Apr 3 - "Honest Questions. Honest Answers"

Mark 11:27-33 -- “Again Jesus and the disciples came to Jerusalem. As He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.’ They argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” he will say, “Why then did you not believe him?” But shall we say, “Of human origin”?’ – they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’ ”

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Are there times in our lives when we ask questions for which we are not ready to hear the answers? We think we know what we want or need to know, but we can get caught up in the things of the world and our perception becomes skewed. We get confined into thinking that the choices we have, the answers we are given are limited in some way.

The line of dialogue Jesus has with the elders from the temple is a really interesting one. Of course, Jesus knew just the right question to ask which puts the elders into a tough spot. Their question to Him, although likely meaning to trap Him in some way, was an honest one in the sense that they wanted an answer. It is highly likely that in each one of the hardened hearts of these men, they were genuinely searching and yearning to believe.

Imagine this situation, this scene in the temple, with a different outcome. A young priest off to the side steps forward and answers Him honestly; “John’s baptism came from heaven.”

The elders, whispering to each other as they consider their answer, stop suddenly, shocked at the words of their junior member. Jesus turns to face him and says, “Then why did you not believe him?”, already knowing the candid words to follow as they come from this yearning heart.

“What this man John was doing represented a change from our traditions. It was a threat to all that we have set up in our laws and rituals. We could see very clearly that God was blessing John and he was giving people a new way to have a relationship with Him. But he was doing this outside of the rules we have established over the centuries. God must not want us to turn aside from these things he ordained. We could not support John and support our tradition.”

Jesus smiles, gently speaking, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

The elders shout at the young priest, telling him to stop. But he continues, “But how can we set these things aside? They are a part of us...our tradition...our history!”. You can hear the passion and the pain in his voice as he adds, “I have known nothing but the law and the rituals of sacrifice and cleansing my whole life. They are a part of me. I cannot exist without them!”

Christ responds, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Falling to his knees, his heart torn, he pleads, “I want to, but there is so much telling me I cannot follow you. How can I know that you are Messiah?”

Jesus walks to the broken man, kneels down to him, reaches out to his face and turns it to up to His; "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

So, think about your deepest and most honest questions. With what do you struggle on a daily basis? Are you you looking for answers? We are the elders in this story, but also the young priest. Look to the Word. All of the answers we need are there. Jesus speaks to our honest questions and gives us the honest answers, whether in the Bible or when we call to Him from our yearning hearts in prayer.