Confused? Take a Fresh Look at the Bible

1 September 2025  Luke 4:16-30

“There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah…. There were many lepers in Israel in the time Elisha the prophet….”  Luke 4:25-27

The Bible appears to be making a comeback.

Bible sales in the U.S. increased over 22% in 2024. According to the American Bible Society (State of the Bible: USA 2025), 10 million more Americans are using the Bible (by which they mean reading the Bible outside of Church a minimum of three times/year), with particular increases among Millennials (29%) and men (19%). In addition there have been notable increases in scripture engagement (by which they mean understanding, meditating on, and applying biblical insights to daily life) among Millennials and Gen Z (5% each). While none of these figures are substantial enough to support the conclusion that a spiritual renewal is taking place, they are enough to conclude that renewal is on people’s minds, especially the minds of young adults, and so they are having a closer look at the Bible.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, a fresh look at the Bible is the way Jesus went about evangelization, too. When He went to his home town of Nazareth and preached on the Sabbath, people were pleased as they could be that a man raised among them could preach so well: “Look, it’s Joseph’s boy. Hasn’t he turned out well! (cf. Luke 4:22). Even when Jesus pointed out that they hadn’t heard a word he’d said, how that was typical of prophets preaching in their hometowns, they still were stuck in their “local boy does good” euphoria (cf. 4:23-24). It was only when He did a little Bible study with them on the Widow of Zarephath (I Kings 17) and Naaman the Syrian (II Kings 5) that their demeanor changed. Now Jesus was telling them that there were Gentiles that understood more than they did, that they were just as spiritually clueless as the Israelites were in the days of Ahab and Jezebel. Then they turned into a mob that dragged Jesus to the nearest cliff, ready to throw Him off.

Only they didn’t. Only they couldn’t.

It is as if Jesus said to them, “Tell me what I said that is untrue. Tell me, and then throw me off the cliff.” And they stopped. Jesus’ little Bible study had made them think: “What if He’s right?” “And passing through the midst of them, He went away” (4:30).

There wasn’t a revival in Nazareth, but now people were thinking about it.

In place after place Jesus pointed out that people knew the commandments – the Scribes and Pharisees had identified 613 of them in the Hebrew scriptures. The problem was that they couldn’t do them all, they were lost and confused, and the Scribes and Pharisees weren’t helping them much. The Good News was that God was going to forgive them all that if they would repent and follow Him. He proved it by healing them, and casting out their demons.

Now a lot of people were thinking about it.

The problem isn’t that we don’t know what the truth is. We know that God exists – most of the “Nones,” people with no religious affiliation, are not atheists. We know what men and women are, we know the difference between right and wrong, we know what makes children grow up healthiest and happiest, we know that people who are married, parents, both maritally and spiritually faithful, are the happiest, healthiest, most generous citizens in the land. The problem is that just enough people have been challenging all that, and we have gotten confused.

But some young people, a growing number of young people, have been starting to pick up the Bible again for guidance and reassurance. It isn’t a revival yet, but they’re thinking about it.

Maybe we should all pick up the Bible, and think a little harder.