Articles
Four-Word Questions
In my weekly Bible reading I occasionally take note of four-word statements or questions (as rendered in English, not necessarily in Hebrew or Greek). I don’t know why these stand out; my brain is just weird that way. So let’s think about four questions that were asked that may have application to us.
“How can I go?” This question was asked by Samuel when God commissioned him to anoint David as the next king (1 Sam 16:2). Samuel balks in fear at this command: “If Saul hears it, he will kill me” (ibid). God provides cover for Samuel by instructing him to take a heifer and announce the offering of a sacrifice. This was a legitimate undertaking and shows that men are not bound to reveal everything pertaining to a particular action. This is not deceit, for such bears the quality of misleading for personal gain or sinful outcome. The result: “So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem …” (16:4).
We, too, can have our “how can I go” moments of doubt and/or fear. How can I go talk to a brother or sister who has sinned against me? The pressure of confrontation often frightens us into silence, and the situation continues to fester. How can I go talk to the elders or a fellow Christian and confess a private, embarrassing temptation or sin? Pride and insecurity dissuade us from seeking the help we need.
Or, we might flip it around and ask, “How can I stay?” How can I stay in an unfulfilling marriage that has sunk into a cold, superficial cordiality devoid of intimacy, emotion and meaningful conversation? How can I stay in a church that has lost its spiritual zest and simmers with strife or indifference?
Such situations challenge our confidence in God’s instructions, even as with Samuel. We reason backward from the assumed, dreaded outcome to the command and then decide obedience is too risky or uncomfortable. We are not always guaranteed of a particular outcome in our obedience to God. It may not go well for us at all, at least as far as the response of others is concerned. But we will always be able to find comfort in the knowledge that we did what God asked, no matter how difficult.
“Why do you sleep?” No, this is not what Paul asked Eutychus when he raised him from the dead. Rather, the Lord was asking Peter, James and John why they were sleeping when He had asked them to watch with Him in Gethsemane (Lk 22:46). Matthew records Jesus asking prior to this, “What, could you not watch with Me one hour?” (Mt 26:40). Three times Jesus went a short distance from them to pray alone and agonize over what was about to occur, and three times the disciples failed to remain awake. If there is any mitigating factor, it is in the words of Luke: “He found them sleeping from sorrow” (Lk 22:45).
And herein is a warning for us. Emotional exhaustion is a dangerous condition, for in such a stupor we are vulnerable to Satan’s wiles. It is not when we are safe, rested, alert and well-provisioned that Satan attacks. He is like the wolf who separates the weak, straggling and young from the flock, catching the unwary sheep at his feeblest.
Jesus also said, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt 26:41). This describes the struggle all of us have – to follow through on what we know is right. But we sometimes fail to do this because we are weak in our human constitution. The disciples are in grave spiritual danger in the garden, but they don’t see it. Note the contrast between Jesus’ fervent prayer and the disciples’ sleep: “While the sinless Son is overwhelmed with a desperate need to communicate with his Father, the self-confident disciples feel no such compulsion” (Terry Slack, quoted in Kyle Pope’s Matthew 972). Where are you vulnerable – sleeping – and thus in danger?!
“What do you seek?” Jesus asks this question of the first would-be disciples following His wilderness fasting, temptation by the devil and presentation by John as, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29, 36). When Jesus is pointed out by John, Andrew and another of John’s disciples follow Jesus. Jesus never questions people for information; His questions are designed to challenge the hearer and lead him/her to a deeper understanding of themselves and their spiritual state. Andrew and his companion seem taken off-guard, for their response misses the mark: “Rabbi, where are You staying?” (1:38). Thus Jesus invites them to “Come and see” (1:39).
Again, the question is for us and for every person who walks the earth: “What do you seek?” What are you looking for? We are all in search of something – our true thoughts and feelings; our ancestral connections; our sense of purpose and meaning; how to make our relationships with others better, etc. Before we can recognize the correct answer, we have to know what it is we are seeking, what is of real importance to us. So many questions we ask ourselves are frivolous: “What movie are we going to see?” “Where do we want to go on vacation?” “What’s for supper?” “What will I do with my ‘free time’ when I retire?” “How can I make more money?” These pale in comparison to, “Who will I marry?” “How can I keep the minds of my children pure?” “How can I help my brother in need?” “What is the truth?” “Where will I spend eternity?” We will not get the right answers to the right questions until we figure out what it is that deserves our utmost attention, thought and effort to understand.
“Who are you, Lord?” This is the response of Saul of Tarsus, stalwart defender of orthodox Judaism and chief persecutor of the early church. While on a mission to wreak further havoc on brethren in Damascus, the Lord intervenes with His blinding presence and accusatory voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Ac 9:4). Of course, we know who asks this, but Saul is completely clueless. It has never dawned on him in his murderous zeal that the leader of the hated sect is in fact the Son of God! “Lord” here is merely a term of respect and/or deference; he truly does not know that this is the voice of Jesus until Jesus reveals it in His answer (9:5). Can we possibly imagine the total shock these words were to a man both physically and spiritually blind in relation to Christ?
But this is a question we must ask, and it is a question that is muted by society or relegated to the back burner of consciousness. Has the Son of God actually come into the world? Did He die for my sins? Was He a fraud, an insightful guru, a generous humanitarian who sought to help the unfortunate? We need to ask the question and follow where the evidence leads.
