When the Text Pushes Back

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Proverbs 25:2 (NKJV)

“When the Text Pushes Back” is an ongoing Applied Bible Study that takes a difficult verse or passage of Scripture and offers you the opportunity to work through the verse, “to search out” the matter. This is not a devotional, and it’s not an introspective reflection on the text. The purpose is to enable you to think through the text to determine it’s meaning.

Working through When the Text Pushes Back studies you…

• do not need Greek to benefit;
• do not need outside books; and
• may stop at any point.

This study is designed for readers who want to think carefully about the text. The goal is not agreement (with me or anyone else), but careful reasoning. These studies will help you learn how to reason carefully through difficult biblical texts—and why that process matters more than quick answers.

Do all the lessons or just the ones that appeal to you. Take them in any order you want. I’ll keep publishing them as I come across them. My only recommendation is that you start with (or at least look through) Matt 11:12, because it will orient you to the process. If you think of a verse you’d like to submit for consideration, Contact us here →.

One important note. The effort is not about arriving at an “approved” answer but about learning how meaning is constrained by grammar, context, and theology.