How to start reading a Gospel

Choose one Gospel and read it from the beginning, following a complete episode rather than opening at a random verse. Mark is a workable starting point for this reading exercise. Keep a place marker and a short note of anything you want to ask. You do not need to finish the whole book in one sitting or understand every unfamiliar expression before continuing.

Find the book, chapter and verse

A reference such as Mark 2:1–12 means the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 2, verses 1 through 12. In a printed Bible, use the contents page to find Mark. The large chapter number and the smaller verse numbers help you locate the passage. In a Bible app, choose the book and chapter, then check the verse range. A page number works only for that particular edition.

For your first reading, keep one edition open so that you can follow the narrative without switching between several wordings. If a sentence is hard to understand, mark it and come back to it after reading the whole episode. The purpose of the reference is to help you find the text again. It need not become a reason to read one numbered sentence in isolation from the rest of the account.

Give the story room to unfold

Begin at the start of the Gospel you have chosen. Read a section in which an event or conversation reaches a natural stopping point. If a chapter ends while a discussion is still continuing, look ahead before stopping. Notice changes of place and the people who enter the scene. These observations are a useful way to keep track of the account before turning to an explanation of it.

Biblica’s New Testament reader’s guide encourages reading books as connected texts and using their introductions. Its advice is helpful even if you choose a different pace from its group reading plan. Pick a manageable amount, read attentively and leave yourself a clear place to resume. If you miss a day, return to the passage rather than trying to make up an exhausting amount at once.

Try a complete episode: Mark 2:1–12

In Mark 2:1–12, Jesus is in Capernaum and a crowd gathers. Four people bring a paralyzed man, but they cannot reach Jesus through the crowd. They open the roof and lower the man on his mat. Jesus speaks of forgiveness. Some scribes question this, and Jesus responds before telling the man to get up and take his mat home. The man does so, and those present are amazed.

Read it once to follow what happens. Then read it again with attention to the conversation. Who is speaking aloud? Whose thoughts does the narrator describe? What question do the scribes raise, and how does Jesus answer it? The account itself gives you material to examine. You can point to a verse when describing what you noticed instead of relying on a general memory of the story.

Separate an observation from a question

Try writing two short notes. Under “What I noticed,” record something the passage states: the people cannot reach Jesus because of the crowd, or the scribes question his words about forgiveness. Under “What I want to understand,” put the question that follows for you. For example: how does the healing relate to the discussion of forgiveness? Keep your own proposed answer separate until you have examined it.

This exercise also helps when an explanation supplies details you did not notice in the passage. Ask which verse supports them. If you want to know more about the roof, consult a source about the historical setting; avoid filling in an elaborate scene from imagination. Reading carefully includes noticing what the account leaves unstated. Your notes can remain brief enough to reread before the next section.

What to do with unfamiliar words

Make a small list of terms that affect your understanding of the scene. Start with the most important one instead of looking up every word immediately. Read the nearby sentences, check an introduction or a note in your edition, and consider whether the term returns later in the book. When using a commentary, keep track of its author so you can distinguish that explanation from the Gospel text.

You can also listen to an audio reading while following the printed passage. Pause if you lose your place. If you compare a second translation, compare the same whole sentence and read the notes that accompany a difference. A changed English word by itself does not explain why the translators chose it. Detailed comparison can wait until you can follow the episode in one edition.

Return to the text after a conversation

Bring a specific passage to someone who can discuss it with you. Show the reference and say what you found difficult. After the conversation, read the episode again and see whether the explanation helps you follow it. You may have a further question. That gives your next conversation a definite starting point rather than requiring you to recall everything you have heard about the Bible.

Our article on why the Bible matters to Baptists explains its place in church life. For a visit to Spasenie in Winter Park, near Orlando, use the first-visit guide or the church contacts to ask whom to speak with about your reading. Bring the passage and the question you wrote beside it.