meaning of Jesus’ teaching in this Scripture has been debated for years. Some see everything that He teaches as having been fulfilled with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in a.d.70. Others see almost everything as occurring in the future. Others see combinations of fulfillment, some in AD 70 and some in the future. How can such disagreements over the meaning of this passage occur?
Dr. Robert Stein of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is known for his scholarship in the Synoptic Gospels. He has also done work in Biblical Interpretation. In His book A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible: Playing by the Rules in a discussion on the ‘Norms of Language’ he writes the following:
Perhaps the classic example of this issue is found in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Alice and Humpty Dumpty have the following conversation:
‘There’s glory for you!’ ‘I don’t know what you mean by “glory”,’ Alice said. Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. ‘Of course you don’t—till I tell you. I meant “there’s a nice knockdown argument for you”!’ ‘But “glory” doesn’t mean “a nice knockdown argument”,’ Alice objected. ‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.’ ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master—that’s all.’
There is a sense in which Humpty Dumpty is correct. He can make a word mean whatever he wants it to mean. But—and this is critical—if he wants to communicate his meaning to others, then he must submit himself to the norms of language. He can, of course, create a new word or a new meaning for an old word, but, if he wants to communicate his meaning, then he must explain such an unusual usage. Thus Alice, too, is correct. Whether he likes it or not, if Humpty Dumpty desires to communicate, he cannot arbitrarily create unique meanings for words, unless he informs his hearers/readers that he has done so.1
If interpreters followed this little bit of advice from Dr. Stein there would be far fewer interpretations of the ‘Olivet Discourse.’
1Stein, Robert H. 1994. A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible: Playing by the Rules. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. p.55.
The meaning of Jesus’ teaching in this Scripture has been debated for years. Some see everything that He teaches as having been fulfilled with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in a.d.70. Others see almost everything as occurring in the future. Others see combinations of fulfillment, some in AD 70 and some in the future. How can such disagreements over the meaning of this passage occur?
Dr. Robert Stein of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is known for his scholarship in the Synoptic Gospels. He has also done work in Biblical Interpretation. In His book A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible: Playing by the Rules in a discussion on the ‘Norms of Language’ he writes the following:
Perhaps the classic example of this issue is found in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Alice and Humpty Dumpty have the following conversation:
‘There’s glory for you!’ ‘I don’t know what you mean by “glory”,’ Alice said. Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. ‘Of course you don’t—till I tell you. I meant “there’s a nice knockdown argument for you”!’ ‘But “glory” doesn’t mean “a nice knockdown argument”,’ Alice objected. ‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.’ ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master—that’s all.’
There is a sense in which Humpty Dumpty is correct. He can make a word mean whatever he wants it to mean. But—and this is critical—if he wants to communicate his meaning to others, then he must submit himself to the norms of language. He can, of course, create a new word or a new meaning for an old word, but, if he wants to communicate his meaning, then he must explain such an unusual usage. Thus Alice, too, is correct. Whether he likes it or not, if Humpty Dumpty desires to communicate, he cannot arbitrarily create unique meanings for words, unless he informs his hearers/readers that he has done so.1
If interpreters followed this little bit of advice from Dr. Stein there would be far fewer interpretations of the ‘Olivet Discourse.’
1Stein, Robert H. 1994. A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible: Playing by the Rules. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. p.55.
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