Why did Jesus ask so many questions?

This is the first entry for a blog series I (Jared) am writing called "Random Bible Questions" for Reidland Church. It's exactly what it sounds like: random but hopefully helpful questions about Scripture as it relates to our lives. Soli Deo Gloria!

"Is that a wise decision?"

I remember hating that question as a teen. It was always asked by my wise dad, and the answer was almost always "no."

He asked it when I told him I was only wearing one normal pair of socks to my older brother's sub-freezing football game.

He asked it when I wanted to watch an R-rated movie with my friends.

He asked it after I explained the miserable group "challenge" the fellas and I chose to face in eating a whole habanero pepper and drinking no water or milk for 10 minutes. I thought my head was literally going to explode. "Was that a wise decision?" Duh...no! It was excruciating and stupid!

But in each of these instances, I did it anyway.

We serve a loving and patient heavenly Father who is always putting up with our self-destructive foolishness. The biblical "heroes" of our faith (think Abraham, Moses, or David) are some of the worst examples! But God loves us too much to let us wallow in our folly. So what does He do? Does He beat us over the head with commands? Does he coerce us using scare tactics and threatening punishments? Some places in the Bible come across that way - but far more accurately and far more often, in the most important places, God asks questions.

To Adam and Eve: "Who told you you were naked?" To Jacob: "Why do you ask my name?" To Moses: "What is that in your hand?" Scripture is loaded with questions that God Himself asks His human partners.

Jesus, God in the flesh, is the perfect example. In the Sermon on the Mount alone - Matthew 5-7, which we studied as a church in the Fall - Jesus asks 19 questions in 111 verses. 19! That's a lot! And in total, Jesus asks 307 questions across the four gospels. 307. THAT'S a lot. Paul, the apostle who fought and toiled to help establish Jesus' church, wrote a letter to the Romans (which Brian is preaching on now) where it feels like every other sentence is a question.

But why?

For a God who knows everything, why so many questions?

First, a question invites. If you tell someone a fact or opinion, they might take it or leave it. No pressure. If you command someone to do something, they might grow defensive or scared. But a question is an invitation. It's not neutral; it's not threatening; it's full of potential. It's relational.

Second, a question instructs. Just like above, statements or commands often meet hard hearts and closed ears. But a question invites someone to learn. If my dad in the examples above had said, "That's a bad idea!" I may have been spiteful or angry. Even later, when I realized it WAS dumb, I could have still remembered my earlier defensiveness. But a question? That still invites learning - whenever we're ready to learn.

And finally, a question initiates. Part of why God (especially Jesus) asked so many questions is because He wanted people to start thinking. "Can worrying add anything to your life?" (Matt. 6:27). "Who do people say I am?" (Mark 8:27). "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6). Jesus challenged people to their very core to think about who He was and how they should respond. But it was always in pursuit of a relationship. He wanted to know their situation desires (truly!). He wanted to guide them. And more than anything, He wanted their hearts. A question was the only way to get the real, inner person to step forward.

If you're a foolish teen (like I was at times), a question can feel annoying - especially if you know the answer. But as we mature, these questions, which once felt like insults, now become clear invitations, instructions, initiations. God wants us to learn, grow, and be His. How amazing!

What question is God asking you today? And how are you responding?