Chapter 6: Hang On Every Word: Spot the Truth When You Hear It!
“We’ve been talking about eyewitness testimony,” says Jeffries. “So today, I thought perhaps we should interview an eyewitness.”
Daniel’s mouth falls open as he looks up to see his sister walk through the door! “This is Daniel’s sister,” says Jeffries. “You’ll recall that Lacey told Daniel she once saw our skateboard. So she’s perhaps our best witness.”
“Thanks for having me,” Lacey says. “I’ve been curious about this academy. It’s all Daniel can talk about!”
Forensic Statement Analysis (FSA)
When you read the Bible, pay close attention to what the author said and how he said it. You can learn a lot by examining words carefully.
Jeffries says, “Let’s get started with the interview. Would you call yourself an expert witness on skateboarding?”
Lacey hesitates for a moment. “Not really. I mean, I never actually owned a skateboard. My mom didn’t think they were safe.”
“Now, Lacey,” asks Jeffries, “why did you specifically remember this skateboard?”
“The large poly wheels make the board ride really fast.” Lacey points to the blue wheels. “It’s a smooth riding board too.”
“How often did you see your friend Lincoln skating on this board?”
Lacey responds, “I was—um, I mean, Lincoln was on it almost every day.”
Jeffries ends the interview here. “Thank you, Lacey. Feel free to have a seat and join our discussion. Cadets, I hope you were listening closely, because today we’re going to talk about ‘hanging on every word’—listening to what is said, how it is said, and also what is not said. Much of the time, we don’t listen well, you know,” adds Jeffries.
“You sound like my teacher.” Hannah sighs, and everybody laughs.
Jeffries keeps the conversation going. “Your teacher sounds like a good detective, Hannah. Listening is key! We’re trying to collect evidence—as much as we can, from wherever we can find it. When someone answers a question, listen for what they say. But also listen for how they say it. The words they use, or decide not to use, and the way they describe things. Remember, every speaker or writer has a choice when it comes to words. Their choices can tell us a lot about what happened. Words can even be evidence!”
Words matter to God. In fact, every word in the Bible is important. Why?
Jeffries smiles slyly. “In fact, I think you all may have received another clue or two about that mysterious skateboard, if you were listening carefully.”
You and Daniel exchange glances. He raises his eyebrows; you shrug. What clue is Jeffries talking about? Daniel does think it’s odd that Lacey knew so much about skateboards when she never actually owned one, but he’s not sure what he might have missed.
“We’re also looking into the case for Jesus,” continues Jeffries. “And we have a great opportunity to listen very closely to the eyewitnesses. These witnesses have been dead a long time, but we do have their testimonies, and we have them in great detail.
“Let’s take a look, for example, at the gospel of Mark. Papias, that student of John I was telling you about, once said Mark wrote the gospel based on the preaching of Peter. In other words, Mark’s gospel is actually Peter’s eyewitness statement.”
“Why isn’t it just called the gospel of Peter then?” asks Jason.
“Because Mark was Peter’s ‘scribe’—he wrote down Peter’s teaching, so he’s the actual author.” Jeffries can tell that Jason isn’t satisfied with that answer.
“How can you be so sure Mark’s gospel contains Peter’s information?” asks Jason.
“Well,” says Jeffries, “one way is to look at how Mark writes his gospel and the words he uses. Remember, words can be evidence!”
Jeffries picks up his marker. “Let’s talk about some word evidence and make another circumstantial evidence diagram.” Jeffries takes a Bible from his desk, flips a few pages, then looks up and says, “If you’ll listen carefully to what Mark says the next time you read his book, you’ll find several interesting things:
“1. Peter is a major character in Mark’s gospel. For example, Mark’s gospel mentions Peter a lot more than Matthew’s gospel. That makes sense if Peter is the one telling Mark about Jesus. If that’s true, we would expect to read more about Peter in Mark’s gospel.” Detective Jeffries draws a calculator on the whiteboard as a symbol of how often Mark mentions Peter:
“2. Mark writes about Peter as a friend. The other gospels refer to Peter by his full name—‘Simon Peter’—but Mark just calls him ‘Peter.’ That makes sense, too, if Mark is Peter’s special scribe.” Jeffries now draws the word “PETER” on the whiteboard:
“3. Mark treats Peter kindly. Mark seldom says anything unkind about Peter, even when Peter makes a silly mistake. That may also be good evidence that Mark is writing down the words of someone he sees as a friend.” Detective Jeffries next draws a heart on the whiteboard to represent how kindly Mark treats Peter:
“4. Mark shares little things only Peter would know. In many places in Mark’s gospel, there are small, almost unimportant details that only Peter would have known. This makes sense if Mark was listening carefully to Peter’s story.” Jeffries draws an image of a magnifying glass as a symbol of the detail that Mark includes:
“5. Mark seems to know a lot about Peter’s preaching. Mark’s gospel is different than some of the other gospels—he doesn’t, for example, include the story of how Jesus was born. Mark’s brief style is very similar to a sermon Peter later gave in the book of Acts. This may also be evidence of Mark’s friendship with Peter.” Lastly, Detective Jeffries draws a picture of a microphone to symbolize the way Mark seems to know Peter’s preaching:
Detective Jeffries draws the five different kinds of word evidence on the whiteboard:
Remember the importance of words every time you read the Bible. Why did the writer use the particular word he used? Was there some other word he could have used? Why did he use that word? Look at words as evidence. Take your time and think about words from now on.
He says, “Are you starting to see how we can use this kind of evidence to make a case? When we start paying attention to Mark’s choice of words, we discover things we might have missed if we weren’t paying close attention.”
Detective Jeffries turns to Jason. “There are very good reasons to believe that Simon Peter, the fisherman who followed Jesus, shared his memories with a writer named Mark. And that means Mark’s gospel is important to us as we are trying to understand the truth about Jesus.”
Jason looks impressed. He wonders, though, if he might have missed something when Lacey gave her statement about the skateboard.