Bible Study Techniques—Understanding Narrative Writing

Much of the Bible is written in story form.  This is what we call narrative in literature.  In the New Testament, the four gospels and Acts are mostly narrative.  However, even in the epistles of Paul there are some narrative sections.  The book of Revelation also has a lot of narrative.  In the Old Testament, the first half of the Bible from Genesis to Job is mostly narrative.   The major and minor prophets have quite a bit of narrative mixed in with the prophecies.  Song of Solomon is a narrative song.  Even Psalms and Proverbs have some narrative.  Therefore, it is helpful to apply the knowledge that you already have about understanding stories to the Bible.  All narratives, whether they are inspired by God or simply the imagination of humans share some similar characteristics which you can use to help you comprehend what you are reading better.  In short, all narratives have a setting, characters, and a plot. 

When I am reading a story in a Bible passage, I frequently ask myself where and when the story is taking place, i.e., the setting.  What has already occurred before this?  What will happen next?  How does this passage fit into the flow of time?  For example, Jesus said something that confused me a lot when I was younger in Matthew chapter sixteen.  “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (Mat 16:28).  At that time, I thought Jesus coming in His kingdom meant His second coming, but I knew that all of the people who heard Jesus’ words had died long ago, and Jesus has not returned yet.  I also knew that Jesus would not lie, so I was confused and just skipped over that verse thinking that it was a mystery that I could never solve.  However, the answer was right there in the narrative.  Matthew seventeen gives us the clue that just six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain with Him where they saw Him transfigured into a figure of heavenly glory.  Jesus was not speaking of His second coming in Matthew 16:28. He was referring to His transfiguration.  By thinking about where the Bible passage fit into the flow of events, the meaning was easily found.  One Bible study tool that can help with chronology is a Bible timeline.  I do not use them much because I get confused by complex lines and charts, but if you are a person who likes to put your schedule in Excel, get a Bible timeline.  In addition, as you become more familiar with the Bible, look for connections between people living in the same time periods.  Search for points of intersection between the various stories that happen during similar times.  Finally, take what you know of secular history during this time, and apply it to the Biblical passage.

Another part of the setting is the location where the narrative is happening.  Many times, we have a tendency to skip over strange place names thinking that they have no importance in helping us to understand the scriptures, but the opposite is true.  They can be keys to understanding what is happening in the passage.  For example, 1 Peter 1:1 gives important information that gives us insight into Peter’s thinking.   “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,” (1Pe 1:1).  If you pull out a Bible map, you will see that these places are all located in the general area of Paul’s first and second missionary journeys.  Peter was writing to Gentile Christians, but he addresses them as “elect exiles of the dispersion,” which is the language that the Jews would use for themselves in exile.  From these clues, we can see that Peter viewed the Gentile Christians as his own people who were scattered around the area that is known as Turkey today.  We can also infer that many of the people that he was writing to were introduced to Jesus through Paul’s influence.  In other words, knowing the location helps us to find connections between people and messages that we would miss if we skipped over the strange place names.  One of the most helpful tools that I have found are Bible maps.  I use e-Sword, so I access my maps electronically.  Then I copy and paste the relevant section of the map into my word document where I have my Bible study notes.  If you use hardcopy maps like those found in the back of your Bible, you can use colored pencils to mark relevant places that you are studying.  If you do not want to write in your Bible, try photocopying the map off, marking it up, and inserting it into your Bible study notes.  Another place to access Bible maps is online.

A second component of all narratives is the characters.  As you read a passage, pick out all the characters involved in the story.  Sometimes, we skim over people who are mentioned and do not realize their importance.  Are the characters familiar from other stories, or are they only introduced to us in this one place?  Can you get more details about the characters from somewhere else?  What do you know about this person from the passage?  Is the character mentioned by name?  Remember, the Bible is given by inspiration from God.  Every detail that is included is important in some way.  If you put the details together, you start understanding more about people’s motivations and why they act certain ways in the narrative.  One example of how paying attention to all the characters can make a story clearer is in Mark chapter seven where Jesus calls a Gentile woman a dog.  If you only consider the interaction between the poor woman and Jesus, this behavior seems horrible and out of character, but if you consider that the disciples were present witnessing this event, then you begin to get a hint that Jesus was teaching them a lesson about their prejudice against Gentiles.  Remember, the characters in the Bible were real people with real emotions and real problems.  Imagine how people you know would feel and react in the situation in the passage.  Also, remember that God is the main character in every Bible story.  Look for Him there.  Think about God’s character of love, and if something seems out-of-sync with that character, ask yourself “why?”  Some of the most profound insights that I have had about God came from looking at the personality and motivations of everyone involved in the narrative, including God.

A final characteristic of all narratives is that there is a plot.  Look for the order in which the events take place.  Pick out all the details that are included in the story.  Is something surprising?  Why is one detail mentioned when others are not?  Why is it important?  Sometimes, you may need to write down your own timeline of events in order to keep track of what is happening.  One example of a narrative where there is a plot inside of a plot is the story of Jairus and his daughter told in Luke chapter eight.  Jairus begs Jesus to come heal his daughter, and Jesus says yes, but on the way a messenger says that the daughter has already died.  Jesus tells Jairus to have faith, and they continue to the house where Jesus says that the girl is only sleeping, throws out all the mourners, and raises the little girl from the dead.  Jesus cautions Jairus not to tell anyone what happened.  Now, this story by itself is complex with lots of lessons from the need for the synagogue leader to humble himself because of his love for his daughter to the fact that people were laughing and mocking Jesus in the story.  However, another plot twist happens on the way to the house when Jesus stops and heals a woman with an issue of blood.  Most times, we focus on one story or the other, but when you consider how they are taking place together, the tension increases.  Imagine, Jairus’ impatience as the miracle-working rabbi stops and asks who touched Him.  Imagine the what-if questions in his mind.  “What if we hadn’t stopped to talk to that woman?  Would my daughter have died?”  Those questions would have made it even harder for Jairus to have faith when Jesus asked it of him.  Following the plot twists and considering their effects on the characters help us to understand the passage more deeply.  I find that it is helpful to ask myself why something happened in a plot.  For example, when Paul is being taken as a prisoner to Rome on a boat, why does Paul feel competent to give sailing advice in Acts 27:10?  (He had been shipwrecked before and traveled by boat numerous times.)  Or why did they undergird the boat in verse 17?  (They were afraid that the wooden boat would split apart in the raging storms.)  Getting all the details of the plot and their significance straight in your mind can help you get a better understanding of the message that God is communicating in the passage.

Part of understanding narratives is to try to visualize what is taking place.  For this, you need to think about the setting.  Is the story set inside a house or on a mountain?  Is it morning or midnight?  Think about what the characters look like and the kinds of facial expressions that they might have in that situation.  Picture the action as it takes place step by step.  When you try to visualize the story, you have to go back to the passage and look for these details.  Visualizing is one of the hardest and yet most rewarding techniques for learning from narrative passages.  When we visualize Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane sweating great drops of blood and stumbling over to His sleeping disciples to ask them to wake up and pray, we have a greater appreciation of the love of our Savior and the depths to which He was willing to descend because He was not willing to lose you or me.  When we visualize a passage, we put ourselves in the story, and there inside the narrative, we see God’s love for us most clearly.

In conclusion, most of the Bible is a story that has been told so that we can understand God’s faithful interactions with humans and trust that He wants to interact with us just as faithfully.  We can see this more clearly if we read these stories and visualize them using our knowledge of narrative structure.  We look to see where and when the story takes place, who the characters are, and make sure that we understand the significance of the details of the plot that are provided.  When we put those pieces together, we can see God more clearly, and that will transform us.