Literature. That one word used to produce the same reaction in me as ‘communism’. I was not a fan.
I am not sure if I ever actually passed a legitimate English class in HS or College. I frankly don’t know how I got the paperwork. But at any rate, I left and cruised into my early 20’s with a distaste for the subject like a kid has for vegtables.
This was until someone pointed me to a few books. Perhaps, better, they pointed me to Leland Ryken. His books, How to Read the Bible as Literature, The Word of God in English, and then the publication of The ESV Literary Study Bible were revolutionary in my life. He taught me about the various genres in the Bible and how to approach them. He wrote about how to read above the individual verses and see the big picture of the chapter, section, and book come together. It is this last one that has so immensely helped me in my study of the Bible, and in particular, in preaching.
One thing that has happened is I have begun to appreciate the way in which the biblical authors tell the story. They frame it in very intentional ways in order to make profound theological points. As a result, I find myself continually impressed with the work these ancient writers put in.
Let me give you a few examples from the Gospel of Mark. I am preaching through Mark so these are on the front burner for me.
What Kind of King will he be?
In the opening words of the book we learn that Jesus is the long anticipated King of Israel. He is the Son of God. He was testified by the Prophets and God himself. He is then anointed as the King through baptism. This coronation ceremony of Jesus had The Father and The Holy Spirit present (1.9-11).
You come out of that passage thinking, “What kind of King will he be?”
We find out right away. In the next verses he is driven out to the wilderness to deal with Satan. He is going to do battle with the ancient foe of God and his people, the devil. He then goes about preaching, healing, and offering the Kingdom.
Mark sets this up to show us that he is God’s Son, his great King who will crush the serpent (Gen. 3.15), preach the good news of the gospel, and restore his people.
Who is He?
Throughout the book of Mark the question you want to keep asking is “Who is this Jesus?” (Mark 8.27). The thing is, the disciples, religious leaders, pagans, and pretty much everyone else, have no clue. The only ones who know who Jesus really is, is God (Mark 1.11) and the demons (1.24). Mark repeatedly surprises us with the misunderstanding of who Christ is by the people you would expect to get it and while the Demons are very clear.
They Forgot the Bread
In chapter 6 we read that Jesus feeds 5,000 men. Then he feeds 4,000 in chapter 8. The problem: The Disciples are not seeing who Jesus is. They are missing it.
Mark actually records that, after these bread miracles mind you, these disciples are talking about how they forgot the bread. They are worrying about what they are going to do.
In reality, of course, Mark is making the more profound point that they forgot the True Bread, Christ himself. The disciples were acting like they couldn’t see who Jesus really is.
To punctuate this, Mark follows this story by telling us that Jesus heals a blind man (8.22ff). And, not just any blind man, but this is a guy who had fuzzy vision and needed Jesus to continue to care for him (within the span of a few minutes) to help him to see. The guy became a perfect picture for the fuzzy vision of these forgetful disciples.
Be Like a Child
In chapter 10 Jesus is teaching about what it means to follow him. It is a long section that is bracketed by healing of blind people. Throughout the story Jesus is faithfully working on his disciples that they might see.
In chapter 10, verses 13-17 we learn that Jesus expects people to become like children in order to receive the kingdom. Children of course, had no stature, significance, value, self-sufficiency or real identity. They were dependent on their parents and seen to be quite less than important in that culture. Jesus wants his followers to abandon their self-significance, repudiating their self-worth, cast off their personal glory, and to find themselves content to be united to Christ. This is essentially what he means in 8.34 about …deny yourself…
What comes next? The rich, young ruler. This guy is the opposite of a child. He has significance, value, self-sufficiency, community stature, and self-dependence. At the heart of what this guy refused was to become like a child. He would not abandon himself to gain Christ.
Mark layers and punctuates the story carefully and powerfully in order to make his point.
Conclusion
I could go on and on in Mark. And, in fact, the whole Bible is filled with wonderful structure that arrests us theologically. Our challenge is to slow down, read, think, and pray, that we might see better ourselves.