Theology Thursday: Should I Use a Commentary

When the topic of commentaries comes up, you typically see reactions like the one above. Either it’s apprehensive confusion, genuine consideration, or flat out rejection. Here’s the question, ‘should you use commentaries?’ I’m going to spoil the answer for you: yes you should! However, it should be used sparingly like seasoning on a dish.

 

What is a Commentary?
To define it simply (by this I mean just Google because they get it right most of the time and that’s the first place everyone goes to anyway), a commentary is a set of explanatory or critical notes on a text. Think of a commentary as someone giving an interpretation of that specific verse in Scripture. Now before you start scoffing at the ‘out of touch’ theologians who give you their interpretations, believe it or not, every Christian is affected by commentary.
Now I know you’re probably thinking that I’m a real Fool now but let me explain. When you go to church and listen to a sermon, when you have your Bible study groups, when you discuss Scripture with a friend, or when you listen to Paul Washer tearing a ‘new one’ on his listeners on YouTube, you’re affected by commentary. How? A sermon is Scripture explained and applied to people through public proclamation. The primary difference between a commentary and a full sermon is the application and the public proclamation. Both are designed to explain and exhort Scripture. Therefore, don’t pay attention to the pastors (who are ironically speaking their own commentary on the pulpit) when they’re screaming behind the podium about how horrible commentaries are or how useless theological study is. They’re just misguided by their understanding of a commentary.
Commentaries are incredibly useful because these are faithful men and women who study the text and who are typically able to read Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic: the three original languages of the Bible. This is important because they can help us get a better understanding of Scripture in places that use metaphors, similes, poems, figurative language, or difficult concepts. When we read a verse we don't understand, commentaries are a great way to help us comprehend the text.

Why Should We Use Commentaries?
We should use commentaries as guardrails for our interpretation. Now remember, I’m talking about interpretation (meaning of the text) NOT application (how to use it today). You can have the same interpretation but nearly infinite applications which I’ll explain later. Nevertheless, there are both old and newer commentaries written by faithful Christians throughout the ages. Despite Christianity being present for 2,000 years, it’s fascinating how similar the interpretations and explanations are regardless of time period, culture, race, etc. The beauty of this is that Christians, since the beginning, have had a generally good interpretation and understanding of Scripture through the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. One of the things joked around in seminary is, “if you come to a new interpretation never seen before, it’s heresy.”
Here’s a recent example of a bad ‘new interpretation’ of the text. Mike Todd of Transformation Church recently preached a sermon called ‘Stay Sharp’. In this sermon, Todd used the verse 1 Samuel 16:7(CSB, emphasis added),  “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”’ Todd said that the ‘Holy Spirit told him’ (heavy emphasis on the air quotes) that He doesn’t just consider the central, thinking and spirituality of the person but He also considers their physical, cardiovascular capabilities; are they physically capable of doing the assignment. My wife’s not a theologian but when she heard this, even she said:



This interpretation of 1 Samuel 16:7 is SOOOO out of context and doesn’t even make sense IN THE SAME SENTENCE! Just take the last part of the verse: “Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” Humans can see a physical heart! If the Holy Spirit really spoke to Mike Todd about the ‘physical heart’ of a Christian, then, apparently, the Holy Spirit contradicted His own Words from Scripture. Not only that, if we look in the first part of the verse, God says that He literally does NOT care about the physical appearance or stature of the person. If God cared this much about the physical heart, then He wouldn’t have used elderly people such as Moses, Noah, Abraham, or Paul. Furthermore, if he glanced at the Hebrew language (you can use Blue Letter Bible for free or pay for Logos which is also great), the Hebrew word for ‘heart’ is lebab which literally means the inner self or conscience. It has nothing to do with the physical heart.
Are there verses that talk about having good health and a ‘good heart’ for the work of ministry? Sure! Two verses that come to mind are 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, where these verses talk about how our physical body is the temple and dwelling place of God. HOWEVER, it’s important to note that the primary interpretation and application for this verse is about honoring God in our bodies in terms of holiness first, not physical health. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul is saying that our body is God’s temple because we should not connect God’s temple to sexual immorality. In other words, Paul is talking about a harlot, not a hamburger. Nevertheless, as a secondary application, it’s perfectly reasonable to see these verses as a biblical foundation to practice healthy eating and exercising habits to take care of our physical bodies. Essentially, like Mike Todd, people can avoid very simple errors and wrong interpretations just by reading a commentary to cross reference your interpretation with other scholars.
My point is not that you HAVE to know the Hebrew or Greek languages in order to get the right interpretation but that you look at commentaries to make sure you don’t fall into craziness with your interpretation. Bible Hub is a free and great resource that has multiple commentaries to choose from. I did a quick search on Bible Hub’s commentaries and none of them mentioned anything about the ‘heart’ representing the physical capabilities of David. Now I do understand the application that Mike Todd was trying to make but his interpretation was completely undermined by the very text he tried to use to support it. My prayer is that instead of him pouring syrup on the Bible (yes, he unfortunately did that in this sermon), that he would actually take the time to read the Bible.

How to Properly Use a Commentary
As seen earlier, you can avoid most heresy and errors by simply reading the Bible. However, there are places that may be harder to understand or you want to receive different viewpoints on a particular verse. There were things that even Apostle Peter had problems understanding. 1 Peter 3:15-16b (CSB, emphasis added), “Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them.” If Apostle Peter admits that there are some things hard to understand in Scripture (and he WROTE the Bible), how much more for us. Therefore, don’t be afraid to crack open a commentary when needed.

Here are three reasons to use a commentary. The first is to help you interpret Scripture that’s hard for you to understand. The beauty of Scripture is that most of the time, like 1 Samuel 16:7, you can reach the right interpretation just by reading the verse. However, there are cases when things can get a little dicey. Take Mark 15:34 for example, “And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” This is a verse that confuses a lot of people. However, if you read a commentary, they’ll let you know that this is an exact reference to Psalm 22 which begins, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Furthermore, when you read Psalm 22, it’s actually referencing major events in the crucifixion such as the soldiers dividing His garments, casting lots over His robe, piercing His hands and feet, and ultimately God(the Father) saving Jesus’ life in the end. If you were unfamiliar with Psalm 22, this verse would only appear to look like the Father abandoned Christ, but when you read Psalm 22, you realize that it’s a prophetic fulfillment. Unless you knew about Psalm 22 in your personal reading, the only other way to know this is through teaching, commentary, and cross references. This is why commentaries are incredibly helpful when you find Scriptures that are hard to understand.
The second reason is if you want to have a deep dive into a verse, concept, or set of Scriptures. Theologians find great nuggets of information that we normally skip over as readers. Things such as culture, geography, terrain, etc are all helpful things that spread light on Scripture. Everything has been placed in the Bible for a reason and it’s fascinating to know the smallest of minute details that we frequently miss in our reading but commentaries catch. For example, remember that Jesus was sold for 30 pieces of silver in Matthew 26:15? It seems like an arbitrary number but a commentary like Barnes Notes on the Bible says, “This was the price ‘of a slave’ (see Exodus 21:32), and it is not unlikely that this sum was fixed on by them to show their ‘contempt’ of Jesus, and that they regarded him as of little value.” This shows that Jesus truly did ‘take on the form of a servant’ because He was even sold at the price of one. Commentaries help us find value out of the smallest of details in the Bible.
The third reason to use commentaries is to get a unique point of view. Just like how the four Gospels each give us a unique perspective on Christ’s life and His ministry, commentaries act the same way in many parts of Scripture. By a different perspective, I don’t mean that they are Scripture like the four Gospels but it’s more like listening to different sermons on the same text. One of my favorite examples is from Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Genesis 2:21-25 where he beautifully describes the relationship between man and woman in creation. “The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved. Adam lost a rib, and without any diminution to his strength or comeliness (for, doubtless, the flesh was closed without a scar); but in lieu thereof he had a help meet for him, which abundantly made up his loss: what God takes away from his people he will, one way or other, restore with advantage.”

Conclusion
I hope this encourages you that commentaries are a great tool for the body of Christ. Though they are never designed to replace the authority of Scripture, they are great seasonings and guardrails to a Christians’ reading. They can help us understand difficult passages, allow us to learn new information about the seemingly minute details of Scripture, and enrich us with perspectives on verses that we may have not conceived. Lastly, I just want you to be encouraged to use commentaries (good and reputable commentaries) as guardrails for your personal Bible study. Again, they are not perfect but you can use commentaries as a thermometer for your understanding of Scripture to make sure you’re on the right track with your interpretation and not falling into heresy.

I hope this article has blessed you!