Inductive Analysis: Observation Process Explained in Detail

Tim Chang • April 3, 2020

The first part is the observation process. The observation process is the most critical part of the inductive process.


During this process, the observer should try to approach the given text with an objective non-bias view of the given passage. This can be especially difficult for theologically trained with a preconception of the given passage. However, to do an excellent inductive study of the given passage, you must let go of your prejudices of the given passage and try to let the text speak for itself.


What does it mean to allow the text to speak for itself? The Bible can speak to us on a personal level through the works of the Holy Spirit. The Scripture was written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it is interpreted through the work of the Holy Spirit. If you have a preconception about a passage, it is difficult for the Holy Spirit to interpret the Scripture as the Holy Spirit wants to. Thus, when we approach a given passage in the Bible, we must read with anticipation that the Holy Spirit speaks through the passage and reread the passage as many times as possible until the Holy Spirit speaks to us.


Other than letting the Holy Spirit speak to us through the text, we must learn how to observe the text. The observation of the given text starts by observing the relationship between the pronouns, the nouns, and the verbs. When we glance over the passages in the Bible, we miss many of the hidden meanings and underlying background information that can help us to understand the situation better. By carefully parsing out the individual pronouns, nouns, and verbs, you discover the relationship between each of the parsed out words.


John 6:1-2, observation


Let's observe John 6:1-2 together.


1. After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2. And a great multitude followed him because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.


In verse one, we can find that “things” is a noun, “Jesus” and “sea of Galilee” “sea of Tiberias” are pronouns, and “went over” is the verb. From parsing these out and through careful observation, John 6 is a continuation from an event that occurred previously by the word “After.” Each word has a meaning and background information. It is helpful to take time to search the Bible dictionary and supplemental materials to do separate research of each word.


To better understand the background, you would have to read the events of John 5. In John 5, Jesus healed a man suffering from infirmities for 38 years and argued with the Jews in Jerusalem. After the confrontation with the Jews, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee.


John did not record the accounts of the journey, but from Jesus’ ministry, we can easily imagine that Jesus healing the man who suffered infirmaries for 38 years and arguing with the Jews stirred up the crowd. The crowd who were in Jerusalem during the feast of the Jews discovered the miracle of Jesus and those who were suffering from their diseases came to Jesus to be healed. This greatly angered the Jews, and after the feast of the Jews, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, a one to two-week journey along with his disciples and a great number of multitudes.


During Jesus’ times, the Romans lay the highways for their soldiers to travel to conquer the known world. Other than the highways, the paths people and animals walked on became a road. These roads were dusty and did not have any shades. People traveling on these roads would depart early to reach the next town


What you have to observe in verse 1 is that Jesus was in Jerusalem and went over the Sea of Galilee. The distance between Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee is over 100 kilometers. If Jesus went straight across Samaria, it would have taken three to four days to reach the Sea of Galilee. Most Jews did not go through Samaria but instead went around Samaria, avoiding that part of the land. It took five to seven days to take this route.


In John 4, we find out that Jesus went to Samaria to meet the woman at the well.

From the previous account, it is easy to assume that Jesus went straight through Samaria rather than take the long journey around Samaria.


When Jesus visited Samaria on the journey to Galilee, the woman at the well and the entire town most likely have greeted him with a warm welcome and all of his multitudes. The Jews who followed Jesus from Jerusalem to Samaria were probably shocked that Jesus went to Samaria, and for most of them, this was their very first trip to Samaria.

Jews did not have dealings with the Samaritans, and this was the accepted norm.


The Samaritans did not like the Jews, and the Jews did not like the Samaritans.

But by Jesus going through Samaria with his disciples and the multitudes, it must have begun to spark a friendship between Jews and Samaritans. The act of visiting itself was a radical act by Jesus, and it disturbed the Jewish order of life.


The people who have visited the land of Samaria for the first time must have told their family and friends about the account and what Jesus did while he was there and how the Samaritans welcomed them with the warmth of Middle Eastern welcome.

These Jews began to realize that the Samaritans are just like them, and after this event, there must have been open dealings between the Jews and Samaritans.


In verse 2, it states that “And a great multitude followed him because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.” From this observation, we can quickly discover that the Jews who followed Jesus followed from Jerusalem to Samaria and the Sea of Galilee. The multitudes followed him after seeing Jesus healed the man who suffered infirmaries from 38 years and arguing with the Jews. Jesus must have healed from Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee.


These multitudes followed Jesus because of the miracles he did on to the multitudes.

The multitudes were friends, families, and acquaintances that they knew very well. The multitudes knew their diseases, how long they suffered, and how it was not curable with the medicine that they had.


These multitudes were fascinated by the way Jesus taught and argued against the Jews, who were the elites at the time. They saw how Jesus was greeted by the Samaritans and the multitudes of people in Samaria, believing him as the Messiah.


There were no diseases that Jesus could not heal and no demons and infirmities that Jesus could not cast out. Jesus healed those who believed on him. During the four day journey to the Sea of Galilee, Jesus may have spent some time at Samaria, replenishing supplies and healing the remainder of Samaria. The event must have been like a great revival where everyone gathered from all corners of Samaria to hear the words of Jesus and to be healed by him.


The multitude saw this and was fascinated by Jesus. They usually return to their home town after the feasts of the Jews in Jerusalem. Instead, they followed Jesus to Samaria and were welcomed by the Samaritans because of Jesus. They continued to follow Jesus as sheep without a shepherd.

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For a Christian to be healthy, we must sleep or rest in Jesus. Just like sleep is essential to the health of our physical body, sleep or rest in Jesus is essential to our spiritual walk with Jesus. When Jesus came to the world, he came to do the works of the Father, and he completed them on the cross, when he said, It is finished. The very reliance of the blood of Jesus that he shed for us on the cross gives us the rest that our spirit needs. To sleep or rest in Jesus means to cease all our agendas. Many Christians fall into a trap that once you become a Christian, you must do so many things and not do so many things. Being a disciple becomes a matter of checking off a list of dos and don’ts. However, this is far from rest that Jesus gave us when he said, It is finished, on the cross. The rest comes to us when we die in Jesus. When we follow Jesus as a disciple, Jesus is inviting us to pick up our own cross, deny ourselves, and follow him. Where did Jesus end up? On the cross, and he died for the sins of the world. When apostle Paul stated that he had been crucified with Christ and he no longer lives, he was stating the mere nature of a disciple of Jesus. When Jesus invites us to die with him on the cross, it is not to destroy us or end us. Human nature is to struggle to survive and to have another breath. But to follow Jesus is to deny that very nature. How can it be done? It is impossible with human effort or will, as it is contrary to the very nature of humanity. When one becomes a disciple of Jesus, everyone has one or a few things that they cannot surrender to God. It may be finances, children, or even their own life. However, Jesus invites all of his disciples to give up that one thing that everyone has. Every Christian faces this question at some point in their walk with Jesus. They have eaten and drunk the flesh and blood of Jesus. They have tasted the goodness of the Lord and His mercies. They delight in worship and even give up many things for the Lord and His body. But that one thing, no matter how minor it seems, Jesus asks the question, “Can you give up that one thing for me?” Which is the question of death. The death of our old self. To Abraham, it was to offer Isaac on an altar. To Jacob, it was to deny his ability to cheat, steal, and lie. To the Apostles, it was to give up their life for the sake of the gospel. So many of our ancestors of faith have demonstrated giving up that one thing that matters the most to them for the sake of Jesus. Why would they do that? The most important question of all is, how were they able to do that for Jesus? The answer is simple: daily eat and drink Jesus’ body and blood; daily excrete out what the Holy Spirit is telling us; daily rest in Jesus. This daily trust and obedience provides us with a sense of security and guidance in our walk with Jesus. The death of oneself does not come from human effort nor willpower. It comes from trusting in Jesus even till death. It can only be done when one is deeply involved with Jesus and Jesus’ DNA becomes their DNA. Without questioning, they hear the voice of Jesus, respond, and lay down their lives and their most essential things for Jesus. It is a daily walk with Jesus and having a moment-by-moment relationship with Jesus. Jesus said My sheep hear my voice and follow me. It is interesting to note that when Jesus calls his sheep, it is among other sheep that are not of Jesus’. Jesus calls his sheep to take them through the valley of the shadow of death. Jesus’ sheep hear his voice and follow initially. Then, when the sheep sees Jesus walking away from the green pasture and onto the valley of the shadow of death, the sheep begins to wonder if the voice it hears is Jesus’ or not. But as Jesus continues to call the sheep, the sheep respond by trusting in Jesus’ voice, recognizing it as their own. But as the sheep nears the valley of the shadow of death, the sheep gets close to Jesus, embracing his breath, scent, and sweat. Following him closely, as he fears he might be lost if he does not hear the voice of his true shepherd. Ultimately, the valley of the shadow of death separates the true sheep of Jesus from other sheep. Jesus calls all of his disciples to carry the cross, deny oneself, and follow Jesus daily. Which ultimately leads to death. Death is not to end our essence but to deliver us from ourselves, our old ways of living, and to redefine our DNA to become like Jesus; ultimately leading us to the resurrection of Jesus, as he has said, I am the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus is not something that we find when the last day comes; the resurrection that Jesus gives us is the very nature of all of his disciples that must go through to become faithful followers of Jesus. Many modern Christians are what we might call 'zombie Christians'. This is not a metaphor, but a reality. When Jesus calls us to die with him, many reject this calling, believing it to be from Satan. They know deep down that it is the call of Jesus, but they prefer to be deceived in their hearts as it seems logical, reasonable, and satisfies their current values. However, when a Christian rejects the call of Jesus, the life of Jesus leaves that Christian, and that person becomes a 'zombie Christian'. A 'zombie Christian' is a person who knows about Jesus but does not follow Jesus because they have denied the call of Jesus to be his disciple. There are many 'zombie Christians'. Many become like Pharisees, and they are satisfied with knowing about the Scriptures, rather than obeying them. They begin to lose the joy, rest, and light of Jesus in their lives and begin to replace it with religious activities and the endless pursuit of knowledge about Christian life. When the Father speaks, He speaks once, and the Holy Spirit continuously reminds us to obey what the Father has said. However, once you become a zombie Christian, it is difficult to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, nor the voice of the Father. The Holy Spirit continuously prays to the Father with groaning that cannot be uttered because the Holy Spirit is in agony over the disobedient Christian. Just like the Prodigal Son, the Father waits for the son to return. An interesting observation can be made regarding the story of the Prodigal Son, that the father did not go after looking for the son, nor did the older brother. The reason the father did not go after the prodigal son was that the son made the choice, and the father respected the son's choice. But an interesting thing is that the older brother did not go after his brother, even though he could have. The older brother did not know the heart of the father, and when the prodigal son returned, the older son’s response reveals his true intentions. The Father waits for the zombie Christian to return. To return means to realize that their effort and ways of living caused much turmoil and must abide under the ruling of the Father. The Father gives another chance to zombie Christians. But when the second chance comes, the sacrifice that a zombie Christian makes seems greater than the first time. As that person has drifted away from the proper way of living and been replaced by religious activities that have no life. Every disciple of Jesus knows that one thing that Jesus asks us to give up. It is not to destroy us but to trust in the Lord. Just like when Peter asked Jesus to walk on water, Jesus is telling us to walk on water like Peter did. When we die in Jesus, it is the very spirit of Jesus that resurrects us. When we experience death and resurrection through Jesus, that is when we truly find the peace and rest that Jesus desires for us to have, not through religious activities, disciplines, and training. When we realize that our death does not lead to destruction, as the one inviting us to death is Jesus, who is life and resurrection, we trust in Jesus and follow through our death, and we wait on Jesus to resurrect us in his power and spirit. That is when we are truly free from the world and its bondages, and nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus. We become one with Jesus as we suffer with him, and we glory with him. We can become truly victorious in all aspects of our lives, not with our power or abilities, but by what Jesus has done for us in himself. A true crown of glory awaits those who follow Jesus even to death.