So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Matthew 21:27
People often like to question things without really wanting the truth. They want to hear answers said in a certain way that supports their own personal belief and anything less is tossed out or ignored. Finding ways to bypass the truth or skirt around the truth occurs all the time. Honest, full truth is seldomly truly desired.
Matthew records that the chief priests had asked Jesus where He got His authority from. After Jesus asked them a question about authority, they refused to answer, so Jesus said He would not answer their question either.
News media is filled with reporters that ask leading questions. The reporters will often ask questions to either make the one being interviewed look great, or to trap the person into looking horrible. The questions asked will depend upon what answer the asker is wanting to hear.
The world likes to ask many questions about God. Their questions are often not meant to truly learn about God but how they can disprove God or show that He is not good. Other times they are asked, not to believe, but to just argue about who God is and what He has said. Words are twisted to mean something different than what was actually said.
Believers need to be led by the Holy Spirit in when to answer the questions and when to be silent. There are times that answering the questions will lead nowhere as the world is trying to trap them into false beliefs or an endless circle of what-ifs. When God’s word is spoken and believed, lives will be changed.
People may come to you with questions about God. Some of those questions will be with a true desire to know God, while others may be to lead you away from Him. Allow yourself to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit as to how to answer those questions. He can reveal what the true motive is behind the questions. There may be times, as with Jesus, in which you do not answer and are silent. Do not allow yourself to get trap in endless, meaningless arguments with the world.
Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that God will open your understanding behind questions the world asks; that God will lead you on how to answer questions the world has; and that God will help you to know the truth.
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
