Noting a question from the text: reading like the Bereans
Some believers read the Bible thinking they must not ask questions: as if questioning amounted to doubting. The Bible says the opposite: it praises those who examine. This quest invites you to read by asking the text a question, then looking for the answer.
What it looks like in your day
After your reading, instead of closing your Bible, ask yourself: "What didn't I understand? What intrigues me?" Then write down a question. A few categories of useful questions:
- Observation question. "Who is this character?" "Where does the scene take place?" "What keeps coming back in this passage?"
- Meaning question. "Why does Jesus answer this way?" "What does this word mean?"
- Context question. "What happened before? Who is this text addressed to?"
- Coherence question. "How does this passage fit with that other one?"
Once the question is noted, look for an answer:
- Reread the passage with your question in mind. Sometimes the answer was there.
- Read the context, before and after.
- Consult a note or a commentary in your Bible, or ask someone.
- Note your answer, even a provisional one. If you find none, keep the question for later.
If you are in a hurry, one question is enough. If you are a beginner, no question is stupid. If you are shy, you can keep your notebook to yourself, or quietly ask a more advanced brother or sister.
What the Bible says
The book of Acts describes believers who distinguished themselves this way:
“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.”
The Jews of Berea were "more noble than those in Thessalonica": they received the word with all readiness of mind, but searched the Scriptures daily "whether those things were so." Examining is not a lack of faith: it is a mark of nobility. In the Gospel of John, Nicodemus asks an honest question:
“Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”
"How can a man be born when he is old?" Jesus doesn't rebuff him: he answers him at length. And the boy Jesus himself, at twelve, is found in the temple "sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions" (Luke 2:46). Questions are a path to understanding.
Pitfalls to avoid
Asking questions to attack. There is a difference between questioning to understand and questioning to contradict. Keep an open heart.
Expecting an immediate answer. Some questions take months, even years. Keep them. They are not a sign of weakness.
Stopping at the first answer found. On the internet, you will easily find strong opinions. Check with serious sources, and compare with the text itself.
Trying to explain everything. There will always be mysteries. The goal is not to understand everything, but to grow in understanding.
Trusting a single voice. An answer given by a commentary, a pastor or a friend is not to be taken without checking it in the text. The Bereans did.
Today, after your reading, write down a question. Look for its answer in the context, then note what you found.