Twenty Questions
The Gospel of Luke
Luke Chapter 20
Scripture=Luke chapter 20:1-2, 26, 39-40 (N.L.T.)
1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. 2 They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”
26 So they failed to trap him by what he said in front of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they became silent.
39 “Well said, Teacher!” remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there. 40 And then no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Observations and Applications=
Did you ever play 20 questions? It is a game where one person thinks of a person, place or thing and the other people playing can ask twenty questions to try to guess what the person is thinking of. This chapter in Luke reminds me of this game.
In Luke chapter 20, we find all the religious wise men of Israel trying to play twenty questions with Jesus. It is obvious when you read this chapter that their questions were not asked because they were seeking truth. These religious leaders were on a mission to discredit Jesus, his ministry and his authority. They were jealous of his fame and they were envious that he was the real deal and they seemed powerless and without authority in his presence.
As they send leader after leader to question his authority and try to trap him in some mind game Jesus not only rises to every challenge but also reveals who they really are to the listening crowd. These men are incensed that their true motives were exposed. They are baffled with the questions that Jesus asked them and all in all it was a sad day for the leaders of Israel. They were exposed as men who cared more for their status and position than they cared about helping the people.
If we are not careful we too can take for granted the life that God has given to us. We can easily adopt a superior attitude about our walk with Christ and begin to compare ourselves to others. Without even realizing what we are doing we can forget that we too, represent Christ to those around us. We can become something to look at instead of someone who is involved in meeting the needs of others.
People need to see ‘the Jesus’ in us that causes us to see others in need and respond; not ‘the Jesus’ that only makes us feel better than others. Walking with Jesus doesn’t make us better than others it simply makes us better equipped to meet their needs! John Maxwell says it like this, “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”
Prayer= Lord Jesus, thank you for saving me. May I show your love to others by my words and my deeds. May others see you Jesus in my appearance and my actions today.
