Most of us read the Gospels in much the same way.
We arrive at a familiar story and instinctively move toward the conversation. We want to hear what Jesus says. We pay close attention to the questions people ask, the answers they receive, and the response that follows. Early on, we’re deciding whether someone believed, doubted, repented, or rejected Him.
There’s nothing wrong with that. The conversations are often the most memorable parts of the story.
Yet in our eagerness to reach the dialogue, we sometimes rush past the narrator.
The Gospel writers rarely introduce a significant character by accident. Before Jesus ever speaks, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John has often already given us clues about the person standing before Him. Those introductory details are not ornamental. They are part of the story the inspired author expects us to read.
Once I began paying attention to those introductions, I discovered they were quietly reshaping the conversations that followed.
A Reading Habit That Changed Everything
Years ago, I found myself asking a simple question whenever I encountered a familiar Gospel story.
How has the Gospel writer already introduced this person?
It sounds almost too obvious. Yet that single question consistently slowed me down.
Instead of allowing the conversation to define the character, I began allowing the narrator to introduce the character before I listened to the conversation. The result was not that every story suddenly became clear. Quite the opposite. Many stories became more intriguing because I realized I had overlooked details that had been sitting in plain sight all along.
Reading this way taught me to resist arriving at theological conclusions before I had fully observed the narrative.
That may seem like a small adjustment. It isn’t.
The Narrator Speaks Before the Characters Do
Every storyteller decides how to introduce the people who inhabit the story.
Sometimes a character appears with almost no description. Other times the narrator carefully prepares readers before a single word of dialogue occurs. We naturally recognize this in novels, biographies, and films, yet we sometimes overlook it when reading Scripture.
The Gospel writers do this repeatedly.
Luke introduces Simeon (Luke 2:25-27) as righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. He tells us that the Holy Spirit was upon him before Simeon ever takes the infant Jesus into his arms.
Anna (Luke 2:36-37) is introduced through her remarkable history before she speaks a single sentence.
Later, Luke carefully introduces Cornelius (Acts 10:1-2) before Peter ever arrives at his home.
Whether or not those descriptions ultimately support a particular theological conclusion is not the point—at least not yet.
The point is that the Gospel authors, writing well after the events happened, considered those details important enough to tell us before the conversation began.
Perhaps we should too.
Observation Before Interpretation
One of the first lessons students learn in Bible study is the importance of observation before interpretation. We notice what the text says before deciding what it means.
That principle applies not only to individual words and grammar but also to narrative design. The order in which information is presented matters. Authors guide readers intentionally. They decide what we should know before the action unfolds.
The Bible is good literature and the Gospel writers are remarkably skilled narrators. They know precisely when to introduce a character, when to withhold information, and when to reveal it. If we rush immediately to Jesus’ dialogue without first considering the narrator’s introduction, we risk skipping part of the inspired story.
Reading carefully does not guarantee perfect interpretation. But careful observation usually produces better questions.
Questions Worth Asking
Once I adopted this reading habit, familiar passages began raising questions I had never seriously considered.
Why does Luke describe Simeon as righteous and devout before he ever sees the infant Jesus?
Why does he devote so much space to introducing Anna before recording her words?
Why does Luke carefully describe Cornelius before Peter ever arrives?
Why do the Gospel writers sometimes tell us who a person is before showing us what that person says?
How should those introductions shape the conversations that follow?
None of those questions requires us to reach an immediate theological conclusion. They simply invite us to become better readers.
The more I noticed these narrative introductions, the more convinced I became that the Gospel writers were quietly teaching me how they wanted their stories to be read.
Read the Character Before the Conversation
This simple habit has changed the way I read the New Testament.
Before asking how someone responds to Jesus, I first ask how the Gospel writer has already introduced that person. Before focusing on the dialogue, I pay attention to the narrator. Before drawing conclusions, I linger over the literary details that frame the encounter.
Sometimes those observations confirm assumptions I already held. Other times they gently challenge them.
Either way, they help me become a more attentive reader of Scripture.
That is why Read the Character Before the Conversation has become one of the guiding principles behind The Cold Call Delusion. Long before we debate theology, we should learn to observe the story well. The Gospel writers have already done much of the interpretive work for us. Our task is to slow down long enough to notice it.
The next time you open one of the Gospels and come to a familiar encounter, resist the urge to hurry toward the dialogue.
Read the character first.
Then read the conversation.
You may discover that the narrator has been quietly preparing you for the encounter all along.
About the Author
Gregory D. Hall is the author of the forthcoming book The Cold Call Delusion: Rethinking Conversion, Evangelism, and Discipleship Through First-Century Eyes and the host of the Rethinking Scripture podcast. He writes about biblical theology, the Gospels, and the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
Related Essays
- The Cold Call Delusion: Why Not Every Encounter with Jesus Was a Spiritual Cold Call
- Coming soon
- Recognition: An Overlooked Pattern in the Gospels
- The Faithful Remnant: Waiting for Israel’s Messiah
Related Concepts
The Cold Call Delusion
The central framework behind this series. The Cold Call Delusion is the assumption that every significant encounter with Jesus or the apostles should be interpreted as an initial conversion experience rather than first asking what kind of spiritual response the biblical authors are actually describing.
Recognition
How the New Testament sometimes describes people recognizing promises already believed rather than beginning faith for the first time.
Faithful Remnant
The faithful men and women who were already trusting God and awaiting the Messiah, prior to meeting Jesus.
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