Jesus – always ducking questions with questions

Go and have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQak6ng0RXQ

One way of looking at asking questions can be seen in Lean manufacturing or lean production, which is often known simply as “Lean”.  A system we are currently adopting at work.  A lean process is a process that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for elimination. Working from the perspective of the customer who consumes a product or service, “value” is defined as any action or process that a customer would be willing to pay for.

Basically, lean is centered around creating more value with less work. Lean manufacturing is a generic process management philosophy derived mostly from the Toyota Production System (TPS) and identified as “Lean” only in the 1990s.  One of aspects of Lean thinking revolves around asking questions and not telling people what to do.

The basic premise is that you avoid telling people what to do for three narrow reasons and one deeper one: 1) it robs people of the opportunity to think the problem through for themselves, 2) it deprives them of ownership of it, and 3) you might be wrong (imagine that).

And, finally, it feeds into the belief that the solution should be the focus, rather than the facts and the process of understanding where we want to go and what is happening now to keep us from getting there.

Regarding the first reason, I like to quote my friend David Verble: “What keeps people from thinking for themselves? Someone jumps in with the answer.”

Apply the same thinking to the second: What keeps people from accepting responsibility and taking initiative? Someone tells them what to do.

And the third: What keeps people from feeling free to try and fail and learn? Someone says we need to get it right the first time. Better be right. Better have the

Go and have a look at I would walk 500 miles  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uActryeSj7w

Talk
It’s a set up.  You know the kind of thing.  You’re approached by two people or cornered by that one person you’ve been trying to avoid.  They start off the conversation with an opening question but you know and they know that they’re going t follow up with the killer question, the one you’ve been trying to avoid.

After the niceties of “yes I’m fine, thank you!” you wait holding your breath for the next question or statement – “where were you?” “how could you?”, “you didn’t tell me”

And there you are – thinking round and round in circles, hoping that the honest straightforward answer doesn’t slip out of your mouth otherwise you’ll never get a fair hearing again.  Do you the feeling – you’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t.

Well, rest assured Jesus knows how you feel – just look at this

One day he was teaching the people in the Temple, proclaiming the Message. The high priests, religion scholars, and leaders confronted him and demanded, “Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to speak and act like this?”

Jesus answered, “First, let me ask you a question:
About the baptism of John-who authorized it, heaven or humans?”
They were on the spot, and knew it.

They pulled back into a huddle and whispered, “If we say ‘heaven,’ he’ll ask us why we didn’t believe him; if we say ‘humans,’ the people will tear us limb from limb, convinced as they are that John was God’s prophet.” They agreed to concede that round to Jesus and said they didn’t know.
Jesus said, “Then neither will I answer your question.”

Luke 20: 1-8 (The Message)

Now just place yourself in this scene.  Jesus is in front of a crowd of interested people, but in addition to that the chief priests, teachers of the law and the elders of the church are also there.  Its there job to make sure that the religious law is followed correctly and they are now so wrapped up in maintaining the status quo and their own position of power that they are very antagonistic towards Jesus.  He just does fit their picture of how a rabbi (teacher of the law) should act.
So they hit him with a very confrontational question – who gave you the authority?  This is a patronising question – the assumption being that of course he doesn’t have the authority to speak or act in this way.  Just the kind of question to rile someone and get his or her back up.

Jesus’ choice is either – No one OR God the Father.  The first option is not true as far as Jesus is concerned although that’s the way his critical audience probably see it.  The second answer while true will only make the situation even more confrontational – so what should he do?

And so he turns the question back to them with a question – a cross court volley of a high back court lob I’m not sure but it does send them scurrying off into a huddle.  I want to ask you something he says and he picks on an area where he knows they have a weakness.  John the Baptist, he had stood up to the Roman ruler at the time over his immoral behaviour and had been beheaded for his trouble.  The religious rulers were caught in a hard place because they knew they too should have been condemning Herod’s behaviour but had not and yet they John the Baptist had been a complete maverick who had challenged their authority.  The question then about John’s baptism puts them on the spot.  If they say it was from God then they should have backed John up when he confronted Herod.
Jesus’ question goes to the heart of what they were trying to ask him but they hadn’t seen that when they started off.  All they wanted to do was to get Jesus to admit that he didn’t have any authority.  Not to question whether his authority was from God or not.  Jesus return question made the leaders and the audience start thinking in a different way.

Now sometimes we read the Bible and it feels like it was written many many years ago.  But here we see leaders being put on the spot to answer a direct question and they are focussing on a the politically correct answer, the world of spin, they will answer in such a way that the crowd will be well received by the gathered crowd.

And in the end they bow out with – its not possible to tell with certainty.

The bottom line here with these kind of questions is that the people asking them are not really interested in what the other person thinks.  They are questions designed to incriminate the person.

Is Jesus any different?  I think Jesus does actually care, he wants the religious leaders to side with him, to take a stand, to see the world through God’s eyes.  He questions their motives about what they’re asking him because he longs for them to see the world through God’s eyes.
Jesus is able to cut to the heart of the matter because he is passionately concerned for each one of them.

So where does that leave us today?

are you asking God questions and feeling that all you get is answers back.

are you facing difficult questions from other people that leave you uncomfortable and not sure of your answers?  It may be on work or home life questions, it may be questions about your faith or how you live your life? Or do you have friends or family facing difficult questions in their life at the moment?  Do you struggle to know how to answer them.

If it the first then ? then maybe its time to let those question really register.  Rather than find the politically correct answer or spin your response back to God.  Maybe you need to take the time to actually contemplate those questions,  what is the heart of the issue that you are wrestling with God over?

If it’s the second then we need to think about how Jesus managed to be so intuitive and specific in dealing with the questions he faced.  It was his relationship with his Father that enabled him to see into the hearts and minds of those that were questioning him.  It was the certain knowledge that his Father in heaven held all things together and would be with him through anything that followed on from his replies.  So please don’t feel that you have be super bright or articulate to be like Jesus if you’re facing lots of questions.  You need to have the same relationship with God and he will help you to find the answers.  And sometimes the answer to those questions will be another question so that either you or those you are helping can find the answers themselves.

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