Predicting the Biblical Narrative

How do we help church members come to a greater understanding of the biblical narrative? In his book, Small Teaching, James Lang identifies prediction as a means of helping learners gain a greater understanding of the content of a university classroom. With some adaptation, in some cases, this small teaching technique can be used to help Jesus followers increase retention, understanding, and application of the biblical narrative.Lang points out that the research on predicting the future of a narrative “prepare[s] your mind for learning by driving you to seek connections that will help you make an accurate prediction (p. 49).” He goes on to say, “when we are forced to make a prediction or give an answer to a question about which you do not have sufficient information, you are compelled to search around for any possible information you might have that could relate to the subject matter and help you make a plausible prediction (p. 49).” Attempting to predict, then, forces learners into a position that they must recall known information in order make accurate predictions.

Know your Audience

So, how can those of us who teach the Bible use this prediction principle? First, this technique lends itself most readily to narrative sections of Scriptures such as Law (more specifically the narrative sections of Genesis to Deuteronomy), History, New Testament Letters, and the Gospels. Wisdom and Prophetic literatures, such as Psalms, Proverbs, and Revelation, may not lend themselves as readily to this approach. Second, the use of this technique will vary based on the familiarity of the learners with the biblical narrative. Relative biblical novices may not have a fund of knowledge from which to draw to make good predictions. Thy simnply may not have enough knowledge of the Bible. Learners with advanced knowledge may already know the conclusion of a particular biblical narrative. For this technique to be most effective, there is no substitute for knowing your audience and tailoring it accordingly.

Applying Prediction

For example, read Matthew 19:3-9. In this passage, some Pharisees came to Jesus and asked him about divorce. After reading verse three, stop and ask your group, “Based on what you know about the Pharisees and Jesus’ previous interactions with them, what do you think their motivations were and what do you think is about to happen?” You could even go so far as to get them to write out the rest of the story as they think it will happen. Even if someone has come prepared to the Bible study and knows what happens next (which we certainly hope is the case!), asking this question places the learner in a position to recall what they already know about the Pharisees and what they know about their interactions with Jesus.An example from the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible, might be found in Joshua 6 and 7. After reading about the Israelites victory at Jericho, you might ask group members, “What do you think happens next in this story?” Unless group members have read Joshua 7:1, they likely will not predict an Israelite defeat at Ai. Once everyone makes a prediction, you might then read verse Joshua 7:1 and then ask the class how this information changes their prediction. “But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel (Joshua 7:1, NASB).” By asking group members to predict the future, especially in light of the (perhaps) unexpected turn of events of this passage, the teaching/learning moment goes beyond this passage to reinforcing all the information that learners used to make their prediction. It can also be used to correct any misinformation or misunderstanding members of your group may have.I would love to hear about your results when using this technique in teaching your Bible study.[Note: This is the second in a series of posts based on the application of James Lang’s book Small Teaching to facilitating small group Bible studies. To read the full series of posts, click here.]