The Power of Good Questions

“Why were you searching for me?” Luke 2:49 (NIV)

The very first words of Jesus recorded in the gospels – he was only twelve years old at the time - were a question: “Why were you searching for me?” Luke 2:49 (NIV).

The sheer brilliance of this question is astonishing - it immediately takes us to the very centre of the gospel.

Throughout the gospels, we watch Jesus asking people questions.

A good question can take a conversation to the heart of an issue, to the very essence of the motives driving the situation, and it can help reveal the real truth of what is happening.

We need only think of Louis Theroux, the investigative journalist who, perhaps more than any other journalist in the world today, has demonstrated how, by asking a straightforward question, even the most complicated and dangerous people will start opening up about their deepest secrets and motives.

Jesus does exactly this in the gospels....

“Woman, why do you involve me? … Do whatever he tells you” John 2:4 (NIV)

“Do you still not understand?” Matthew 16:9 (NIV)

“What were you arguing about on the road? … they had argued about who was the greatest” Mark 9:33-34. (NIV)

“What do you want me to do for you? Lord, I want to see” Luke 18:41 (NIV).

“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Matthew 16:13 (NIV)

“Who is it you want?” John 18:4 (NIV)

“Woman, why are you crying?” John 20:13 (NIV)

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” John 21:17 (NIV)

We will find more opportunities to talk about Jesus and introduce him to our friends when we practice and learn how to ask good questions.

In his book, “How to talk about Jesus without looking like an idiot”, Andy Banister writes about asking “What?”, “Wondering?”, “Why?” and “Whether?” questions.

What? – "Can you help me understand what sort of God it is that you do not believe in?"

Wondering? – When Paul was given the opportunity to speak publicly in Athens, he basically asked them, “I wonder if you have thought about the identity of this unknown god to whom you have dedicated this altar.” He then told them about Jesus.

Whether? – “I wonder whether you have considered that if Christianity is true, then that would give a very secure grounding for our identity and self-worth?” Or, “I wonder whether you’ve thought about the kind of evidence that would be persuasive?”

As we practice asking our unbelieving friends open, leading questions, we will find that the conversation can turn to considering who Jesus is and why he is the light of the world. And then we can gently and respectfully explain why we have chosen to follow him.

Look at how Jesus used questions when the religious leaders challenged him in the temple in Matthew 21.

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