Introduction
Up and down. Left to right. The simple movement of one’s finger on a screen has become an innate habit in almost every person in the western world. From browsing the news headlines to reading the barrage of notifications from the family group chat, we spend a significant amount of time scrolling on various devices for a variety of purposes. Scrolling is not just a modern phenomenon since the arrival of the iPhone’s touch display, nor is it a mere invention since mice connected to bitmap screens (though to many readers, that is ancient history!). Scrolling is an ancient task that the Lord Jesus Himself performed. By examining an incident from Luke 4 of Christ in Nazareth physically and tangibly scrolling left to right through the powerful papyrus of Isaiah, the believer can learn valuable lessons as to what one should bear in mind when scrolling through the digital world.
The Discipline of Reading
“He stood up … to read” (Luk 4:16). As Christ scrolled left to right using the Isaiah scroll, we gain a vital insight into how believers today should handle the Scriptures. This was no new task for the Lord; Luke records that it was “His custom” to do so. Firstly, we notice that He utilised the Scriptures for a purpose: to read them. The scroll was seven meters long, 66 chapters, and contained a wealth of prophetic material, and Christ carefully and reverently scrolled using the Atzei Chayim (wooden rollers attached to ends) in order to audibly read the Scriptures to the synagogue audience. This presents an incredibly elementary lesson for us all: the Saviour read with purpose, and so should we. In our digital age, where it takes far less effort to scroll through articles, posts, social feeds and much more, we can lose the discipline of carefully reading with purpose and care.
One common piece of advice given to children during a comprehension exam is to “read carefully and closely.” Such advice should also be ours. This contrasts sharply with the antithesis of many online users today who scroll carelessly through vast amounts of content, with various consequences. Importantly, rapid scrolling promotes superficial reading because it disrupts the brain’s ability to create a “cognitive map,” which is necessary to form a comprehensive understanding of the material in question, and so the brain becomes conditioned to skim rather than examine details. The outcome? As believers, we may develop a subconscious habit of superficially reading the Scriptures without fully understanding the details. This reality should be alarming, as it shows how digital habits can influence our daily spiritual lives. These are not the words of one who is resistant to innovation or the value of technology but one who has a genuine concern about how our current scrolling habits might hinder our engagement with the Word of God, whether in digital or physical form. When our Saviour read and handled the Scriptures, He did so with care, and we should follow His example.
Secondly, Christ handled the scroll with seriousness. This was a public gathering of Jews where the Scriptures were paramount. That same attitude should prevail with believers today. When Jesus read in Nazareth, the scroll was not left lying open but was carefully handed back to the attendant (Luk 4:20). That reverence should challenge us: do we treat the Word of God with the same seriousness? Or has scrolling trained us to flit casually between content, leaving the Bible to compete with a feed of distractions? That is why Paul’s charge to Timothy remains vital: “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1Ti 4:13).1 The believer must cultivate habits of careful reading in both private and public. In our gatherings, the public reading of Scripture dignifies the text and guards against the temptation to treat it casually.
The Desire for More Content
“He found the place” (Luk 4:17). The second principle emerges when Jesus deliberately located the passage in Isaiah 61. He ensured that the people were fed with the Word of God. By contrast, our digital “feeds” are often designed not to nourish but to keep us endlessly consuming. Social media platforms deliberately remove natural stopping points, fostering the habit of “doom scrolling.” Christ, however, read with intention, and when His purpose was complete He “closed the book” (v20). His example contrasts sharply with our tendency towards mindless, open-ended consumption of content.
This raises important questions: What do we feed on when we scroll? Are our hearts nourished by Scripture or dulled by triviality, comparison or despair? Much of our scrolling is driven by FOMO – the fear of missing out. Psychologists note that such habits are underpinned by dopamine-driven reward loops, not unlike gambling, where each notification or new feed provides a fleeting sense of satisfaction. The result is addiction, not edification. For believers, this compulsion must be challenged by higher priorities. Rather than fearing missing out on content, we should fear losing out on eternal reward. Paul commended the household of Stephanas who “addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints” (1Co 16:15). The question is not simply whether we scroll, but what we seek while scrolling. The Lord found the place where God’s Word spoke of Him. Do we find the place where His Word addresses us, or do we simply seek the next update?
The Detail that Could Be Missed
“This day is this scripture fulfilled” (Luk 4:21). The third principle lies in the precision of Christ’s reading. From Isaiah 61 He declared, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” but He omitted the phrase “and the day of vengeance of our God.” That omission was deliberate, for the day of vengeance was yet future. The Lord not only found the right place but knew the right place to stop. His example reminds us that reading Scripture carefully involves to both what is included and what is excluded. Scrolling habits, by contrast, encourage carelessness and skimming, dulling our ability to notice detail and context. This has serious consequences. If we read Scripture superficially, we risk missing the nuances that safeguard sound doctrine. Many confusions in eschatology and other areas of theology arise because readers rely on quick online summaries or endless streams of commentary rather than patient study of the text itself. Scrolling and skimming cannot substitute for meditation and reflection. The Spirit leads believers into all truth through careful engagement with God’s Word, not through hurried consumption. Just as Christ’s reading in Nazareth displayed reverence and precision, so must ours. To read without care is to risk spiritual shallowness; to read with care is to encounter the fullness of divine truth.
Conclusion
Navigating the digital world is not straightforward. Used wisely, technology can benefit the believer. But it requires vigilance to prevent habits of scrolling from eroding the discipline of reading, from feeding our appetite for endless novelty, or from dulling our attention to detail. In Luke 4, the Lord Jesus demonstrates a better way: He read with reverence, fed the people with the Word, and handled the text with precision. These lessons apply directly to our digital lives. We are called not to scroll endlessly but to read carefully, not to crave new content but to feed on satisfying, scriptural truth, and not to skim lightly but to weigh up every word with care.
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV.
