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Can a mountain be moved? Can the dead bury the dead?

In the past, I struggled with reading the Bible as I didn’t understand some of what was written. Especially if I took what was written literally.

For example, I wondered how I could possibly pick up and move a mountain!

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20 NIV)

I’ve since learned that in reading any scripture, it’s important to know the context of the verse. It’s important to read not only the Bible verse itself but the ones leading up to it and after it, too.

In Matthew 17:20, Jesus is explaining to His disciples that very little faith is required to accomplish great things. According to the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges such “expressions are characteristic of the vivid imagery of Eastern speech generally. To ‘remove mountains’ is to make difficulties vanish.” Jesus is not literally telling the disciples to pick up and move a mountain. Instead, He is using examples in nature the disciples are familiar with to show how small their faith could be to do things that seemed impossible.

Jesus likely chose the mustard seed as a proverbial example for a very small quantity. He likely used the saying “to move a mountain” as a figurative expression to mean “accomplishing extraordinary results”.

Another example of a Bible verse that I had difficulty understanding was John 6:53 (NIV) where Jesus said,

Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

To literally eat flesh and drink blood made me sick to even think about. But again, I learned to take it in context.

As the Israelites were aware of the pagan practice to eat blood to gain the characteristics of the dead animal, Jesus was telling them to rely on Him instead of ingested blood for their strength.

By asking us to eat and drink His blood, He is asking us to accept His ultimate sacrifice, to take His life into us and be part of our lives. Not to literally eat and drink Him.

I‘ve also discovered certain numbers that recur more frequently in the Bible are meant symbolically, not literally.

For example, multiples of ten represent extravagance or something without limit. The Bible often uses round numbers to make a point. The figure of 144,000 in the Book of Revelation is likely a figurative number, not an exact amount.

Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. (Revelation 14:1 NIV)

My minister explained that the numbers 6 and 12 in the Book of Revelation can be taken figuratively instead of literally as well.

The number six falls short of seven. It implies lack, incompleteness, and imperfection. The number of the beast (or devil) is represented as falling short of perfection. Therefore, 666 is the number that represents the Antichrist.

This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666. (Revelation 13:18 NIV)

Twelve is considered a perfect number, as it symbolizes God’s authority and power. In the book of Revelation, there are 12 angels, stars, gates, foundations, pearls, apostles, and 12 kinds of fruit.

It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Revelation 21:12 NIV)

Understanding the symbolism and significance of numbers can help when reading a difficult book like Revelation.

There are many other verses in the Bible where it’s best to consider the context rather than take it literally. Studying the Bible includes examining the verses to see if they’re meant to be literal or something else, like analogy or hyperbole.

For example, in Mark 9: 47 (NIV), Jesus says,

And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

And in Matthew 8:22 (NIV), Jesus says,

But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Other times when I had difficulty understanding a specific Bible verse, I’ve found it helpful to study The Message Bible which is a paraphrase of the Bible in contemporary English.

For example, the above verse in Matthew reads:

Jesus refused. “First things first. Your business is life, not death. Follow me. Pursue life.”

Much of the Bible is intended to be taken literally, but not all of it. The Bible is meant to be read and studied. Ways to do this:

1. Pray before reading and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand scripture.
2. Look at the context and everything before and after the verse.
3. Read different translations, commentaries, and look into the original language.
4. Ask questions. What type of literature are you reading? Is it poetic, historical narrative, prose, proverbs?

Regardless of whether scripture is written to be literal, hyperbole, parable, or symbolic, it is God-breathed, useful, and trustworthy.

But don’t let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers — why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother’s milk! There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another — showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. (2 Timothy 3:16–17 The Message)

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