Observation

What does the text say?

1. Ask investigative questions:

• Who is speaking? Who are the main people? Who is being spoken to?
• What is happening? What is the scene? What is the cultural context of the passage?
• Where is the passage taking place?
• When did or will the events take place?
• How did people respond? How did Jesus react?

2. Look for grammatical connections: repeated words, comparisons, contrast, cause and effect.
3. Identify keywords and phrases.
4. Note verb tenses for key verbs.
5. Look for conjunctions such as since and therefore. Why are those words in the sentence?

Interpretation

What does the passage mean?

1. Develop some questions based on the text. Ask what is the significance of your main observation and why they happened.
2. Imagine the perspective of the people in the scene. If Jesus spoke, why did he say what he said?
3. Answer the questions from the text and the context.
4. Try to summarize the passage in one sentence. What is the main point the author is communicating to the audience?

Application

What does the passage mean to me?

1. How do you respond to what this passage is saying? Does it challenge how you see the world?
2. Is there a central truth that needs to put into practice?
3. What are the implications of the passage for the community of which you are a part?

Pray that God will help you believe and obey.