06/17/2026
Something Pastor Matt said in the Sunday message raised my eyebrows. It was this: “Everything in the Bible is important.” (You can watch the Sunday message, “What Do You Do While You Wait on the Lord?”, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gcbajZ1PV0
And taken all around, yes. The Ten Commandments are important. The Beatitudes, important. The parables and teachings of Jesus, earth-shatteringly important. Christ’s birth, life, death, all vital. Acts of the Apostles, important. Letters to and about the early Church, as relatable and important today as when the ink was still drying.
But there’s ‘important’, and then there’s…interesting? Exposition? Connective narrative between the important stuff, necessary but…maybe less important? Certainly more boring. By human notions of ‘importance’, it seems not the most level of playing fields taken as a whole, the Bible. Now let’s see what God says.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
So, Matt nailed it. All scripture is inspired by God, teaches us what is true, and instructs us for doing right in the eyes of the Lord. But WHY are all parts important? Matt mentioned an interest-killer from most of our childhoods. We’ll start there.
The Begetting – More formerly referred to as genealogies, these are the Bible parts which trace family lines. If you’ve ever searched for family trees in genealogy societies, this may actually be fascinating. It’s sections of the Bible following Genesis, then picking up again for Return of the Begetting in 1 Chronicles, followed by Begetting: The Final Chapter with the genealogy of Jesus as presented starting in Matthew 1:1.
These can be dry, yes. But consider them the kindling on which flames of salvation ignite before sweeping His Light across the world, across cultures, and across centuries. In Genesis 3:14-15, NLT, we see that the offspring of Eve will square off against those of the Serpent.
14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike[a] your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Referring to Jesus, scripture then chronicles the bloodline from Eve through Seth and down the centuries. We watch the promise of Genesis fulfilled through descendants often noble, sometimes also deeply flawed. Human, as it were, flowing into the House of David and finally arriving at Jesus of Nazareth where the nails are placed in the devil’s schemes. Where our salvation is paid for so that we may escape damnation by repenting and accepting Christ as Savior.
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed[a] the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. - Colossians 2:13–15, NLT
From there, it’s a fiery and unpleasant final lava lake toss for the Evil One and victory in Jesus Christ. You know, the One all that begetting chronicles, proving that genealogies support the truth of the Bible. And that’s the most important news we can hear, dry or not!
Sacrifice Redefined - If you spend time in Leviticus, you’ll find several chapters outlining animal sacrifices for sin. There and in other parts of the Bible, the live sacrifice segments may seem gratuitous. Gross, even. If you’ve ever been behind a butcher shop counter, you know what I’m talking about. When you consider the sheer volume of animals brought forth for this purpose, especially during certain Jewish celebrations, and then think on the hot climate of the Holy Lands, we might consider details unnecessary. But they’re needed.
Outlining the care and diligence regarding how perfect, innocent, unblemished sacrificial animals were selected and presented reveals instruction in giving God only the very best we have to offer in our work and in following His teachings. These passage highlight what Jesus embodies in His sacrificial role. All the importance once placed on animal sacrifices is transferred and covered by the blood of Christ for us. It’s a sobering notion and reading about the very serious nature of past necessary rituals helps us put Jesus’ sacrifice and the New Covenant in stark perspective. Here’s one short sample.
3 When the high priest sins, he makes everyone else guilty too. And so, he must sacrifice a young bull that has nothing wrong with it. 4 The priest will lead the bull to the entrance of the sacred tent, lay his hand on its head, and kill it there. 5 He will take a bowl of the blood inside the tent, 6 dip a finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of it seven times toward the sacred chest behind the curtain. 7 Then, in my presence, he will smear some of the blood on each of the four corners of the incense altar, before pouring out the rest at the foot of the bronze altar[a] near the entrance to the tent. – Leviticus 4:3-7, NLT
The price for us, in Jesus and before Him, is the blood of innocents. We must never lose sight of the cost for our salvation.
The Where?! What?! When?!, AKA Geography, History, Social Studies – In places, the Bible surely gets hung up on where everyone was, the time of year, and the kinds of people (cultures, classes, faiths, nationalities) in the region. If the school subjects mentioned above were deadly boring to you, you may ask why the Bible needs such specifics.
The short answer is, because it matters. It matters in understanding the outlook and backgrounds of those listening to Jesus. It gives us better comprehension for why people reacted as they did. Understanding who was in those crowds often leads to discovering how scathing, humorous, ironic, or satirical the Messiah was being.
Consider Matthew 23:23-24, NLT: 23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[a] but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel![b]
The passage undoubtedly got a chuckle from the crowd as they pictured the arrogant, proud religious leaders carefully de-gnatting their cup of water only to leave a camel in it, the swallowing not only unsanitary but impossible. And you can bet the religious authorities harrumphed and turned red. Not only from the dripping sarcasm, but from the clever word play. The added layer is that the Aramaic word for gnat is ‘galma’ and the word for camel is ‘gamla’. This part of the exchange escapes us today, but it undoubtedly made the crowd laugh harder and the Pharisees burn sicker.
Here’s an example from John 6:1-7 involving the feeding of the multitude.
6 After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money[a] to feed them!” – John 6:1-7, NLT
When discussing food to feed the crowd, Jesus asks the young man called Philip where they might find enough supplies locally. Why this lesser-known follower and not one of the more prominent disciples? Because Philip is from the Bethsaida region. Andrew, too, and so he’s involved in their conversation as well.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41 Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”[a]).
42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”[b]).
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown. – John 1:40-44, NLT
8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” – John 6:8-9, NLT
The 5,000 are gathered by the rural fishing settlement of Bethsaida, meaning the crowd was composed of lower-class or working-class Jewish peasants. Their living was done hand-to-mouth where food was concerned. One bad fishing day or one slight increase in taxes leveled by Roman or local authorities, and people went hungry. The barley loaves the boy produces along with the fish attests to such humble means. Barley was the cheapest breadmaking grain of the region, and all the poor could afford. Such details help us understand how significant a miracle regarding food was to them. And why the memory of it and of Jesus’ message lingered in their minds long after the events of that meal.
Given where this is taking place and who’s in the crowd, it tracks. There is sense in the how, the why, and the miracle aftermath. Matt’s mentioned before that unknown ancient cities uncovered by archeologists have been identified based on Biblical accounts of their regions and scriptural depictions in relation to other sites.
If the minute details of scripture are so accurately recorded, it shows that writers were intentional on setting them down and making a record. That way, the incredible things they were seeing and relating to later generations would also carry greater credence and reliability. When the natural world is described in such detail, supernatural signs and wonders the writers related are hard to dismiss.
The writers of the Bible, both Testaments, are like ancient mapmakers. They took note of the where, the who, and the when, then combined them a roadmap which leads to Jesus Christ and the Good News of Salvation. Sometimes the road outlined is sparse and plain, other times there are many small yet notable details that make the journey richer, more fulfilling. We all have our favorite parts of the Holy Bible, but all of it is important for varieties of different reasons and in different seasons of our lives.
There are many great Study Bibles available with historical-cultural context. One is the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, available in many different translations. I’ve also used the ESV Archeology Study Bible. Both have study sections right alongside the scripture references indicating timeline elements with potential for added insights regarding Bible passages.
If you’re interested in exploring the Bible and its teachings along with us, please join us online at Connexion Mount Vernon IL here: https://www.facebook.com/connexion07
Please join us at ConneXion MtV Mountain View MO here: https://www.facebook.com/ConneXionMTV
(And see last Sunday’s message, Week 5 of the Old Testament Heroes Series Vol. 2, “Elijah: Discouraged Prophet, Faithful Hero’ by Pastor Daniel Marshall, here: https://www.youtube.com/live/zOnUrgcCdDM )
