About

This blog is devoted to biblical commentary by the Rev. Bob Buehler, a country preacher. The title of the blog, Red Letter Bible Readers, reflects the conviction that the words of Jesus, “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” are paramount, and provide the key to a proper interpretation of all of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures.  In other words, a hermeneutical principle exists which says that every text must be read so as to be understood in light of the words of Jesus, and where there is confusion, disagreement, or ambiguity, the words of Jesus prevail.  It is our belief that much confusion can be avoided by means of this principle, which is founded on the belief that as the Living Word of God, Jesus is the first and last word (Alpha and Omega) over all the written words of scripture.  He has the authority to tell us, and does tell us, which is the greatest commandment, and that in fact some things do qualify as weightier matters of the Torah, namely justice, mercy, and the love of God. Thus no prophetic or instructional word can be received apart from or prior to the words in red, but only as subject to them.

In that he says he came not to destroy but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, we understand this to mean that in him the right understanding of those writings are brought to completion, because he provides in his teaching and person the interpretive lens that we need to see them clearly.  We do not understand him to be saying that the Lord of heaven and earth has, a priori,  subjected himself to Moses, for example:  indeed, he says of himself that a greater one than Moses is here.

We also agree with Peter that “all the prophets give witness to him” (Acts 10:43), sometimes without fully understanding what they were describing (I Peter 1:10-12). So we look for Jesus to in some way be revealed on every page of the Bible, discounting nothing, but understanding that it is not in the scriptures as such, but only inasmuch as they testify of him, that we find eternal life (John 5:39-40).

Format is in general as follows. A category (tag) has been created for each book of the Bible, and every entry is a comment on one or more verses. A few entries may be topical, in which case they will be tagged appropriately or left uncategorized.

In the early stages, I’m going through note cards made years ago while a seminary student.