Do you remember what it was like when you first learned to drive an automobile? Even better, do you remember learning to drive an automobile with a manual transmission? Learning to let the clutch out so that the car accelerated smoothly from a standing stop, rather than lurching along in fits and starts? Either way, at first the task demanded all of your attention. Accelerating, braking, shifting, turning, driving straight down the road — had to concentrate on each and every activity to make sure you got it right.
Experience Makes Study Routine.
Now, fast forward a few years, do you ever find that you’ve commuted 30 miles to work, and don’t remember making a certain turn? And you certainly don’t remember every time you braked, released the clutch, accelerated, and turned. After you get some experience, all of these actions became habits, even navigating of relatively complicated route became automatic and required less and less of your attention. We’re not talking about driving carelessly, not at all. Were talking about experience making complicated tasks routine, and requiring less of your immediate attention.
The same will be true for learning to read the Bible as it was meant to be read. At first, it may seem quite laborious and complex, but over time the various steps will become automatic and, if not effortless, at least not daunting. And like driving, the rewards can come to far outweigh any effort required. So keep this in mind as we move forward.
Identifying Scenes
Books are made up of chapters; symphonies of movements; stories consist of scenes. The men who divided the Bible into chapters and verses made it easier for us to locate particular passages. That was a great service. But it also has a tendency to strongly influence how we read the text. In Matthew’s account, the story of The Bleeding Woman consists of eight verses. If we are going to read a story, however, we need to focus on scenes. To understand the story as story, we must first divided into scenes. The NIV groups the verses together in such a way as to suggest that there are four scenes
18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.
Analyzing Scenes
We might consider that the middle two groupings actually make up one scene, but it’s not that crucial that issue. So we will just approach it as four scenes. In each scene, we want to take note of the following:
- Setting: where the action takes place
- Characters: the people and/or beings (gods, angels, for example) involved, taking note of which ones are named.
- Conflict: obstacles, opposition, difficulties faced by or between characters
- Resolution: what the characters do about the conflictSummary: a brief description of what happens in the scene, informed by the first four points above.
- Questions/points of interest: what things stand out in this verse that you need to know more about, raise questions in your mind, or add interest?
Scene 1
18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
Setting; A few verses earlier, Jesus calls Matthew to be his disciple. For our purposes, all we have to do is Google “where did Jesus meet Matthew,” and we soon find this Took Pl. in Capernaum.
Characters: Jesus, “synagogue leader,” Jesus’ disciples
Conflict: daughter of synaguge leader has died; father wants Jesus to raise her
Resolution: None in this scene.
Question(s)/Point(s) of interest: “synagogue leader” has great faith in and respect for Jesus
Scene 2
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
Setting; Capernaum.
Characters: bleeding woman
Conflict: woman with chronic affliction believes touching Jesus garment will heal her
Resolution: None in this scene.
Question(s)/Point(s) of interest:
Scene 3
22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
Setting; Capernaum.
Characters: Jesus, bleeding woman
Conflict: Not obvious. That’s why it might be better to combine the previous scene with this one as single scene.
Resolution: Woman is healed
Question(s)/Point(s) of interest: Jesus does not say he healed the woman, but that her faith had!
Scene 4
23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.
Setting; synagogue leader’s home in Capernaum.
Characters: Jesus, crowd (some playing pipes), synagogue leader’s daughter
Conflict: Jesus tells crowd girl is not dead but asleep. Crowd laughs, he banishes them.
Resolution:In girl’s room, he takes her by and and she rises, alive News spreads through “all that region.”
Question(s)/Point(s) of interest: Why was a crowd there? What was the significance of some “playing pipes.”
Next we will arrange this information in columns by scene. This will reveal some interesting things, and show us how to go forward.
