Narrative Time in the New Testament

Human beings live in time; time produces story, the lifeblood of narrative – all the more so for the biblical story which has been, and continues to be, intimately woven into the lives of countless people throughout the generations. Narrative as a literary genre is well represented in the Scriptures as a whole, not least in the New Testament, accounting for approximately three-fourths of its overall content. That so much of the Bible is expressed in this communicative mode cannot be merely incidental to its interpretation. The essays collected here aim to illustrate how a narrative approach applied to a number of New Testament passages, particularly in the way they deal with time, can enhance appreciation of the Bible’s capacity to make its message present, thus contributing a vital and consequential dimension to the perennial endeavor of faith seeking understanding.