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There is something very important that kids know but adults often forget: the immense power of questions. While questions are about information, they’re even more about relationships. They’re about connection.
“Will you marry me?” or “It’s a boy! Do you want to hold him?” or “I’m feeling sad right now. Can I have a hug?” These are all questions with immense impact.
Or what about the first question God asked as recorded in the Bible?
God’s First Question
It comes to us in Genesis 3:9, after Adam and Eve commit the first sin. After they rebel against God and his ways. After they run and hide, fleeing in the midst of their sin.
And after all that, the first question God asks in the Bible is this: “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:8-9 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
Question: What is the significance of this question from God “Where are you”?
The Most Important Question
As a teacher and rabbi, Jesus loved asking questions. And once, as he and his friends were about to embark on a journey, he asked them what I think is the most important question for every single person who has ever lived.
In Mark 8, Jesus begins the conversation by wondering what others are saying about him. “Who do people say that I am?” he asks in verse 27. His disciples answer, there is a variety of uncertain scuttlebutt about Jesus’ identity. But then, in verse 29, Jesus presses in deeper. “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”
Mark 8:27-30 (also in Luke 9:18-20 and Matthew 16:13-16)
27Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
Questions:
- Why did Jesus ask the disciples “Who do people say I am”?
- Why did Jesus ask the disciples “Who do you say I am?”
- Why did Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him?
- How do you answer the question from Jesus – “Who do you say I am?
How each and every person answers that question carries eternal significance. As author C.S. Lewis noted, we might wonder: Is Jesus a liar? A lunatic? Or is he who the Gospel of Mark reveals him to be: None other than the one true Son of God.
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