But Jesus has a view in which study is equated with prayer and worship.
Occidental culture studies in order to know; Hebraic culture studies in order to reveal and form an intimate relationship. This gives rise to the Hebrew idiomatic pattern of using the verb ‘to know’ as a euphemism for forming a significant relationship. (“Adam knew Eve.”)
The Occident overemphasizes abstract conceptual knowledge, and thereby underemphasizes knowledge as personal acquaintance. Some people find study unattractive because they are familiar only with the Occidental pattern thereof.
Not only does the Occident overemphasize the one and underemphasize the other, but it also neglects the close connection between the two.
Jesus is clearly identified as a ‘teacher’ (cf. John 8:31 and other passages), and His disciples are His ‘pupils.’
This understanding of knowledge leads to a recognition that ‘spirit’ and ‘life’ are one (cf. John 6:63). There is no Platonic division: What is spiritual is in this world, not some other dimension or some future universe.
A Hebraic worldview does not sharply distinguish between the physical and the spiritual; it sees body and soul as two aspects of one being, whereas Occidental thought sees body and soul as two separate entities.
Thus when Moses commands us to “choose life” (Deut. 30:19), he is encouraging us to live spiritually in this physical world, to engage in this world. Jesus says that “the flesh counts for nothing,” meaning that it cannot be considered apart from its spiritual aspect - just as whatever is ‘spirit’ is also meaningless in isolation, and obtains meaning only in conjunction with “life.”
It is the words of Jesus which take ‘flesh’ and ‘spirit’ - both of which ‘count for nothing’ on their own - and unite them and give them meaning and power.
We can see in the temptation narrative that the desert is a place of power (Matthew 4): in Scripture, powerful things happen in the desert. Consider the prophets and what they did in the desert (cf. Acts 7:30, 8:26; Hebr 11:38). Jesus is empowered against temptation.
Jesus uses Scripture against temptation in the wilderness (desert) narrative. Scripture inspires and is inspired, i.e., brings life and has been filled with life. Consider the linguistic origin of ‘inspire,’ which deals with inhalation. Thus Jesus says that the Word is ‘life and spirit.’
[These thoughts taken from a talk given by Dwight Pryor on Friday, September 30, 1994]
