Jesus Answered--And Asked

What Did Jesus Do?

Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Matthew 21.24

Two kinds of people constantly sought out Jesus, those who had questions, and those who questioned Him, if you see the difference. The first group we might call “seekers,” the second group might more deserve to be labeled “sneakers.” Seekers brought their needs to the Lord. Sneakers tried to set traps for Him. For seekers Jesus had answers. For sneakers Jesus asked questions.

Seekers came to Jesus in their brokenness, bearing their pain, exposing their vulnerability. A centurion sought Jesus and humbled himself (Matthew 8.5-13); Jesus honored his humility and faith with an answer that healed the centurion’s beloved servant. A mother sought Jesus and begged for the sake of her daughter (Matthew 15.21-28); Jesus acknowledged her great faith with an answer that healed the girl in an instant. Blind Bartimaeus sought Jesus with his cries, asking the Son of David to restore his eyesight (Mark 10.46-52; Jesus answered, restoring his sight, and Bartimaeus immediately began to follow Jesus.

Sneakers came to the Lord in their arrogance, bearing their enmity, trying to expose Jesus’ vulnerability. A group in a synagogue, wanting to accuse Jesus, asked if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath (Matthew 12.9-14); Jesus replied by asking which of them would not rescue a sheep from their flock that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, and the sneakers snuck away to conspire to destroy Him. Some Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to see Jesus, asking Him about ritual cleanliness in order to try and stir up some controversy (Matthew 15.1-12); Jesus answered them by asking why they had made their traditions more important than the law, and they slunk away offended. The chief priests and elders interrupted Jesus while He was teaching, wishing to show that His teaching had no authority and should be ignored (Matthew 21.23-27); Jesus responded to them and asked them about the source of John’s baptism, which they would not answer for fear of exposing their own hypocrisy or inciting the people. Again, the sneakers objective was to have Jesus arrested and do away with Him.

There are still seekers and sneakers in the world today. Those who truly seek Jesus find that He is the answer to every question and every need. Sneakers still find that the truths of Christ challengingly question their hearts and their motives. The thing is, it is necessary both to be able to respond to seekers with answers supplied by the Gospel, and to sneakers with questions that challenge them to examine themselves instead of cross-examining the Lord. That’s what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4