An approach to Gospel narratives that treats them as realistically depicted stories and emphasises the way their details function within the time-of-Jesus scenes they portray yields substantial exegetical results. Alternative approaches such as allegorical reading, focus on theological words, and the pursuit of intra-Gospel allusions sometimes stand in tension with this kind of concrete reading, and can distract interpreters from attending to surface-level scenes and details. The value of concrete reading and the effects of alternative approaches may be seen through examining several texts: the Nicodemus narratives of John; Mark 8.22–6; John 1.35–9; Mark 14.38; and John 21.15–17.