10/13/2015
Week 5
How to Read the Gospels
How to Read a Parable
There is no perfect "one size fits all"
approach to the parables of Jesus,
but there are four basic principles for
interpreting a parable that will serve
you well as you read the Gospels.
How to Read a Parable
1. What is the immediate
circumstance of the parable? Why
did Jesus tell the parable? Who is the
audience? What does Jesus want to
accomplish? Why is the Gospel writer
giving us the parable right here?
How to Read a Parable
2. What is the structure of the
parable? Most parables have a
repeating pattern that leads to a
climax, and the point of the parable
is often in the resolution after the
climax.
How to Read a Parable
3. Is there anything in the details of
the parable that we need to
understand? The parables are often
concerned with details that are not
familiar to us, so a little thinking (and
maybe a little research) is helpful.
How to Read a Parable
4. What are the main points of the
parable? Keep the immediate
circumstances in mind. Be mindful of
the structure. Consider the details,
and then look for the main points of
the parable.
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How to Read a Narrative Passage
It isn't always obvious to us, but
interpreting a narrative passage in
the Gospels is often more difficult
than interpreting a parable. Here are
some questions to keep in mind.
How to Read a Narrative Passage
1. What is the structure of the
narrative passage? Stories about
Jesus often have characterization,
plot, climax, and resolution.
Discovering those help make the
passage more understandable.
How to Read a Narrative Passage
2. Where in the grand narrative of
Scripture does the passage best fit?
Is it creation, fall, redemption, or
restoration?
How to Read a Narrative Passage
3. Is the narrative passage descriptive
or prescriptive? Prescriptive
passages are recorded for us to tell
us how we ought to do things.
Descriptive passages tell us what
they did.
How to Read a Teaching Passage
It isn't always clear how we, as
modern gentile Christian readers,
should interpret some of the
teachings of Jesus targeted to his
first century Jewish listeners.
How to Read a Narrative Passage
1. How did Jesus' original audience
hear this teaching? We should
always ask, "What did it mean?"
before we ask, "What does it mean?"
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How to Read a Narrative Passage
2. How are we like Jesus' original
audience? In many ways we are like
Jesus' audiences. We doubt. We are
fearful. We are prideful and religious.
We are hypocrites.
How to Read a Narrative Passage
3. How are we unlike Jesus' original
audience? Our political and religious
situations are very different. We
believe in Jesus; they didn't. We can
read the Old Testament through the
lens of the New; they couldn’t.
How to Read a Narrative Passage
4. Where else in Scripture can you go
to confirm your interpretation of the
teaching passage? You should always
seek to confirm your interpretation
from other passages, especially the
writings of Paul.
Fifteen Minutes with God:
1.
Relax
(1 Min)
2.
Read
(4 Min)
3.
Reflect
(4 Min)
4.
Record
(2 Min)
5.
Request
(4 Min)
Further Reading:
For Next Week:
Living by the Book: The Art and Science of
Reading the Bible by Howard Hendricks
(Moody, 2007)
Acts and the Later New Testament History and
Missionary Journeys
-A brief history of the early church
-The New Testament books and the missionary
journeys
-Why we do missions in the modern day
The Hermeneutical Spiral by Grant Osborne (IVP,
2006)
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Pray:
Spend a few minutes getting to know the
people at your table. After everyone has
shared, go around the table and pray. Pray
that God would give you a clearer vision of
how you can be involved in his mission in the
world: pray, give, and go.
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