When Knowledge Isn’t Enough

Scholar and Pastor

I love studying the Bible. Context, history, original languages, even archaeology—these are gifts that help us understand the story. But as much as I value scholarship, I’m also a pastor. And that means study is never an end in itself. Whatever we learn, whatever new insight we uncover, it has to land in an encounter with Jesus.

There’s a story near the end of the Gospels that makes this point powerfully. After his resurrection, Jesus meets two of his disciples on the road. He joins them, and then he does what you might think would be the ultimate faith-building experience: he gives them a Bible study. Luke tells us that Jesus explained all the scriptures concerning himself.

And yet—it doesn’t work.

They don’t recognize him. They don’t see who’s right in front of them.

The Moment of Recognition

It’s only later, when they sit down together at a table, when he breaks bread, gives thanks, and hands it to them, that their eyes are opened. Only then do they finally realize who they’ve been walking with all along.

That’s striking, isn’t it? Knowledge, study, even scripture—explained by Jesus himself—wasn’t enough to bring them to recognition. It was only when they experienced life with him, when they shared the table together, that the truth came alive.

This story suggests that quoting verses, memorizing passages, or winning theological arguments is never the heart of the Christian story. It’s not theory that saves us. It’s encounter. It’s the way of Jesus embodied in grace and peace.

More Than Bible Study

Now, don’t get me wrong. Study matters. Understanding context matters. But even Jesus leading a Bible study wasn’t enough to open the eyes of his disciples.

The Gospel writers included this story, I think, to remind us that knowing about Jesus is not the same thing as knowing Jesus. Interpreting scripture correctly is not the same thing as sharing a meal with him, listening to him, or allowing his way to reshape how we walk through the world.

What Really Matters

That’s the challenge for us. I could stand here and quote scripture at you all day long. But none of that would guarantee that I—or any of us—would recognize Jesus if he walked in the back of the room.

Recognition happens when Jesus is truly at the center of our lives. At the center of how we read the Bible, yes. But more importantly, at the center of how we view our neighbors. At the center of how we imagine who God is and what God is doing in the world.

If our lives, our theology, our study—even our preaching—don’t reflect the grace and peace of Jesus, then we’ve missed the point. Because the heart of the Christian story is not simply knowledge. It is the living presence of Christ shaping us into people of love.

And anything less than that—even if it comes wrapped in a Bible—is still less than the heart of God.