The First Rule of Bible Reading

Yesterday in my sermon on Jesus’ third “I am” statement in the Gospel of John, I took a brief detour to remind our congregation of an indispensable practice for reading the Bible well.

For years, I’ve been taught the maxim: “Context is king.” It’s a sticky phrase I’ve memorized to help me remember that the very best clues to understand the meaning of a tricky verse or passage are found in the context surrounding the verse or passage in question.

When you’re reading the Bible, some verses leap off the page with clarity. Other passages require closer examination. But when a passage seems obscure or unclear, the first rule of Bible reading is to consider the context.

Here are some key questions to help you explore the context of any verse or passage:

• Who wrote it? And to whom?
• What happened in the previous verses and chapters?
• What comes next?
• How does that passage fit within the book as a whole?
• Are there other portions of Scripture that speak to the same idea?

I reminded our church yesterday that when John the Apostle sat down to compose his Gospel, he didn’t include chapter breaks or verse numbers.

It is often tempting for us to assume that chapter breaks always indicate complete units of thought or the whole depiction of an event or story. But that isn’t always the case. And, if you’re not careful, ignoring the context and connections between chapters and verses can obscure the meaning that would otherwise be obvious.

So, here is my challenge to you.

Become a better Bible reader by paying close attention to context clues as you study Scripture. It will increase your understanding and help the Bible come alive for you like never before.

The main thing

“Context is king” really is a great phrase to help you remember a key rule for Bible reading. But recently, I’ve heard that phrase said in a stronger, if slightly less memorable, way that I like even more:

Jesus is King and context is everything.

I’m not sure where that came from. But I like it because I believe the whole Bible is telling the story of a king and his kingdom. As I often tell our church, the Bible is about Jesus. And you will be a much Bible reader if you search the Scriptures looking for Jesus as the central point of God’s plan of redemption.

I love how simply the New Living Translation articulates this thought: “God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth” (Ephesians 1:9-10).

That plan is a summary of the story of the whole Bible. So today, as you read your Bible, don’t just look at isolated verses—look for Jesus in the full context of God’s unfolding plan.