The Interpreter Has Arrived!

By Jason Strange
6/15/2010

Jeremiah says, "Israel broke the covenant." God was their husband as he betrothed them to himself, but his bride was unfaithful and went whoring after other lovers, thus committing spiritual idolatry. This was all due to the hermeneutical failure of their first parents that had wide sweeping effects. Goldsworthy has said, "ever since the disastrous upheaval of sinful man there is now a hermetic of suspicion which now characterizes rebellious humanity."

And as a result of Israel's hermeneutical suspicion and confusion they were characterized as having ears, but not hearing, eyes- but not seeing; spiritually deaf, blind, and dumb as they did not understand or discern the will God (Is. 6:9-10). They had become like the idols they worshipped. Most of these people though possessing the promises and covenants walked in darkness; the law of God was only external, written only on stone and not on their hearts. Isaiah again says, "the ox and ass knew their master, but Israel did not understand (Is. 1:3)." Even dumb farm animals know their owners, but Israel was worse off and had less sense then the ass and the ox not recognizing their Master.

When the times had reached there fulfillment God in his sovereign grace sent the Interpreter, his Son. This is why the New Covenant is a fundamental consideration to Hermeneutics because when Christ came Hermeneutics changed. (now that Messiah has come we can do Biblical theology-he gives color to the shadows, and they begin to dance in three dimensions; he takes that Messianic consciousness and gives it flesh and bone, he says I am the One who was streaming through the minds of the prophets, and the priest, and the kings). The Interpreter has arrived and as such he interprets the New and unpacks the old pealing back the layers of Old Testament history and in essence says, 'look at me! see me there, see me here'; I am God I fill the Heavens and I fill every word found in Scripture and I am its focal point .

Isaiah says now within the land of deep darkness a great light has shined. The light of the world comes and shines forth the hermeneutical beacon. Jesus says' "He who follows me will never walk in darkness." There is a darkness to hermeneutics when it is separated from Christ. There is dark exegesis, dark systematics, and dark dogmatics without Christ Jesus as the hermeneutical principle and the exegetical interpreter. The New Covenant is such that when one partakes of New Covenant realities he is moved up out of a deceased Hermeneutic and is transferred into a new realm of Hermeneutical clarity. Paul said this to the Corinthians that the 'Jews had a veil covering their hearts, but when one comes to Jesus the veil is removed (2 Cor 3).'

The Christ event inaugurates the New Covenant. It is new in the sense that it is distinct, unique, one of a kind, not a spin-off of the old, but has characteristics that set it apart as exclusively special. Israel is promised that she will be given a new heart and a new spirit; new faculties to internalize God's law which will be written on the heart. These partakers in the New Covenant will all know God; they will have an awareness of who he is. And now God vindicating his holiness through Christ death and resurrection sprinkles clean water on us giving us a cleansed conscience, removes the heart of stone, removing sin and iniquity forever. Only through Jesus could all the conditions be met and the full realization of Hermeneutic ability comes to its beach-head on Pentecost where they receive the Spirit of Christ, who now indwells his people 'leading them into all truth', guaranteeing an accurate Hermeneutical outcome for all time. He promised that he is with us till the end, and so the Church is assured that Christ will continue to illuminate his Word until He illuminates the world upon his return.