Jesus the storyteller shocked people. When he began to tell a parable, his listeners probably thought, “Oh good, a story”—only to have the wind knocked out of them when his tale took a twist. How dare he make a Samaritan a hero! How preposterous to portray a father throwing a party for a son who had been living among pigs! That wasn’t the way life was supposed to work.

Jesus’ parables, however, are not the only part of the bible with shock value. Scripture is full of surprises. Who would guess that God, who had just created the universe would ask Adam to name the animals (Genesis 2:19)? Isn’t it strange that the Israelites, less than two months after God had parted the Red Sea to save them, felt sure that he would let them starve to death in the desert (Exodus 16:1–3)? How can we make sense of a Psalm which begins “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” yet ends “I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me” (Psalm 13)? And at the very heart of the Bible lies the biggest surprise of all: “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Considering the radical content of scripture, what is truly shocking is that we often fail to be surprised by it. Most of the people in your small group probably find Bible reading boring at times. Those new to the faith may feel as if the book is written in some foreign language they can’t understand; long-time Christians, on the other hand, may be so familiar with God’s Word that reading it seems as easy—and as unexciting—as slipping on a pair of old sneakers. You can help the Bible come alive for people by helping them unearth its unexpected twists and turns.

Try beginning each small-group session with the question, “What surprises you about the passage we’re studying?” This will let novice students know that it’s okay to be puzzled or even shocked by God’s Word. They will no longer feel they should hide their “ignorance” and simply listen to others who give the “right answers.” And experienced Bible students may discover that the tame book full of neat answers that they’ve been reading is really a two-edged sword which confronts many of their basic assumptions and prejudices.

—Margaret Parker, author and teacher. Reprinted from the Winter 1988 issue of Student Leadership journal.