Questions
Questions: A Means of Grace
Jesus loves questions. He answered many—sometimes even before they were asked—and He asked lots of questions Himself. I can see why. Questions are a means of grace, although the church does not officially recognize them as such.
The commonly accepted means of grace are scripture, the sacraments, and prayer. I think we can include questions because they engage us in conversation. They get us thinking and talking. They bring us into the realm where God answers and this is where faith begins, because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:9). This relation of questions with faith is important because we are saved by grace through faith. Think of questions as a seedbed where grace sows the seeds of salvation.
An example will make the point.
Luke tells about two disciples who didn’t know what to make of the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion (Luke 24:13-35). Anyone looking at them would know they were upset; the word that our English Bibles translates as “sad” or “gloomy” literally means “angry-faced.” They were sullen, their faces warned, “Leave us alone.” Yet, Jesus approached.
Grace always takes the first step. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. When we were enemies, God reconciled us. We love Him because He first loved us. When these two disciples were discouraged, confused, and even angry, Jesus drew near.
Then, Jesus took the second step of grace. He asked a question. Nothing profound, just a query, “What are you talking about?” They had been questioning each other, with no resolution, then Jesus broke in. His question got them talking to Him, the author of faith. On the surface, they simply talked about current events, but Jesus wanted to talk to their hearts because the flame of their faith was dying.
If Jesus were to ask them at this moment, “Who do you say that I am?” they would share none of Peter’s bold confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Their hopes of Jesus being the Redeemer of Israel had died on the cross along with their prophet. Suffering ruled Him out as the savior. Unless…
Unless there was more to the story. And this is where the questions become a means of grace. Jesus got them to put the events of the day into their own words, allowing Him to inject his Father’s word. He walked them through the scriptures and showed how the events they just described had been foretold. He got them to see that the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth—His life before God and man, His suffering and death, and His resurrection—were the very things concerning the Christ. By connecting the historical events to biblical prophecy, Jesus did not just renew their hope, He fulfilled it. Their hearts flamed with new understanding and “burned within” them.
If Jesus asked them now, “Who do you say that I am?” what do you think they would say?
Jesus allowed these men their questions, asked His own, and ushered these discouraged, doubting disciples into a firm faith—the faith through which grace saves. Our questions may drip with doubt, ooze with skepticism, or brim with eagerness to know the truth, but they all can be a means of grace so that “in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached” (Philippians 1:18).
And so, I invite you to ask your questions. Post your answers. Let’s make this a discussion board, a site to reason together and “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Jim Hoover
Pastor Dennis, Hope I’m doing this right. Please let me know.
Question’s background Matthew 27:
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.
52
The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.
53
They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son [5] of God!”
QUESTIONS:
1. Did the folks from verse 52 come from the bosom of Abraham?
2. Were there children from limbo (Catholic) who died before the age of responsibility for sin included in the risen?
3. Did these folks die a second death?
4. If they were “holy people”, why does the Bible say “there were none righteous, no not one.”
5. Would Joseph (son of Jacob) be among them as the Bible records no sin with him?
6. We never hear of these folks again in scripture, what is the purpose of these scriptures? A lesson here? A fulfilled promise? Jim Hoover
Dennis Gladden
Jim, thanks for reading and posting these questions. They’re challenging. Before I answer, I want to consult respected commentators to ensure I don’t go far afield. Stay tuned, I’ll get back on these.
Dennis Gladden
Jim, thank you for reading and posing these questions. You asked several, so this will be a rather lengthy reply. A few have no definite answer because Matthew doesn’t offer many details and no other Gospel account records these for comparison. We can form opinions, but cannot be dogmatic. I consulted several commentaries; here’s the consensus.
Questions 1, 2, and 5 concern who rose from their graves. Opinions are divided whether these were ancients like Adam, Noah, and Jacob, or people from recent memory whom residents of Jerusalem would have recognized immediately. Most commentators believe the latter.
Either way, Matthew calls them saints. This indicates either they believed God long ago about His promised Messiah or they were contemporaries who believed Jesus was that Messiah. No doubt they are among the cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1.
Did they die again? Opinions are about evenly divided. Among those who contend they went into heaven after their brief appearance, Matthew Henry says, “it is more agreeable, both to Christ’s honor and theirs, to suppose they arose as Christ did, to die no more, and therefore ascended with him to glory.”
On the other hand, Apollinaris, an early church father, said, “It is plain that they have died again, having risen from the dead in order to be a sign. For it was not possible for only some of the firstborn from the dead to be raised to the life of the age to come, but the remainder [must be raised] in the same manner.”
I like the conclusion of Albert Barnes: “What became of them after they had entered into the city whether they again died or ascended to heaven, is not revealed, and conjecture is vain.”
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As for the purpose of this passage, John Wesley summarizes the universal belief: God signified by this that Christ had conquered death and would raise all His saints in due season.
I think Matthew being the only one to record this event also suggests another purpose. He wrote with Jews in mind. They expected the Messiah to be a conqueror, a king who would rule not only Israel but also all nations. You hear it in the question of the disciples just before Jesus ascended. “Is this the time for you to restore the kingdom?” (Acts 1:6).
But Jesus was crucified and buried, leaving many, no doubt, like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) disappointed, if not disillusioned. In keeping with the law of confirming matters by two or more witnesses, the resurrection of these saints along with the resurrection of Christ testifies to all who believe in Him that their faith and hope are not in vain.
______________________________
Now, about these being saints, or “holy people”, whereas the Bible says no one is righteous. These are my thoughts.
Strangely, we can be holy and yet not righteous. In Deuteronomy 7:6, God tells Israel, “You are a holy people to the Lord your God.” Yet, God also emphasizes Israel is not to think they had any righteousness that curried His favor. “God is not giving you this land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people” (Deuteronomy 9:6).
Holy, yet stiff-necked. Holy, but not righteous. This was Israel. This is us. And this is the glory of Jesus: He brings holiness and righteousness together. He makes us complete.
Holy speaks to the character of God and His actions toward us. Deuteronomy 7:6-8 reveals what made Israel holy—God chose them, loved them, redeemed them, and kept His promises toward them. The passage says nothing about Israel except they were puny in numbers, slaves in Egypt, and nothing special apart from these acts of God.
Righteousness speaks to our character and actions toward God. If Israel had no righteousness when God did these things, even the righteousness they could muster through the law He gave them was inadequate. Moses said, “It will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the LORD our God” (Deuteronomy 6:25). Their history tells the story; no one kept all the commandments. No wonder Isaiah concludes, “All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).
Looking at the words, the underlying idea of holy is being clean, the root of righteousness is being right. We are used to things being at odds and accept that a person can clean up and yet be all wrong. We also know people who are right but not necessarily clean.
Jesus unites being clean and right, being holy and righteous. Where we are at odds about these things, Jesus brings peace. Jesus is our at-one-ment, the place where we who are at odds with God become one with Him, as Jesus prayed in John 17.
These verses suggest to me that the cleansing work—the holiness—of God precedes and leads to our righteousness. In grace, He makes us holy (loves us, redeems us, blesses us). By grace, He chose to do these things and, having done His work, He calls us now to our work, which is to believe in the One He sent, Jesus Christ (John 6:29). In this way, by faith, we come to The Lord, our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6). In Him and by Him we are made both holy and righteous.
Hillary Schneider
I have thought extensively over this past year about knowing the will of God for our lives. My question would be, how do we discern the will of God for our lives? Is each part of the plan that God has for us laid out specifically, or is there freedom within the will of God regarding decisions we make for our lives? If God has a specific “will” for each decision, how can we be sure to walk in the “perfect will” He has? I would love to hear the thoughts of others.
Dennis Gladden
These are great questions, Hillary. Thanks for asking. I think we all want, and wonder how, to do God’s will. I will post my response soon and look forward to hearing from others, too. Your participation has encouraged me.
Dennis Gladden
I think it is a combination: God both reveals His will specifically and allows the freedom to work out His salvation.
Of all we could say about God’s general will, three things will do for now.
1. Faith is necessary to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17). Accordingly, when Jesus is transfigured, God declares, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Mark 9:7). This thread shows why salvation is of the Lord. By hearing Him comes the faith that pleases God.
2. Jesus called individuals to follow Him, but He looked beyond their immediate occasions to us and said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, deny yourself, and take up your cross, and follow Me” (Mark 8:34).
3. Jesus said God’s will is that “all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father” (John 5:23).
Altogether, these tell us that God’s will generally and minimally is for us to listen to Jesus, to follow Jesus, and to honor Jesus.
Your question gets to the nitty gritty: What do these look like in my life?
For Legion, following Jesus meant staying in his home town. For the rich young ruler, following meant leaving everything to go with Jesus on His rounds. Jesus made His will known to them, and He will to us. But Paul lays out the general principle: serve God where you are (1 Corinthians 7).
These are generalities. I think God also gives us freedom to work out the specifics. The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 illustrates this balance.
A man entrusts three servants with the same responsibility: Manage this portion of my goods while I’m away. The only difference among them is the amount, which he divvies according to their ability.
At accounting time, the question is not how they invested, but whether they invested. Two made a profit and one had nothing. Of the two, one had traded (the word implies through toil) and the other gained in a way we’re not told. They approached the command differently, but each did the owner’s will. They hadn’t been told how to manage; the owner left them to work out the details.
The owner’s complaint with the third servant is that, knowing his master’s will, he didn’t execute it. He could have gained by any number of ways—the master gave him one idea: put it in the bank—but the man had done nothing.
The principle is this: Knowing God’s will, we must do it. Sometimes God is explicit even about how, as when He told Noah how to build the ark or Moses how to build the tabernacle. But often He leaves us, like the ones in this parable, to work it out, each according to our ability and in keeping with what we know about His ways.
For sure God’s will is beyond us, but not beyond our knowing and doing.