Thursday, March 10, 2016

Did you know the best answer to a question is often a question? You see, sometimes the one asking a question doesn’t understand what he is talking about. A question in return will often expose this, or open a door to better understand what the questioner did have in mind. Jesus often used this communication skill. A classic example of this is found in Matthew 21:23-27, where the chief priests and the elders of the people asked Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question…John’s baptism – where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?” It seemed like a simple question, but if their answer would be from heaven, they knew He would follow it with another question, “Then why didn’t you believe him?” And if they said from men, they were afraid of the people, because almost everyone believed John was a prophet. Rather than expose their unbelief they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” They actually knew that Jesus had turned their effort to trap Him on themselves. They were unbelievers, asking their original question with an ulterior motive – to discredit Jesus. Jesus escaped their trap by asking a simple, but profound question that exposed their duplicity and deceit. Jesus listened to their question carefully and answered with a wise question He knew they would not be willing to answer.