Five Questions for Jesus Christ

Good afternoon, everyone! Welcome to Afternoon Sabbath Services. Thank you, Ayla, for the special music today. Really appreciate that. And not only will there be a little bit of snow later, it's also going to be a little bit cold. Once it gets down to zero minus one, you start to feel it a little bit. So, a bit of a cold spell for us. But it's warm in here, and welcome to Sabbath Services and those watching online as well.

What would you like to ask Jesus Christ?

Over the years, we've all imagined what we would like to ask, say, the Apostle Paul, when you meet him. Many of us have ideas of what we'd like to ask King David. And of course, Eve. Why? What would be the biggest question you'd have for Jesus Christ when you meet face to face? I asked some of my friends that very thing. And here's what they said. It's kind of like a mini member survey. Okay? Why me? What made you select me out of all the possible people you could have called? Here's another one. What are one or more times you protected me that I'm not even aware of?

Did you know from the day you chose the twelve disciples that Judas would be the one to betray you?

Another answer. Why me? And another. Why did it take you so long to return? And then he says, just kidding. Were you working with me as a child even though I wasn't called until my twenties? Was the wedding in Cana for one of your sisters? So many situations, including your own sacrifice, involve suffering. Is suffering the only way to get the results you are pleased with? Did the initiation of sin by humankind create the cycle, or was it always planned? What were you and the Father doing for eternity before you planned to create the Earth and the Universe? Why did you create me and include me in your plan of salvation? What was your life like for the eternity before you created the Earth? Why was I called and chosen for the opportunity of salvation? Why do so many good and innocent people have to suffer so much when they didn't do anything to really deserve it?

Given you were part of the Godhead before being born, were you predisposed to understand and therefore avoid sin even as a very tiny child? Why did Eve's choices lead to very difficult consequences for all women for thousands of years? Perhaps other women would not have made the same choice she did. The nation of Israel and those whom God was working with all had multiple wives and concubines. Why was this allowed when it diminishes the role of women and wives so much? And finally, why did people have to suffer so much throughout history? And there seems to be a little bit of a theme here. The most asked question, according to my survey, would be, why did you choose me? Why me? And the second most asked question has to do with asking, why is there so much suffering? And there are several other very interesting questions that I'd like to know the answer to as well. And I thank some of you in this room for those answers, those questions. What do you think would be the most pressing question to ask Christ when He returns? More than likely, it's similar to one of the ones I already read to you. As it so happens, while Jesus walked this earth, He was confronted by the scribes and elders with a number of questions. They were determined to have Him answer what they thought were the most important questions of their time. And so the title of today's message is, Five Questions for Jesus Christ. Five questions for Jesus Christ. So let's see what they were, and let's see what we can learn from the answers Christ gave. As He was about to be arrested, tortured, and sacrificed, Jesus had a question-and-answer session with the top religious leaders of His day. And in doing so, He showed us how to exercise wisdom. And obviously, wisdom is critical to our success in life, especially from a spiritual point of view. Notice James 1, verse 5 for a moment, before we get into those five questions. James 1, verse 5. James 1, verse 5. James writes, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. If you ask for wisdom, God will grant it. Remember Solomon did that very thing. And let's admit, we may all lack wisdom at times. And so we must pray for wisdom often. If you want to be wise, ask God for it. The ultimate wisdom is from Him. But I don't think these religious leaders were asking questions of Jesus because they thought He could actually teach them anything. They were actually trying to trick Him. Wisdom comes from Jesus Christ, and He exercised it in a remarkable way when He was confronted and questioned. And of course, the people who were asking the questions were trying to undermine Him, to trip Him up. They were not trying to add to their base of wisdom. Rather, in fact, they were challenging some very basic doctrines. Notice Proverbs chapter 26 as well. Let's look at the principle of wisdom Jesus applied. It's found in the Book of Wisdom, the Book of Proverbs. By the way, the Book of James is often known as the New Testament Book of Wisdom. Here's Proverbs, the Old Testament Book of Wisdom, Proverbs 26 verses 4 and 5. There are times when people are going to ask you a stupid question. And perhaps they'll try to get you involved in a very foolish discussion that would be a total waste of time. So verse 4 tells us, don't go there. Don't lower yourself to that level. It's a silly question, so move on. But sometimes an answer should be given. As we see here in verse 5, answer a fool. According to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

There are times when people think they're going to ask you a question that will stump you and undermine you. To show you how smart they are and how silly you might be. So in a case like that, Proverbs tells us, go ahead and answer. Lest that person be wise in his own eyes. He needs to understand his opinion may not be the right opinion after all. So there's an occasion to not answer, and there's an occasion to answer. So what did the Sadducees and Pharisees see as the most important questions for Jesus? As I said, they came up with five of them. Question 1, we begin in Matthew 21, Matthew 21, verses 23-27. The premise in being wise is to know when to answer and when not to answer. And now in the Q&A with Jesus before his arrest, we see this very thing. Let's see what we can learn from how he responded. Matthew 21, verse 23. Now when he came into the temple, when Jesus came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted him as he was teaching. So he's giving a Bible class right now, right, at the temple. And they said, by what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority? Who is this guy? Who does he think he is coming into the temple and teaching people about God? And in this question, these religious leaders were trying to get Jesus to say something that might be considered blasphemous or extremely vain. He had already revealed in the past where his authority came from. But I guess they didn't like that answer. He had told them, of course, he's the Son of God, and that the Father had sent him. These chief priests and elders felt they had authority over the people and could tell everyone what to do. So how could this Son of a carpenter be smart or know as much as they did? After all, Jesus had not even attended a rabbinical school like they had. They knew the Scriptures. How could this carpenter know anything? So where does your authority come from? Jesus. How did Jesus answer? He didn't. He asked them a question instead. He said, I'll answer yours if you'll answer mine. Which they couldn't. They were trying to undermine him. So Jesus turned the tables on them. Notice verse 24.

So here's Jesus' question back to them in verse 25. The baptism of John. Where was it from? From heaven? Or was it from men? Was this God-ordained, or was it just something that some men made up? And at this time in history, John the Baptist had concluded his ministry. In fact, he'd been martyred by now. And he'd been very respected by the Jewish population. Very respected by the people. But not so much by the established leadership. He was a threat to them. So the last part of verse 25, the leaders here reasoned among themselves, saying, if we say from heaven, he'll say to us, then why didn't you believe him? But if we say from men, we fear the multitude for all count John as a prophet. So they answered Jesus and said, we don't know. And he said to them, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

I think the Jewish leaders did know the answer to that question, where John the Baptist came from, by what authority he was baptizing people. But the Jewish leaders didn't respond to John the Baptist preaching. Many people did, but the leaders didn't. So the chief priests here didn't want to jeopardize their position with the people. They wanted to keep the respect of the people, so they didn't want to attack John, because John was so widely respected. So in using wisdom, Jesus said, if you're not going to answer that question, I'm not going to answer your question. So this is our first lesson, of course. Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.

Question 2. Let's go to Luke chapter 20 to look at Luke's version of this Q&A session. Luke chapter 20 for question number 2, verses 20 through 26. Luke 20 verse 20. So they watched Jesus, they watched him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous. So they put some plants in the crowd. They planted some people in the audience as spies. I guess they were probably paid agitators, right? To try and mess things up. Sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on his words in order to deliver him to the power and the authority of the Roman governor. They wanted to get him in trouble. These are not honest questions. The ones we're going through, they aren't today. And this is very common in the world of religion. Most religious leaders don't necessarily have the authority to arrest you or to charge you themselves, so they try to get you in trouble with the government. Verse 21, then they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that you say and teach rightly, and you do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth. Have you ever noticed that a lot of times when people want to ask a hostile question, they start off by sounding like they're some kind of great supporter of yours?

But then they go for the dig. And in this case, they want to get Jesus in trouble with the Roman Empire. Have the government go after him. Verse 22, is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Verse 23, but Jesus perceived their craftiness and said to them, Why do you test me? Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have? And the answer had said, Caesar's. And he said to them, Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

We are to obey God, and at the same time as good citizens, we are beat into the civil authorities, is what Jesus is saying. We pay our taxes so that our civic infrastructure, our roads, our water systems, our electricity, our snow removal, is funded, is paid for, through our taxes.

Verse 26, but they could not catch him in his words in the presence of the people. And they marveled that his answer and kept silent. Once again, these religious leaders are afraid of getting on the wrong side of the rest of the Jewish population, if they push things too far. So they kept quiet because of the people that were observing what was happening, and how smart Jesus was with his responses.

So for a while they backed off, especially since the people like Jesus. The lesson here is, answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. And of course, Jesus brought them down a notch or two with his answer. So then we go to question three. And this is actually a doctrinal dispute. And in this case, the leaders were very confident in their rejection of a very basic doctrine of the Bible, that of the resurrection.

The word resurrection is derived from the Latin resurrectio. And in script, your resurrection is translated from the Greek word anastasis, or anastasis, which means standing up again. Or rising from the dead. And resurrection is a basic doctrine of Scripture. It's also a basic doctrine in Judaism. The Jews believe in the resurrection. But, a sect of the Jewish leadership, the Sadducees, rejected it. The Sadducees decided, if we can't find it in the five books of Moses, we're not going to believe it. But actually, if they would have only looked a little more closely, it is there in the five books of Moses. And to this day, they reject it.

In Judean, chapter 32, is just one example. In Judean, chapter 32, verse 39, just for reference for you, we read the words of God. The words of God, now see that I even I am He, and there is no God beside me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Nor is there any other who can deliver from my hand. This verse here very much shows the intent for resurrection, because it's paralleled with wounding and healing.

If God can wound and heal, He can also kill and make alive. He can resurrect you. But in answering the Sadducees, Jesus actually decided to quote a different Old Testament verse from the books of Moses than this. From Exodus, chapter 3, as we'll see in a moment. The Sadducees are members of the priesthood, and they will only accept what's in the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch.

And so He then decided to answer them from the Pentateuch, which of course He Himself inspired and gave to us, to us human beings. And they're obviously not aware of that, but we are. We know who inspired and wrote the Pentateuch, don't we? Was Jesus Christ as the Word? So for this third question, let's go to Luke chapter 20, or stay in Luke chapter 20 here, and go into verse 27.

Luke 20 verse 27. Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, now what they're about to ask is based on a particular law that's recorded in Deuteronomy chapter 25. And in those days, the Israelite tribes were inheriting the land, and tribal inheritance was very important to the success of Israel going into the Promised Land. It's the teaching of the levered marriage. And levered marriage is a custom where a man is obligated to marry his deceased brother's widow if the brother died without having any children, ensuring the continuation of the family line as they developed a new nation in the Promised Land.

This practice has been actually observed in various cultures, and is associated with providing support and protection for the widow and her children. So, Luke 20 verse 28. The King of Man asked Him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies having a wife and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

Verse 29, in the Sadducees say, So, there were seven brothers, and the first took her wife and died without children. Go figure! And the second then took her as a wife. And guess what? He died childless too. Then the third took her, and in like manner, all seven. And they left no children and died, and last of all the woman died too.

Verse 33, So, it goes on and on through all seven brothers. It's a very extreme example, to say the least, that the Sadducees give. But this is their big question of the day. And to them, this is a big deal. A trick question to show the foolishness of believing in the resurrection. Because a story like this will be impossible to solve.

Somehow, they think this will undermine everyone else's doctrine of the resurrection. But that's rather silly. Why should it? Isn't God capable of dealing with situations like this? When all human beings are resurrected, God can easily deal with whatever technicalities come up. But it's very interesting how Jesus answers them. He tells them the ultimate purpose of the resurrection is not to get back with your wife, it's to inherit eternal life.

That's the reason for the resurrection, is to inherit eternal life. To be immortal and be spirit. He says, our most important goal is to be spirit beings.

When you're spirit, this is no longer an issue, because you're living on a different plane of existence, a different level, and you don't have marriage on that level, is what Jesus said. And I guess the Sadducees hadn't thought of this. Verse 34, Jesus answered and said to them, The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. In this life, yes. We get married and have families. Verse 35, But those who are accounted worthy to attain the next age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage. He says it's a whole different existence. Verse 36, Nor can they die any more. He's saying, this is a resurrection to immortality, for they are equal to the angels. In other words, spirit beings. In the resurrection, you'll be immortal spirit beings.

And sons of God. Sons of the resurrection. Verse 37, Jesus says, But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And that's in Exodus 3 verse 6. That's the example Jesus decided to give of, yes, the resurrection is implied in the Old Testament. Verse 38, For he is not the God of the dead, but of the living. For all live to him. And then some of the scribes answered him and said, Teacher, you have spoken well. But after that, they dared not question him any more. So far, they haven't been able to stump him on a question he couldn't answer. But here, Christ is telling them, our ultimate goal is to be eternal spirit beings. And these other matters, God can easily deal with. Things that happen in our former physical life. So he says, don't think you've got some kind of trick question that undermines the doctrine of the resurrection. The reason why there's a resurrection, he says, is because ultimately we're going to be judged. We're going to have the opportunity, each of us, to either accept or reject immortality. In verse 37 here, God is identified as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, right? Jesus is showing how these famous patriarchs, too, have a future. They're not dead forever. They had a relationship with God, and they have a future. They are going to live again. And this is actually a very good answer given by Jesus, and hopefully gave the Sadducees here some food for thought, because it says the Sadducees dared not question him anymore. Although, even to this day, many Jewish leaders don't believe in the resurrection, so it didn't work that well. Question 4, as we move along. So for this question, we'll take a look at the version recorded by Mark in chapter 12. Mark chapter 12. So Jesus has answered a question about taxation. He's answered a question about the resurrection, and he's answered a question. One was no answer, which actually was an answer, if you think about it. The answer was, I'm not going to answer your foolish question. So we're starting to see the wisdom of Jesus Christ in action here, as he deals with very hostile people. And in Mark chapter 12, we see a very basic principle of the Bible, the doctrine of monotheism. There is only one God. So Mark 12 verse 28. Mark 12 verse 28. Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that he had answered them well, this guy kind of liked Jesus' answers, asked him, which is the first commandment of all? Now, any Jew would answer exactly the way Jesus does in verse 29. It's all from Deuteronomy chapter 6. This is all from Deuteronomy chapter 6. So verse 29, Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandment is, Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. There is only one God. And you should love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And verse 31, the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these two. Love God, there is only one God, and love your fellow man, your neighbor. And now next we see God does have a sense of humor. Here is the Son of God talking to this scribe. Here is the Logos, the Word of God in the flesh. And he is asked to recite the greatest commandments.

Obviously he knows what they are. He gave them. In fact he gave all 613 Old Testament laws.

But here this scribe, not knowing this, not knowing any better, says, verse 32, so the scribe said to him, Well said, teacher, as if Jesus needs this man's approval, right? You have spoken the truth, for there is one God and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. So obeying God is more important than even sacrifices and offerings. Which is true, we read that elsewhere. And when Jesus saw that He answered wisely, this fellow did answer wisely. He said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. But of course after this, no one dared to question Him. Not just the scribes, not just the elders, not just the Sadducees, now no one dared question Him now. He'd answered some of what they thought were very difficult questions. And now, after answering these four questions, including the one where He didn't give an answer, because it wasn't worthy of an answer, which was an answer in itself, Jesus gave them a question they could not answer.

And He now stumped these great theologians of the day. So we'll go back to Matthew's version in chapter 22 for question number 5. And this time it's the Pharisees. And now Jesus has a question for them. Matthew 22, verse 41. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He? And they said to Him, the Son of David. That's correct, right? Jesus' genealogy goes through King David. Of course, they didn't believe that this person standing in front of them was the Messiah. But they answered correctly that the Christ will be a Son of David. A descendant of King David. Verse 43, so He said to them, How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord? Saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. So Jesus quotes from Psalm 110 verse 1. Where is a repetition here in verse 44? Verse 44 says, The Lord, and that's Yahweh there, right? Said to my Lord, and that's another name for God, Adonai. So Yahweh said to Adonai, Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. So Christ then says in verse 45, If David calls Him Lord, how is He His Son?

And no one was able to answer Him a word. Not from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

Why was this question so important to ask the Pharisees? Because in quoting Psalm 110, Jesus proved His messianic identity to them. The first Lord, Yahweh, is the eternal God of the universe, the great I AM. And this self-existent, omnipotent God speaks in Psalm 110 to someone else who is also David's Lord, Adonai. Another God. So the second Lord is the Messiah, or the Christ. The Messiah is both Davidic and divine. He's the descendant of David, but He's also the Son of God.

That's why Christ said, when you think about Christ, whose son is He? They said the Son of David.

And then that was the end of the Q&A. That's the five questions. The Pharisees could not explain this heavenly, godly relationship of the two Lords. He stumped the theologians of His day and dealt with them in such a way that they now were determined to get rid of Him. He had crossed the line, basically, into blasphemy, saying He was the Messiah. And in effect, this final question is a climax to the discussion. And from there, of course, Jesus goes on to infuriate them by telling them in the next chapter, chapter 23, the truth about themselves. He identified them and said, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.

So the nails in the coffin, almost literally for Christ as well now, they're going to get Him. But it was all part of God's plan. It's a part of God's plan for us. Jesus came to sacrifice Himself so we could be forgiven of sin. And afterwards, Jesus' resurrection, which they asked about, was the first step in our ultimate resurrection too, to immortality. Christ was the first, and we and others will follow and be resurrected. In the answer to these important questions, we see how Jesus Christ in His human ministry exercised wisdom. And there are many other lessons we can learn from these passages as well. But it leads to how we want to wrap this up.

There are people who consider themselves wise, maybe clever, but they're really not. They're really being foolish.

They think they're getting away with something when they're not. And one of the most foolish beliefs of all, to be the most unwise, is to not even believe in God. All of us are going to be accountable for how we have lived our lives. And so, when we talk about wisdom, we need to talk about the wisdom we find in Scripture. Godly wisdom. Ask for it daily. Let's go to James chapter 3 again. Well, we were in James 1 earlier. Let's go to James 3 now. Whatever we may think is wise on a human level, whenever people think they're being very clever, they're probably outsmarting themselves. So let's look at the contrast given in James chapter 3. James 3 verse 17. The wisdom that is from above, the wisdom that comes from God is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield full of mercy and good fruit without partiality and without hypocrisy. That's an amazing description of true wisdom. James is telling us, a wise person is one who wants to leave this world a better place for him or her having been here. James says, a wise person does not stir up trouble, like those who approached Jesus did, like spies pretending to be righteous. A wise person does not try to trip you up with smart questions. Rather, James says, he's trying to be peaceable, gentle, merciful, willing to yield without partiality, without hypocrisy. Not doing harm, but doing good. This is truly being wise. And so when you ask God for wisdom, you're asking him to help you be peaceable, gentle, merciful, yielding, not hypocritical. That's truly being wise. It's not being able to recite something or know how to send a rocket to the moon. No. This is true wisdom. And after James talks about wisdom from above, the kind of wisdom we want, the kind of wisdom we pray for, he then says in verse 18, Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. So those who can make peace are the most wise.

We don't want to be troublesome people, but beneficial. We are to be wise, James says, in the heavenly way, in the way that comes from above. And we can certainly look forward to a wonderful future as we exercise godly wisdom in how we approach and interact with people. And that was certainly illustrated in these five questions that Jesus Christ answered. And as we read in James chapter 1 earlier, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. What would you have asked Jesus? For the wisdom that comes from above? Or something else? Ask for the wisdom that comes from above.