Grasshopper Greek: Getting Focused #1 (wide-angle)

Our lenses are three.
We need them all.
If we hope to see
Wide and far and small.

Today, my little Grasshopper, we are talking about lenses. To properly focus on the Bible we must look at it in three different ways. Our example text is the story of Jesus healing the Gerasene demoniac in Mark 5.

Lens #1: Looking at the Bible through a wide-angle lens

In photography, a wide-angle lens is used for taking in as much of a scene as possible. Photographers use wide-angle lens to take pictures of landscapes. They are also used for group photos.

Studying the Bible with a wide-angle lens means that we seek to understand how a story fits in with its context. What is on either side of this passage? How is this passage related to what is around it? What’s the big picture?

The story of the Gerasene demoniac is the second in a series of stories demonstrating Jesus’ power. The section begins with Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4. There’s a clear break with the previous section which is a collection of parables.

Here’s one way of outlining this section:

Jesus demonstrates his power…

1. Over nature: Calms a storm
2. Over evil spirits: Expels a legion of demons
3. Over sickness: Heals an old woman
4. Over death: Raises a young girl from the dead
5. But not over human hearts: Rejected in Nazareth

After this there is a clear break and the beginning of a new section in which Jesus sends out the twelve disciples. If we want to use a really wide-angle lens we might want to ask how does this section about Jesus demonstrating his power fit in with the entire gospel.

How does relating this section to its surroundings help us to understand it?

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Grasshopper Greek

Go to the next lens: telescope