Answering by Asking Questions

ANSWERING BY ASKING QUESTIONS

In Jesus’ day the rabbis taught you to answer with a question. So the rabbi might say what is 2 and 2? And you could answer what is 8 minus 4 or what is 16 divided by four? In this way you gave the right answer, which is 4. This way of answering by asking questions was way more difficult and forced the young minds to think harder.

By the way, when Jesus parents  found him in the temple when He was 12 what He was doing? Mark 2:46 says, “They found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions! And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.”

They were astonished not because Jesus was just asking them wise questions but because He was always giving them right answers by asking questions, which was much more  difficult way of answering questions!

When it came to Scripture Jesus was the best of the best. And He knew how to answer with questions.

Another example when Jesus gave an amazing answer by asking a question is found in Matthew 21:23-27.

When He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders, who wanted to trap Jesus, came to Him and asked, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

And Jesus gave them a brilliant answer by asking a question. He said, “The baptism of John-where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

By answering that simple question they could answer their own question. All honest people believed John was God’s messenger and his baptism was from God. So, since John repeatedly and publicly stated Jesus was the promised by God Saviour of the world it was clear that whatever Jesus did was authorised by God himself.

Unfortunately, the crafty, hypocritical and controlled by the enemy of God chief priests and elders couldn’t give an honest answer to Christ’s question. Because of that, they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then you don’t believe John’s testimony about me?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet. So they answered Jesus and said, We do not know. And He said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”