Lesson 3 | Pressing in deeper: author's tone, probing questions and restating

Ask questions of the text

No doubt, while recording observations for the previous assignment, a fair number of questions came to your mind. Questions about the meaning of words or concepts. Questions concerning related passages or contrasting ideas; concerning historical circumstances or theological issues. These, and questions of any other sort, will help you to make more observations in pursuit of answers as you begin the task of interpretation.
Yet let’s not assume that asking probing, insightful questions comes naturally. It is, in fact, hard work and often goes against the grain of our typical habits. John Piper offers the following exhortation:
We must form the habit of being systematically disturbed by things that at first glance don’t make sense. Or to put it a different way, we must relentlessly query the text…

But there are several strong forces which oppose our relentless and systematic interrogating of biblical texts. One is that it consumes a great deal of time and energy on one small portion of Scripture. We have been schooled (quite erroneously) that there is a direct correlation between reading a lot and gaining insight. But in fact there is no positive correlation at all between quantity of pages read and quality of insight gained. Just the reverse. Except for a few geniuses, insight diminishes as we try to read more and more.

Insight or understanding is the product of intensive, headache-producing meditation on two or three verses and how they fit together. This kind of reflection and rumination is provoked by asking questions of the text. And you cannot do it if you hurry. Therefore, we must resist the deceptive urge to carve notches in our bibliographic gun. Take two hours to ask ten questions of Galatians 2:20 and you will gain one hundred times the insight you would have attained by reading thirty pages of the New Testament or any other book. Slow down. Query. Ponder. Chew.
Brothers, Let Us Query the Textby John Piper

When Piper states, “in fact there is no positive correlation at all between quantity of pages read and quality of insight gained,” is he making an argument against reading whole books of the Bible as we instructed in lesson one? No, for at least two reasons: (1) John Piper elsewhere advocates for reading whole books. (2) What he is arguing against here is reading a large volume of books (Scripture included) only for volume’s sake. (Just to check off the box in the scripture reading plan, perhaps?)
Moreover, what Piper does argue for is exactly what this and the previous lessons are aiming at, namely, the necessity of slowing down in order to press into a text of Scripture with careful observation and probing questions. Let me offer the following encouragements to you as you dig deeply into Scripture by asking questions.
As valuable as it is to record your observations, it is just as important to record your questions.
Use the same prompts as with observations to start your questions: Who…? What…? When…? Where…? Why…? And How…?
As with making observations, don’t be afraid to record any and every question that comes to mind. It is always worth asking, just as it is always worth writing the answers you discover. Sometimes just the work of framing a question helps to sort out larger interpretive issues.
Ask questions you think you already know the answer to. We bring a host of assumptions and preconceived notions about words, ideas, interpretations, etc. and hopefully much of that is accurate. However, our fundamental approach to Scripture should be with a teachable heart and mind, open to correction and redirection.
For example, consider the term sanctification and its verb sanctify. Does it refer to precisely the same thing in all of the following passages? Moreover, which passages correlate to the theological term sanctification (often paired or contrasted with justification)?
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.  (John 17:17 ESV)
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'  (1 Cor 1:30-31 ESV)
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.  (1 Cor 6:11 ESV)
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."  (1 Thess 5:23 ESV)
But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (2 Thess 2:13-14 ESV)
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.  (Heb 9:13-14 ESV)
And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  (Heb 10:10 ESV)
Some of these passages do share the same meaning for “sanctify” and some do indeed directly correspond to what is meant by sanctification in theological terminology. Others reference something far closer to what we mean theologically when we speak of justification. The point of this example is simply that we need to be very careful with our assumptions, and asking thorough questions will help us avoid potential misunderstandings of the text.
Don’t run too quickly to outside resources to seek answers. We should be willing to let some of these questions linger and simmer. Over time, we may well discover a sound answer, or it may take some time to refine the question or eliminate incorrect answers. Allowing plenty of time for a question to marinate in your heart and mind will be far more valuable than quickly getting the answer from someone else. Thinking long and well on our own first will also make us much more discerning when we do turn to commentaries, etc. Which leads to the next point...
This is not to say we should never pursue outside help. We are privileged to have wonderful resources available in print and in the wise counsel of mature believers. We absolutely should avail ourselves of these resources and should not be lone rangers (or worse, mavericks) in our Bible study. So don’t study the Bible in isolation. Bring your questions to the discussion at the family table, over coffee with a friend, and with your small group. Give others the space to affirm, push back, correct, and stir you on “to love and good works.” (Hebrews 10:24)
Finally, know that not every question will have an answer. And that, for any number of reasons: 
We simply may not be able to overcome the distance between the historical/culture situation in Scripture and our own. What, for example, was Paul referring to when he speaks of “baptism on behalf of the dead”? (1 Cor. 15:29) We must honestly say we don’t know for sure.
Scripture may be intentionally ambiguous on a particular point. When Paul says that, “For the love of Christ controls us…” does he mean Christ’s love for him, Christ’s love for the lost, or his love for Christ? Or is the answer to that question simply, “Yes”?
We may be pressing into things for which we simply will not ever gain an answer, for how can the finite comprehend the infinite? (Ask Job about this one.)
And furthermore, God, very often, reveals his wisdom by not answering the questions we want to ask—even the questions that seem most urgent. Consider the prophet Jeremiah. Chapters 18 and 19 give a clear account of the kind of rejection and opposition Jeremiah encountered. In 20:1-6, Jeremiah is publicly flogged and put in the stocks. When released, he continues his prophesying against the leaders and people of Judah. Then, in 20:7-18, Jeremiah pours out his private lament before God, culminating in his plea, “Why did I come from the womb to see toil and sorrow and spend my days in shame?” To this desperate, urgent, essential question, God gives no answer. He remains silent. Does he not care? Is the question off base or downright inappropriate? Or is there something Jeremiah (and we!) need to feel the weight of, something that God points to by his wise silence?
Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

—1 Pet 1:10-11 ESV
Where did the prophets search and inquire but in the Scriptures available to them? We follow in their footsteps as we too make careful search and inquiry into the meaning and intent of Scripture.