Insidious
Day 211
October 13, 2020
There is a difference between asking God questions and questioning God. Last time, we thought about the questions: “Lord, what do you want me to do?” and “Where do you want me to go?” These are good questions that He delights in answering for us when we are willing to listen to His voice. However, there are times we may be tempted to question God himself. Quite possibly, before you were saved by His grace, you too questioned God; His actions, His character, or even His very existence.
In the Gospels, we see a group of people, who questioned Jesus a lot. They are identified most of the time as the Pharisees and religious leaders. The questions that they asked were not like those of Nicodemus in John 3, which seemed to be birthed out of a sincere desire to know the truth. On the contrary, these questions were intended to undermine and belittle the person and work of Christ, and ultimately the power of God.
In Mark 2:1-12, we see Jesus heal a man who was paralyzed. But before He did this, He told this man that his sins were forgiven. When the Pharisees heard this, they called him a blasphemer, and questioned in their hearts:
Who is this fellow?
Who can forgive sins but God alone?
These two questions reveal that they didn’t see, or wouldn’t see, that standing before them was the very Son of God. The motivation behind the questions was to undermine Jesus’ authority, if not for the public, at least in their own minds. They were so fixed on their understanding of things, on the ways they did things, that they were blinded to the clear and obvious power that Jesus displayed in his teachings and healings. Had they not given into their own self-deception, they would have been able to answer their own questions: this “fellow” was God himself, the only One with the authority to forgive sins. Jesus declares this to be true when he begins to heal the man from his paralysis. He says to them, “... [I do this] that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” - Luke 5:17-21
In Matthew 9:9-13, the Pharisees, once again ask a question, this time to Jesus’ disciples. Upon seeing Jesus eat with tax collectors and other “sinners” they ask:
Why does your teacher eat with them
Here we can see that this attack is directed to the disciples. They aim to taint the people that Jesus has chosen to spend time with and therefore taint Jesus too. This question is intended to create doubt and confusion in the hearts of the disciples. And yet, Jesus again gives the correct response as he reminds the Pharisees that what God wants is “mercy and not sacrifice.” Just as with the paralyzed man, Jesus came to show compassion to the sick and lost. He says, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)
And finally, other examples of undermining questions can be found in Mark 2:18-28. First, the Pharisees ask Jesus:
How is it your disciples are not fasting?
By comparing His disciples’ actions with those of other “righteous” people, the Pharisees attempt to discredit their holiness. And yet, again Jesus reminds them that they are “with the bridegroom” and have no need to fast. He came to fulfill the law, but they just don’t get it. And then when the Pharisees see the disciples picking grain on the Sabbath, they question Him again saying:
Why are they doing what is unlawful?
Although Jesus gives them the answer that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, this did not satisfy them. The truth is that no answer would satisfy their wicked hearts, hearts that had already decided not to believe God at His Word. These men trusted in their own systems of righteousness that gave them a sense of power and authority over the people. But behind their questioning are the schemes and tactics of “their father the devil” who Jesus says in John 8 was a liar from the beginning. They followed in his same practices, attempting to use questions to undermine and discredit God himself. We see this technique fail in the book of Job and also as Satan unsuccessfully tried to question Jesus while he tempted Him in the wilderness (Matthew 4).
However, the schemes don’t always fail. Sadly, they are effective for many, even those who formerly walked with the Lord. So today, be on guard with this scheme of the enemy. He will often try to place insidious questions in the hearts of man in order that we begin to question God and walk away from Him. Allow your questions to draw you closer to God, not drive a wedge of separation from Him.