Learning to ask questions about a text is one of a few basic skills you can develop, that will help you achieve great strides towards depth of understanding, as you study the bible.

As a reminder, the verse that we have chosen to explore is Mark 12:13-17.

At this point we are trying to remove any bias we may have towards the Scripture.  We want to make as few assumptions as possible.  Our primary concern is to ask questions, to be answered later.  Therefore, do not get hung up on what you think you know or how a question sounds.  Just jot your questions down as quickly as you can.

Reminders

1)  You are not consulting any commentaries at this time.  You want to remove bias, not insert it, before you have had a chance to draw your own conclusions.

2)  There are no wrong questions.

3)  Ask as many follow up questions as possible, to your original questions.

4)  Do not discount any questions because you think they are irrelevant to the meaning of this verse.  You can make those determinations at a later time.

Starter Questions

1)  Who are the characters in the passage?

2)  Where do the events take place?

3)  Since it is one of the Gospel accounts, is this event recorded in one or more of the other Gospel accounts? (If this event is in one of the other accounts do not ask questions of those passages.  Stay focused on this passage in Mark.)

Put Your Thinking Cap On

Take the week and ask as many questions as possible.  At first it may seem a little difficult, but if you are persistent, they will come.  This may be a new exercise for you.  If so, it is not uncommon for it to feel a little stressful.  Take a break when you need to;  there is no need to get  overwhelmed.

Your questions can be related to the people, the culture, the place where the event happened, any objects mentioned, application of principles or lessons being taught, etc…?  Some of the questions you will ask, will not need to be answered to get to the meaning of this particular verse, but taking time to answer your questions will give you greater insight that will help you later down the road.

A good goal  for this passage of Scripture is between 15-20 questions.  If you have more, that is great.  If you have less, that is okay as well.  You will have an opportunity next week to compare your questions to others.

Next week we will look at a series of questions that have been compiled by a group of students I recently helped work through this verse of Scripture.  You will be able to compare your questions to theirs.  Learning to ask questions is more of an art form and less of a science.  With a little practice it will start to feel more natural.

If you feel stuck, step away for a few hours or even a day or two.  Sometimes a question will come when we least expect it.  It is a good idea to keep your phone or a notebook and pen available to write down these unexpected questions.  I often times use the voice memo app on my phone to record short notes.

If there are any observations you would add to this part of the bible study process, or, if you have any questions, please contact us so we can continue to better clarify this process.