My thanks to Darrell Stetler II for doing most of the work on this message.
“Jesus and His Silly Questions”
August 16, 2009
Have you ever been asked a silly question? I suppose we all have – mostly by our kids or grandkids. Monica used to be great at asking silly questions. When she was about 4 or 5 years old she said, “Daddy, is God as smart as you?” She about floored me with that one. Needless to say, she grew out of that concept of me very quickly. I answered very seriously, “Yes, Sweetie, God is way smarter than me.” That’s pretty hard to believe to an adoring adolescent.
Another silly question she asked me, as I was lifting something heavy was, “Dad, is anyone as strong as you?” I answered very seriously, “Yes, Dear, somewhere there is someone who is even stronger than me.” Isn’t it nice that someone thinks you are the world’s strongest man?
Here’s some more silly questions people have asked:
Once you’ve heard a sound, where does the sound go?
What color is a chameleon?
Why is it called the Afterlife when it’s really Afterdeath?
Why is it called Afterdark when it’s really Afterlight?
What was the best thing before sliced bread?
Why do 24/7 stores have locks fitted to the doors?
Why are soapsuds always white?
Why do Superheroes wear tights?
If Buzz Lightyear doesn’t know he’s a toy why does he stop talking when humans are around?
If humans evolved from apes, why do we still have apes?
If humans left the earth, would Time cease to exist?
Why do Psychics keep sending me spam, don’t they know I’m not interested?
There’s a lot of silly questions out there – fun questions. We get them all the time. But have you ever notice the silly questions Jesus asked? I want to talk about three of them this morning.
Listen to the first silly question Jesus asked. It’s recorded in Luke 18.
“Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."
Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.”
Luke 18:35-43
1. “What do you want me to do for you?” What a silly question to ask a blind man! Anyone could pretty much guess what a blind person would want. Why would Jesus ask a dumb question like that? I think He had good reason. One reason was because he wanted something before he would perform a miracle for them. He wanted him to get specific about what he wanted.
Did you hear about the lady who called the fire department to report a fire?
The fireman was sitting by the phone when it rang. He picked it up and said, “Fire department!” The woman on the other end said, “SEND A FIRE TRUCK QUICK!” and hung up.
He waited, not sure what to do, and the phone rang again. He picked it up, said “Fire department.” The woman said, “SEND A FIRE TRUCK NOW!!” Then she hung up.
He waited, and this time he was ready. The phone rang, and he picked it up and said, “Where’s the fire?” The woman said, “It’s in the kitchen!” and hung up!
Sometimes we don’t want to get specific about what we want from the Lord. I think often we limit the miracles we can receive because we are not willing to tell Jesus exactly what our problem is!
Notice that when Jesus asked this man what he wanted, the man didn’t say, “Well, Lord. . . I just really need your help. I have an unspoken request. You know my heart, and uh. . . I just need your guidance with my situation.”
I’m not against unspoken requests. Sometimes, it’s the most appropriate way to ask for prayer in public. But the danger is that we don’t ask God specifically enough sometimes in the place of prayer!
DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM? Something you’ve wrestled with for a long time, and never been able to conquer? Do you have a situation that you can’t handle? Will NOTHING short of a miracle be the cure and take care of the situation? Then you need to do two things:
-1. Tell God exactly what the problem is.
- 2. Tell God exactly what you need done about it.
I have a friend who struggled for a long time with stopping the smoking habit. He knew he was injuring the temple of the Holy Spirit. He knew smoking was wrong. He knew God didn’t want him to do this. And he tried to quit many times. But he never made it past a few days. It wasn’t until he really admitted that he had a problem HE couldn’t deal with, that he began to get victory over that habit.
Here’s the lesson. Sometimes we put our trust in a patch or a program or in our will power – instead of God. Miracles happen when we admit we have a problem. We need to realize and admit to ourselves and to God that we can’t handle it on our own. God said to Paul said, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
We need to confess our inadequacy to God and go to Him for help. When we do that we open the door and let God in. We unleash the power of God. We need to confess our weakness and go to Him for a miracle.
Let’s take a look at the next silly question Jesus asked. It’s found in John 5
“After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"
The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."
Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.
John 5:1-9
“Do you want to be healed?” Isn’t that a silly question to ask a sick person? Why would Jesus ask a question like this? I think it was because he wanted the man to put his will into motion.
You know, a lot of things that we struggle with are never solved because we don’t use one particular thing that God has given us: OUR WILL!
The will is what you choose with. If I hadn’t used my will this morning, BELIEVE me, I’d have never gotten out of bed!!
God has made your will a powerful thing! You know how powerful it is? Even though God wants you to go to heaven, he has given you to ability to CHOOSE to go to hell by not living in a right relationship with Him! “Do you WANT to be healed?” “Do you WANT to go to heaven?” Seems like a silly question. But God has given you the choice. You determine where you will spend eternity. Jesus died for the sins of the whole, entire world – past, present and future. But He made it clear that only a few will make it. He said the road to heaven is straight and narrow and only a few find it. The road to hell, on the other hand, is broad and easy to travel. And it is filled with people on their way to an eternity in hell. They are on it for one of two reasons, one, they reject Christ and His gift of eternal life, or two, they did nothing about it.
Maybe they meant to accept that free gift of eternal life some day – but just never got around it. Eternal life is a choice. The Word of God says “All who call on the Name of the Lord will be saved.” You have to call. You have to invite Him in. You have to exercise your free will to go to heaven. “Do you WANT to be healed?”
Here’s the next silly question Jesus asked. Matthew records it.
“When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!" And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you." And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."
Matthew 9:27-30
3. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” That’s a silly question! They wouldn’t have followed him if they hadn’t believed!! Why would Jesus ask a question like that? It was because he wanted something before he would perform a miracle. What was it He wanted from them? He wanted them to verbalize their faith in him!
Jesus already knew that they believed – he just wanted them to say it out loud! He wanted them to admit it, because there’s something about sharing OUT LOUD that you believe something. Speaking it REALLY CLINCHES IT!! Speaking it out load opens the door to healing and help.
Some time ago, I had a friend who was struggling with pornography. For a long time, he’d struggled. He wanted to do what was right, but he didn’t want to get really honest about the problem with God. He wasn’t quite FED UP with it yet. And he wasn’t really sure that he believed God could deliver him from it – the desires were SO strong! (That’s the way they get if you’ve practiced giving in for a long time!)
Finally, he had enough. He humbled himself before God – and he went through these exact steps!
1. He told God “My problem is pornography, and I want to be forgiven, and changed on the inside!”
2. He told God he was fed up and wanted the problem to be fixed more than he wanted anything else.
3. He told God that he trusted HIM to help control those desires – and believed that He could give him victory!
And guess what? GOD WORKED A MIRACLE THAT DAY! He was delivered.
If something has you in bondage, you need to admit it. Verbalize it! Tell someone about it. Have them pray with you. But most importantly BELIEVE God is able to help you. Believe God is able to deliver you.
Well, Jesus does ask some pretty silly questions, doesn’t He? Jesus still asks the same three questions of you today:
-1 What do you want me to do? It’s a question of honesty with yourself.
-2 Do you WANT to be healed? It’s a question of your will!
-3 Do you believe that I’m able to do this? It’s a question of your faith!
Is there something in your life you would like Jesus to do for you today? Do you REALLY want it? Do you REALLY have the faith that Jesus can do this for you today?
If you answered YES to those questions – you could see a miracle happen in your life. You simply need to pray a prayer like this:
Dear Jesus,
I really need your help today. I need you to do this for me ____________.
I admit it. I confess it to You. I really want you to deliver me right now. I believe Your strength is made perfect in my weakness. I believe You have the power to do this for me. Please help me right now. Please forgive me. Please heal me. Please come.
“His Strength is Perfect”
