Big Questions (Part 1)

Let the Questions In

Optional Intro: Dear God…

They say there are no stupid questions, but the fact is that there are certainly plenty of silly ones. Children are famous for their funny questions (if you have a younger sibling or a niece or nephew, you know exactly what I'm talking about), and their questions to God are no exception. Let's look at a few.

"Dear God, can you please put another holiday between Christmas and Easter? There's nothing good in there now."

"Dear God, why is everything you say in red?"

"Dear God, is it true my father won't get into heaven if he uses his golf words around the house?"

"Dear God, did you mean for giraffes to look like that, or was it an accident?"

"Dear God, in Bible times, did they really talk that fancy?"

Kids are allowed to ask funny questions, even to God. But for some reason, when we grow up, we tend to grow out of asking questions. Somewhere along the way, we got the message that questions are silly or stupid or a sign of weakness.

This attitude shows up especially when it comes to our relationship with God. It's easy to feel as though everyone already knows the answers to some of the basic (and not so basic) questions about God and life, and as a result, we keep our questions to ourselves. We don’t want to look vulnerable. Some people even teach us not to question God.

But here's a secret: questions are a big part of our faith. The Bible is full of people asking questions and trying to get answers. In the Old Testament, God's people (even the people who knew Him best) asked loads of questions. Then in the New Testament, God showed up as human being, and guess what? People had a lot of questions for Him too. There is nothing wrong with asking questions: it's actually encouraged.

Whenever you see a question mark in the Bible, pay close attention, because it is a prime opportunity to learn more about God and yourself. In this series, we're going to take an approach where we don’t flinch to some of the questions people asked Jesus, and examine what they mean for us today. 

So let's get started.

1. Faith Begins with Honest Questions

Background

We're going to be in Mark 9:30-32 today. Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels, and even though a vast majority of the material is also covered in Matthew and Luke, Mark gives us some great, vivid details. The gospel of Mark is a fast and furious account of Jesus as God's son in action. In Mark, Jesus moves and teaches at such a fast pace that many people, including His followers, are often left with more questions than answers.

So who was Mark? Mark was the scribe for the apostle Peter, and it is believed that Peter gave Mark this account to record. In Mark 9, some of the disciples (including Peter) had just seen the Transfiguration. What is that? The Transfiguration was where Jesus revealed a glimpse of His divinity, of his supernatural self. The three disciples who saw the Transfiguration (Peter, James, and John), also saw Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah. The bible says his face radiated brilliant light and his robes was turned to bright white. It was a miraculous event and one that made Peter ask if they should stay there, just like that, forever!

That wasn't in Jesus's plan, so Peter didn't get his wish. But after the Transfiguration, and after Jesus heals a young boy with an unclean spirit, we have this very small interaction between Jesus and his disciples. That's where we'll jump into today's passage.

Explanation

Mark 9:30–32 NLT

Leaving that region, they traveled through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he was there, for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.” They didn’t understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.

2. Fear Keeps Us from Understanding Jesus

Did you catch the question that the followers of Jesus asked Him in this passage? Look closely. Jesus had just plainly revealed the biggest mystery of what God had been planning since the beginning of time. His followers were right next to Jesus, God in the flesh. They were able to ask Him anything they wanted. And what did they ask? 

Nothing.

The disciples didn't understand what Jesus meant when He talked about being betrayed and killed and rising again, but they were too afraid to say, "Can I ask you a question?" Maybe they forgot what it was like to be a child and ask whatever questions came to mind. Jesus pointed His followers to a childlike attitude in just a couple of verses (37).

A man named Voltaire was French philosopher. He once wrote that God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. If that's true, then maybe perhaps we can say that Jesus is a teacher playing to students too scared to ask. The great tragedy of this text was not that Jesus had followers who didn't understand everything He said. The tragedy was that Jesus had followers who didn't understand everything He said yet were too afraid to ask their questions. That's not going to be us, is it?

Illustration: The Question Only Game

There is a game that made its rounds years ago on the TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway.” The way this game works is participants have to carry on a conversation using only questions; if they fail to ask a question they are out.

Video

Invite four students or adult volunteers to play the game. Have one volunteer start by asking a question. Explain that the other volunteer can only respond with a question, and so on. Play the game until there is a winner. If you have time, call for another pair of volunteers and play again.] 

It seems simple, but this game reminds us that asking questions can be difficult. Asking good questions can be even more of a challenge. Good questions require that we listen carefully and speak thoughtfully. And the most important good questions are the ones that everyone else thinks but is afraid to ask.

Let's see how we can become people who ask these kinds of good questions.

Application

There is a Chinese proverb that says, "One who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; one who does not ask a question remains a fool forever." We've already seen today the wisdom of this proverb.

Now that we have confronted our fear of asking questions and the possibility of looking silly head-on, we still might have a couple questions about our questions. For example, how many questions are too many? How often should we ask these questions? Which questions are off-limits? Should we have more questions than answers or more answers than questions? Will all of our questions be answered, or will they lead to more questions? As we think about these questions, it's reassuring to hear what Jesus taught His disciples in Luke 11.

3. Jesus Invites Persistent Seeking

Luke 11:9–11 NLT

“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?

Ask, and you will receive.

Seek, and you will find.

Knock, and the door will be opened.

In this passage, Jesus did not ask us to ask – He told us to ask. He commanded us to ask. And in the original Greek language, these verbs – ask, seek, knock – were not only commands; they were ongoing commands. What is that supposed to mean? That means that Jesus did not put a limit on how many questions we get to ask; instead, He commanded us to live a life that continually asks questions, continually seeks after the kingdom, and continually knocks on any and every door of opportunity that brings His kingdom to earth. Jesus wants us to let the questions in.

Illustration: Miss Manners

Have you ever heard of Miss Manners? Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, has published over a dozen books on manners and etiquette.

Miss Manners is THE authority on manners and etiquette. And did you know that there are rules and regulations for almost every single moment of modern life? For instance: when a waiter places a bread basket on your table, you're supposed to offer to the person of the right, then the person on the left, and then you may take a piece for yourself. Never Blind CC someone on an email. Handbags should always be carried on your left arm or shoulder. Don't use emojis when responding to news of a tragedy. Never look at someone in the eyes while you drink a beverage. It's still important to write thank you notes with paper and pen. And of course, keep your phone off the table during dinner. In her book, Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, she says that when knocking on your teacher's door, you should only knock once.

With all due respect to Miss Manners, Jesus is our teacher, and He tells us to knock more than once. He puts no limit on how often we knock or how many questions we ask.

Jesus isn't afraid of persistent questions and obnoxious knocking, because He isn't afraid of the answers. Thankfully, Jesus is more concerned about us knowing how to find Him than with us observing good manners. There is courageous desperation that comes with being willing to knock more than is acceptable, to seek longer than is normal, and ask more than most. The only ones who are eager to do this are the ones who are more afraid of what will happen to them if they live a life that does not ask, seek, and knock. These askers and seekers and knockers are the ones who are brave enough to let the questions in.

Closing

We know that questions are the best way to learn about a new person, place, or idea. When we ask good questions, ones that go deeper and maybe into places where we feel uncomfortable, our faith is strengthened, because we know the answers hold up to the truth. Jesus promised that when we ask, we will receive. 

When we seek, we will find. When we knock, the doors will be opened to us.

So let's not be afraid to let the hard questions in. Jesus can stand up to all of them.