Jesus Asks Many Questions in His Sermon on the Mount

Jesus Asks Many Questions in His Sermon on the Mount.

The Grand Inquisitor. Messiah Jesus was a Master of asking questions: some were open-ended, others were very pointed; some were out of curiosity, others were challenging; some seemed rhetorical, others seemed painfully obvious; some were to reveal Himself, others were to guide the other into self-understanding; some were intentionally provocative, others were to kick-start a conversation; some questions were asked to explore a topic to deepen understanding and stretch toward the truth; some were leading questions that He designed to suggest a particular answer, and others were questions in response to questions asked of Him; some were hypotheticals to stimulate the imagination, other questions were used  by Him as stepping stones to think logically from one point to the next. Jesus used questions to dignify the listener, letting that person know that He is taking that person seriously and listening carefully. Many of His questions were acts of friendship and used to pursue a more profound intimacy with someone. Jesus asked very few yes-no questions, and since time was usually irrelevant for Him when He was with people, He rarely asked a “when” question. Several biblical scholars have studied the gospels with Christ’s questions in mind, and they have literally counted a total of 307 questions in His various conversations and teachings. It seems that a worthy spiritual exercise when considering the many questions of Jesus is that we ask ourselves… should I take His questions personally, as if He was asking us that question right now?

Rhetorical Questions. Being the Master Teacher, Jesus doesn’t really expect answers to His many questions in Matthew 5-7, His most expansive sermon in the Gospels. He is using a common teaching tool of His era in rabbinic interactions with others. Jesus is forming His questions to make a statement, to highlight many of the main points of His message. He already knows the answers, of course, and He is asking the questions in order to persuade His disciples to reach the same conclusions as He has. Jesus doesn’t necessarily want to be answered literally. He asked His questions for dramatic effect and He wants to lead His disciples to the right answer, the truthful answer. Jesus is using these rhetorical questions to bring home the point, to reinforce what He is trying to get across to them. Like any good teacher, He wants to stimulate their thinking about what He has just said.

Following each of Christ’s questions in the Sermon on the Mount, there are some sidenotes added to further stimulate some thinking:

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?” (5:13); If you lose your saltiness, you have in fact lost your usefulness, and so how will our bland world taste God’s zesty goodness? When the Lord’s salt loses its strength, who else will serve as God’s preservative in the rotting meat of our culture? Without salt’s unique qualities of godliness, who else will bring peace to broken relationships, or wisdom to the world’s foolishness? Once you lose the saltiness of Christ’s character and presence, you might as well be thrown out, for all the good you do.

“If you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” (5:46); What reward do you deserve if you only love the lovable, or simply love those who can love you back? Anybody can do that. Do you want some kind of bonus for doing the bare minimum? With the love of Christ in your heart, learn to love the unlovable and those who aren’t able to love you back.

“If you greet only your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” (5:47); How are you any different from others if you limit your kindness only to your friends? If you only offer a friendly hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal for that? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. Reflect God’s love by being friendly to those who are friendless and don’t have what it takes to return your friendliness.

“Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?“ (6:25); Living is about more than merely eating, and the body is about more than dressing up. Isn’t there more to your life than a meal? Isn’t there more to your body than mere clothing? Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtime or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.

“Are you not of more value than the sparrows?” (6:26); Look at all the birds – do you think they worry about their existence? Our heavenly Father keeps providing for them, and aren’t you much more valuable to your Father than they are? You are certainly more precious to Him than a beautiful bird. If He looks after them, of course He will look after you. Every person bears the image of God, which makes every person the most valuable part of creation.

“Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (6:27); Worrying does not do any good. Has any person consumed by worry ever added even one inch to his height? So which one of you by being anxious or worrying could add anything meaningful to your life?

“Why are you anxious about clothing? But if God so clothes the wildflowers in the field, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (6:28-30); Those gorgeous and stunning flowers in the field made by God don’t have to work for their beauty, and they are here on earth for only a short time, so certainly God will provide what you need for clothing, even though you seem to live with such little trust in Him.

“How can you possibly stare at that little splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log beam that is in your own eye?” (7:3); Why would you focus on the flaw in someone else’s life and yet fail to notice the glaring flaws in your own? Can you really ignore the wooden plank in your eye while you criticize the tiny splinter in your brother’s eye?

“How dare you say to your brother, ‘Let me take that splinter out of your eye,’ when there is a huge log in your own eye?” (7:4); How could you say to your friend, ‘Let me show you where you’re wrong’ when you are guilty of even more? You hypocrite, why don’t you first remove the big beam of wood sticking out of your eye so you can see clearly to remove the small splinter out of your friend’s eye? First deal with your own blind spots that are actually preventing you from accurately seeing where others fall short.

“Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” (7:9-10); Follow the logic here, people… It would be unnatural and evil for a parent to give a hungry child a plate of rocks when he is asking for some bread, right? The same with a child who is asking for fish and the parent gives him a snake instead! So if we, as imperfect parents, still know how to lovingly take care of our children and give them what’s best, how much more ready is your heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts, including His Holy Spirit, to those who ask Him? Don’t you think the perfect Father in heaven who conceived you in love will treat you better than an imperfect human parent?

“Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” (7:16). We can all evaluate people by the fruits of their character. It’s obvious to everybody who cares to look. People and their lives are like trees. If the tree is good and healthy, it will produce beautiful and tasty fruit. If the tree is bad and unhealthy, it will bear only ugly and bitter fruit and deserves to be cut down and burned for firewood. It’s simple: we won’t find sweet, delicious grapes growing on thorny bushes, or delectable, juicy figs in the midst of prickly thistles. We judge others by the fruit of their character.