Why Does Jesus Ask So Many Questions?
Contrary to common assumptions, Jesus is not the ultimate Bible Answer Man. Instead, he is more like The Great Questioner. In the Gospels Jesus asks more than 300 questions. And Jesus only directly answers 3 of the 183 questions he is asked. Instead, he often answers questions with more questions! Asking questions was central to Jesus’ way of inviting people into the reality of the kingdom of God.
Jesus uses questions differently than we commonly do today. We ask questions for information. Jesus asks questions to provoke transformation. We ask questions for answers. Jesus asks questions to challenge the listener’s assumptions, biases and beliefs.
Through Jesus’ questions, he modeled for us the struggle, the wondering, the thinking-it-through that helps us change and grow. Through this struggle we come to better understand not just the answer, but ourselves, our thinking process, and the true nature of God and his kingdom. Jesus’ questions help us reckon with our own mental map of reality and examine it in light of the kingdom of God. Questions are among Jesus’ most profound gifts for a life of faith.
And this makes sense, if it is repentance, not mere belief, Jesus is really after (see Mark 1:15). If we want to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, it will require us to ask questions the way Jesus asks questions- to reveal hearts and open up God’s reality for our world today.
In this study, Questions Jesus Asked, we will explore just nine of the three-hundred questions of Jesus, from the Gospel of Mark.
Welcome to the School of Jesus!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Paul Dugan
Preparing to Read and Study the Gospel of Mark
The Bible and Woodworking
In an experienced woodworker’s shop you will find samples of a rich variety of types of woods: maple, oak, walnut, mahogany, rosewood, for example. In the Bible you find a rich and diverse collection of genres (literary styles)- poetry, narrative, epistle, wisdom, law, and gospel, to mention a few. As a master woodworker develops an intelligent respect for (and submission to) each kind of wood he is working with, a wise reader of Scripture cultivates an intelligent reverence for each genre she is listening to.
Bad Bible Reading
Sadly, the Bible can be abused. This happens when we do not handle its parts with humility and respect, when we ignore its historical and literary context, when we force it to fit into our pre-determined cultural agendas, categories, and biases. It happens when we fragment the Bible into ‘bits’—moral bits, devotional bits, Instagram-able bits, or tweetable bits.
To help us avoid these misuses of the Bible as we study Mark’s Gospel, we will first zoom out to ask these important questions:
What kind of literature is ‘gospel’? How is it unique as a genre?
Why are there four versions of ‘The Gospel’? How is Mark’s account of the life and ministry of Jesus unique among the four gospels?
What should we be looking for as we read and study Mark?
How does the Gospel of Mark fit into the larger Story of God in the Bible?
How can we experience Jesus today as Mark’s first hearers experienced Jesus?
The Bible Project provides excellent resources for answering these questions. These amazing video tools are biblically reliable, artistically creative, succinct and free! We will be drawing on these resources throughout our journey in Mark.
NOTE TO GROUP LEADERS:
Click HERE for a list of small group check-in questions.
We have provided a list of ten sessions below. You are free to select from the list, depending on your group’s schedule. Please do not omit sessions 1, 6 and 10.
Questions Jesus Asked- Session 1
(click bold links for resources)
Resources:
For Session 1 study guide click HERE.
Bible Project videos: How to Read the Bible- Gospel (6 min), and The Gospel of Mark (10 min)
For an overview poster of the Gospel of Mark click HERE.
Questions Jesus Asked- Session 2
“Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm?” (Mark 3:4)
For Session 2 study guide click HERE.
Bible Project video: Sabbath (6 min)
For notes on Sabbath video click HERE.
Questions Jesus Asked- Session 3
“Who touched my garments?” (Mark 5:30)
For Session 3 study guide click HERE.
Bible Project video: Holiness (7 min)
For notes on Holiness video click HERE.
Questions Jesus Asked- Session 4
“How many loaves do you have?” (Mark 6:38)
For Session 4 study guide click HERE.
Bible Project video: Compassion (5 min)
For notes on Compassion video click HERE.
Questions Jesus Asked- Session 5
“Are you so dull?” (Mark 7:18)
For Session 5 study guide click HERE.
Bible Project video: Iniquity (from ‘Bad Word Series’- 5 min)
For notes on Iniquity video click HERE.
Questions Jesus Asked- Session 6
“Who do people say I am?” (Mark 8:27)
For Session 6 study guide click HERE.
Bible Project video: Son of Man (6 min)
For notes on Son of Man video click HERE.
Questions Jesus Asked- Session 7
“Are you able to drink the cup I drink?” (Mark 10:38)
For Session 7 study guide click HERE.
Bible Project video: Sacrifice and Atonement (7 min)
For notes on Sacrifice and Atonement video click HERE.
Questions Jesus Asked- Session 8
“What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51)
For Session 8 study guide click HERE.
Bible Project video: David the Priestly King (5 min)
For notes to David the Priestly King video click HERE.
Questions Jesus Asked- Session 9
“Show me a coin. Whose inscription does it have on it?” (Mark 12:16)
For Session 9 study guide click HERE.
Bible Project video: Shema- Listen (4 min)
For notes to Shema video click HERE.
Questions Jesus Asked- Session 10
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)
For Session 10 study guide click HERE.