To Encourage You

John 18:19-21 “The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.  Jesus answered him, ‘I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.’”

Have you ever asked a question you really didn’t want to hear the answer to – or perhaps you did know the answer but it didn’t matter to you?  So why would anyone ask such a question?  Typically, a question like that is asked in a mocking tone, or as a basis for an argument.  The question isn’t asked because one wants to seriously know when, what, why, where, or how about something – it’s only asked as a justification for a position one is dead-set on no matter what information is provided to the contrary, or no matter how good that information is.

That’s exactly the kind of questioning Jesus was asked during his trial before His crucifixion in the verses above.  The high priest didn’t ask Jesus about His teaching because he wanted to know what His teaching was so he could understand Him better. He just wanted more fuel for his murderous intent.  And Jesus would have none of it. He knew full well that the high priest knew all about His teaching – otherwise, why was he doing all in his power to put Him to death? 

Jesus is no one’s fool, and neither is His Father.  God loves to teach us when we sincerely are seeking Him. He has promised us “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).  Often Jesus prefaced His teaching with the word “Listen!” and He often followed up His teaching with “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”  But if we don’t really want to know, if we are fixed in our thinking about spiritual things regardless of what God has said or what anyone who really knows God will say to us, then we shouldn’t expect to gain any wisdom from Him.  The Father does not “cast His pearls before swine,” i.e., He doesn’t share His heart or open the eyes of the understanding of those who don’t have any interest in understanding His glorious truth. 

And yet, He longs that our hearts would be open. Listen to the words of Jesus from Matthew 23 as he wept over His own people, the Jews, who refused to receive Him: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”  He then sadly adds to that lament “See, your house is left to you desolate.” 

What about you and what about me?  Do we sincerely want to know God?  Do we have sincere questions and do we yearn to learn from Him? If so, He will answer the sincere believer as we study His Word and seek Him with all our heart. But if our questions are of the mocking kind, if they are reflective of our unbelief, then we should not expect to receive any satisfactory answers. We wouldn’t really listen to them anyway.