Can You Ask Questions Like Jesus?
Good Morning Friends,
The Greek and the Hebrew in the Bible really did not have punctuation like we use today. Even the letters ran together like an unceasing prayer. Translating scripture has therefore always been a bit of a problem. Nevertheless it is clear that scholars have inserted punctuation. When Jesus instructed Peter with the words, “Get behind me Satan!” It needed at the least an exclamation mark and perhaps even an interabang. Jesus asks a lot of questions in the Bible and some think that a few were interabangs that combination of exclamation mark combined with a question. Jesus asked questions like: Do you want to get well? Why are you searching for me? Where is your faith? Why do you worry? All of them require us to have an honest internal conversation about our view of the world. But there is also passion and power in the phrasing. Maybe they are interabangs. Maybe they are a prayer of sorts engaging God the Father in the situation. The answer therefore is not as important as the revelation. So today we are going to wrestle with the eighth chapter of Mark and its seventeen questions and one exclamation in the hope that God will know us by name and bless us in the process. So get out your Bibles. Can You Ask Questions Like Jesus?
Scripture: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)
And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out–beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” They said to one another, “It is because we have no bread.” And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.” Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
Mark 8:12-21 (NRSV)
Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ So he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’
Genesis 32:24-27 (NRSV)
Message: Whether in a public gathering, a confrontation with his enemies, or a private conversation with his closest friends, Jesus consistently used questions to produce change and growth. He used questions to answer questions. Jesus asked questions to gather data in a non-aggressive way. Jesus skillfully asked rhetorical questions to emphasize a point in a powerful but non-threatening manner. Occasionally as in today’s scripture from Mark, Jesus is asking a whole series of questions, sometimes to maintain group involvement and at others to make a passionate point. His diplomacy was a beneficial teaching skill. When correcting others Jesus would often ask a question in a way that would allow the person to make the necessary changes without defensiveness or losing face. At other times Jesus would ask questions to get feedback on what people were actually learning. Jesus was indeed a great teacher and would often ask a general questions before asking a more personal ones as a way to encourage personal application and then building to ask a soul searching question. But what if these questions were not just instruction but also a prayer. With that thought in mind we meditate on how Jesus used questions to help us wrestle with the challenge to better comprehend God’s way for the conduct of our lives. Here are the seventeen questions in Mark 8, the exclamation was in the introduction:
‘How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?’ ‘How many loaves do you have?’ ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? , ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’ ‘Can you see anything?’ ‘Who do people say that I am?’ But who do you say that I am?’ For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
Pray we know when to ask a question and when we need to just be quiet. Pray we realize that the right questions reveal who we really are. Pray we believe in the love of God for us. Pray Jesus teach us to focus on what is important. Pray the Holy Spirit empower us. Pray God reveal the promise of His presence in the everyday moments of life. Pray we ask questions of God in prayer that reveals His goodness in the face of evil in this world. Pray our souls are saved. Pray our questions are given over to Jesus in prayer. Pray when Jesus gives us an interabang we not rush to answer but fall to our knees.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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