April 2025-I’ve got Questions…

There’s a young woman in our church family who became a Christian a few years ago. And she traces the start of her journey to faith in Christ all the way back to a simple question that her 5 year old church-going niece asked her. Her niece simply asked, ’Do you know Jesus too?’ And that question acted like a stone in her shoe. It continued to burrow away inside her mind. And she recalls how in that moment it dawned on her that she simply didn’t have an answer. And so she set out to find out.

And that’s the thing about questions isn’t it? They can be keys that unlock a number of doors in a person’s heart. They can get us thinking in new ways about new things often through new eyes. Questions don’t necessarily need to be complicated. However, in the Lord’s hands, they can be tremendously powerful. 

And the best question-asker ever is… Jesus. As you read the gospels you get the distinct impression that Jesus loved questions more than answers. Someone has counted and apparently Jesus is recorded as asking 307 questions in the gospels. In turn he’s asked 183 questions of which he only answers 8 of them directly. What does that mean? Well it means that if you were around in the first century and you asked Jesus a question you were forty times more likely that he’d ask you a question back than give you an answer. Striking isn’t it.? We’d almost expect it to be the other way around for the man his disciples call Rabbi. Teacher. Jesus is simply the best question-asker ever.

Jesus asked all sorts of questions. Questions of invitation. Who are you looking for? Questions about identity. Who do you say that I am? Questions about motivations. Why do you grumble about the speck in your brother’s eye? Questions about life. Isn't life worth more than these? Observational questions. Whose inscription is this? You get the idea. The man who called himself The way, the truth and the life loved to ask questions. 

And so a good question for us to mull over is Why? Why did Jesus ask so many questions?

Let me suggest two possible reasons. 

Number one. Jesus asks questions in order to draw people out. In other words, to help human beings reflect on what’s really going on in their hearts. Our faulty motivations. Our hidden prejudices. Our shallow misconceptions. Our idols and false securities. By asking questions Jesus helps people understand themselves by uncovering things going on in their hearts that they didn’t even know were there. 

And number two. Jesus asks questions to invite people in. In other words, Jesus asks questions in order to reveal something critical about him. His person and his work. 

So how can we take a leaf out of the Jesus' playbook when it comes to our evangelistic conversations with the people that we rub shoulders with in our everyday lives? 

Well let me give you a little acronym that Archie once shared with me. One that I find incredibly helpful when it comes to having good conversations with our friends about Jesus.  Here it is:

SHARE.

Let me talk you through it.

The first thing to do is stop. Let’s take the time to slow down and see the other person. It’s so simple and yet so undervalued. Looking someone in the eye is a crucial and wonderful way of communicating to someone that we genuinely care about. And this is done best in the context of friendship. Do we have meaningful relationships with people who think differently to us? Have we earned the trust of the people around us so that this level of conversation is even on the table? Stop.

Then second, hear. Listen to people’s stories and answers before we respond. What are the big questions that people are asking? What matters to them? What assumptions about Christianity do they have? What experiences are informing those questions? As someone once said to me: ‘Learn to discern whether someone is asking the question from the armchair or the wheelchair.’ In other words, are they asking the question from a place of hurt or a place of intrigue. Are they a debater or a sufferer? Ascertaining the answer to that question will determine how you got about answering their question. Let us be compassionate and sensitive. Let us be interested in people’s lives. Hear.

Third, ask. In our world of soundbites, social media pile-ons and gotcha journalism taking the time to lovingly ask an open question is a powerful way that we can show people that we care. Resist the temptation to interject and say ‘you’re wrong’. So often all that does it cause people to become defensive and put up barriers. But asking good open questions is one way that we can get much more of a conversation going on that will most likely prove to be far more effective. 

Fourth, respond. Christian Evangelist Andy Bannister rather insightfully talks about how evangelism isn’t just learning to answer people’s questions; it’s  learning to question people’s answers. What can we say to people in response as we seek to gently probe people’s worldview? So when they ask about a Christian understanding of suffering, or ethics, or sexuality we have something to say. Because everyone has faith in something. Everyone has a worldview through which they interpret the world around them and live in light of. And that’s a great thing to bear in mind and use to our advantage when it comes to evangelistic conversations. But that said, when a friend asks you questions and you don’t have an answer then it is ok to say that you don’t know and that you’d love to go away, think, read and find out. Respond.  

And then fifth, encourage. We want our churches to be safe places where people can ask questions and engage with others without being made to feel awkward. We want to be people who welcome questions. Encourage questions. Invite dialogue. Let’s let our friends see that we are people who are passionate about exploring truth and learning. And so if your friend has a question, point them towards places where they can seek answers. There are some wonderful resources out there that are specifically designed for people to use ink exactly this way. The Solas Public Centre for Christianity website is a treasure trove of short apologetic videos and articles. Be willing to meet them again or even journey together as you explore their questions. 

Stop.

Hear.

Ask.

Respond. 

Encourage. 

I wonder if you saw the recent statistics that Bible sales in Britain have surged by a remarkable 87 per cent between 2019 and 2024. Now on the one hand they are just figures and there are many reasons why people would want to buy a Bible. But on the other hand, you can’t deny that it’s a hugely intriguing and interesting trend. One that many, including myself, are saying reflects people’s new found desire for exploring spiritual things particularly since the COVD pandemic. 

The statistics would tell us that we are living at a time of wonderful spiritual intrigue. And so can I suggest that there has never been a better time to ask our friends questions about what they believe. I like to take the Dr. Pepper approach to evangelism. If you remember the strap line from those TV adverts back in the naughties. What’s the worst that could happen

So let’s eagerly and expectantly pray that the Lord would give us questions to loving ask, wherever and whenever we meet people.