How Many Questions Did Jesus Ask?

[Cow Poke]

We all know that Jesus apparently liked to answer questions with questions, but He also started conversations with questions. Two of my favorite are when he asked His disciples "who do the people say I am", with the followup being "who do YOU say I am".

So, I was doing a study on...

• Questions Jesus asked
• Questions Jesus answered with questions
• Questions Jesus was asked but never answered
• Questions Jesus actually answered with answers...

I'm finding "339 Questions Jesus asked", "153 Questions Jesus asked"...

Naturally, some of this is going to depend on how you count the same question asked in the various Gospels, or whether you consider a question in English a faithful translation of a challenge in Hebrew or Aramaic or whatever...

I thought this would be an interesting discussion.

[Faber]

I taught a lesson a few weeks ago on the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed? As if Jesus really needed to ask. Did Jesus mean it like, "How would you like to be healed!" Or a rhetorical "Don't you want to be healed?"

[Thoughtful Monk]

We all know that Jesus apparently liked to answer questions with questions, but He also started conversations with questions. Two of my favorite are when he asked His disciples "who do the people say I am", with the followup being "who do YOU say I am".

So, I was doing a study on...

• Questions Jesus asked
• Questions Jesus answered with questions
• Questions Jesus was asked but never answered
• Questions Jesus actually answered with answers...

When we're asked a question, we tend to be polite and answer the question as presented. I think for the middle two bullets, you will find that Jesus responded in this way because the question was attempted distraction from His ministry or the point He was trying to make. Jesus knew what He was trying to teach and refused to be pulled off message.

[lee_merrill]

I think for the middle two bullets, you will find that Jesus responded in this way because the question was attempted distraction from His ministry or the point He was trying to make. Jesus knew what He was trying to teach and refused to be pulled off message.

I'm remembering that Jesus didn't answer the question "Who is my neighbor?", instead he answered the question "Who is a neighbor?".

Blessings,
Lee

[Cow Poke]

I taught a lesson a few weeks ago on the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed? As if Jesus really needed to ask. Did Jesus mean it like, "How would you like to be healed!" Or a rhetorical "Don't you want to be healed?"

Or, maybe he just wanted the man to ask? Or, maybe Jesus was having him focus on WHO it was that was doing the healing, because after the first "do you want to be made whole", the man was pointing out that there was nobody there to help him. Jesus then instructed him to get up. The attention focused on Jesus as the healer, not the circumstances or condition of the pool.

Many of these things were not just between Jesus and the other person, but for the instruction and witness of the crowds. eh?

[Christianbookworm]

Wasn't Jesus also outwitting foolish people trying to trap Him with trick questions? Jesus would never fall for a loaded question.

[Faber]

Many of these things were not just between Jesus and the other person, but for the instruction and witness of the crowds. eh?

Yeah, especially because He did it on the Sabbath in front of the Pharisees.