1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,280 Hello and welcome to Trinity Sermons. 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:12,240 Thanks for joining us for our weekly sermon here at Trinity Church, Streetsville. 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,920 Trinity is a church in the heart of the village of Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario. 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:22,400 We are a welcoming family of people who, in our own time, are seeking to love Jesus, live 5 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,240 like Jesus, and lead others to Jesus. 6 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:30,400 Now this is episode 1 of our new sermon series, Jesus is the Question. 7 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:37,600 Rev. Rob Hirkmintz will be with us today and looking into why Jesus asked so many questions. 8 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:42,760 When Jesus asks the question, what are you looking for in John chapter 1, Rob is going 9 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:48,200 to be exploring how we find ourselves so often in the same position of the disciples. 10 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:52,440 Now before we begin, don't forget to subscribe to our podcast and stay up to date with all 11 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:54,440 of our upcoming messages. 12 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:55,440 Thanks for listening today. 13 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:56,440 God bless. 14 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:05,920 Normally at this time, I would invite somebody to come forward and do our reading for the 15 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:11,240 day, but you probably know this by now, a good portion of our congregation actually 16 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:13,240 join us online. 17 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:17,800 And so today we thought it would be wonderful if the person who did the reading was one 18 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:23,360 of our online members, part of our E-family, as we like to say here at Trinity. 19 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,280 And so today I want to introduce you to our reader. 20 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:33,720 Our reader today is going to be Jack Graham, and he is going to be reading to us from John 21 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:40,120 chapter 1 verses 35 to 42. 22 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:45,120 The next day, John was there again with two of his disciples. 23 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:54,000 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, look, the Lamb of God. 24 00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:00,080 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 25 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:09,320 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, what do you want? 26 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:17,840 They said, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? 27 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:22,200 Come, he replied, and you will see. 28 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:28,800 So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. 29 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,960 It was about four in the afternoon. 30 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:41,920 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who 31 00:02:41,920 --> 00:02:45,840 had followed Jesus. 32 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:54,280 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, we have found 33 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:56,880 the Messiah. 34 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:01,200 That is the Christ. 35 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,720 They brought him to Jesus. 36 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:11,160 Jesus looked at him and said, you are Simon, son of John. 37 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:19,000 You will be called Cephas, which, when translated, is teacher. 38 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:24,920 A reading from the word of God. 39 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:30,200 There's an old joke, and if you've heard it before, please laugh anyways. 40 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:36,280 There's a pastor of a small congregation who is sitting down, and he's got a bunch of children 41 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:41,480 in front of him, and he's going to do a little teaching, a little lesson with them. 42 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:46,720 As an illustration, what he's going to do is he wants to describe to them a squirrel. 43 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:51,340 He says, boys and girls, I'm going to describe something to you, and as soon as you think 44 00:03:51,340 --> 00:03:54,840 you know what it is, just raise your hand, and I'll call on you. 45 00:03:54,840 --> 00:04:02,240 So he starts, and he says, the thing that I'm thinking about lives in trees. 46 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:03,240 There's nothing. 47 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:04,240 The kids say nothing. 48 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:09,240 He says, OK, the thing that I'm thinking about has a big bushy tail. 49 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:10,240 Anyone? 50 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:11,240 No, there's no answer. 51 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:12,240 They don't know. 52 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:18,080 OK, the thing that I'm thinking about likes to collect nuts and likes to eat nuts. 53 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:20,160 Still, the kids don't say anything. 54 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:21,160 He keeps going. 55 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,600 It's got beady eyes and on and on. 56 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:28,240 And he's getting exasperated, and finally, one little boy tentatively raises his hand, 57 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:30,840 and he's like, oh, yes, yes, please tell me. 58 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:32,480 And he says, well, listen. 59 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:38,240 He says, I know the answer has to be Jesus, but it sounds an awful lot like a squirrel 60 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:40,280 to me. 61 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:44,120 Oh, you know what? 62 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:48,440 For many of us, it doesn't matter what the question is. 63 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,000 Jesus is the answer. 64 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:56,400 You've probably seen the bumper stickers on the cars going down the street that says Jesus 65 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:57,400 is the answer. 66 00:04:57,400 --> 00:04:58,960 And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. 67 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,880 In fact, one of the reasons many of you are here today is because you have found Jesus 68 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:03,960 to be the answer. 69 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,840 You had a problem in your life, and Jesus was the answer. 70 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:10,280 You had a crisis, and Jesus was the answer. 71 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:11,520 You were wrestling with something. 72 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:13,160 Maybe you were even wrestling with doubt. 73 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:15,800 You didn't even know if there was a God out there at all. 74 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:20,680 And it was only when you encountered Jesus did you find the answer that you were looking 75 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:21,680 for. 76 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:22,920 So yes, Jesus is the answer. 77 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,240 Many of you are convinced about that. 78 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:31,560 Others of you might not be convinced yet that Jesus is the answer, but you're hoping, and 79 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,080 that's why you're here today. 80 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:39,240 You're looking for an answer, and you're hoping Jesus might be able to help you with that. 81 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:40,240 You've got some problems. 82 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:42,560 Jesus, do you have an answer to my problems? 83 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:43,760 Maybe it's a financial problem. 84 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,220 Jesus, do you have an answer to this problem? 85 00:05:46,220 --> 00:05:47,960 You've got some relationship problems. 86 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:50,160 Jesus, can you give me an answer? 87 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:54,320 The doctor called, and it wasn't good news, and you're like, Jesus, do you have an answer 88 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,360 to my problem? 89 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:02,800 So yes, some of us are here because we know that Jesus is the answer. 90 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:07,640 Others are here because we hope that Jesus is the answer. 91 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:13,480 But what I want to share with you today is that there's another way to look at who Jesus 92 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:14,780 is. 93 00:06:14,780 --> 00:06:16,680 And let's do this by the numbers. 94 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:20,280 So I want to share with you three numbers, and this might change the way you think about 95 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:21,920 Jesus the answer man. 96 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:23,960 The first number is 307. 97 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:24,960 Second number is 183. 98 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,400 The third number is eight. 99 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:34,760 307, that is the number of questions in the whole New Testament that Jesus asks other 100 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:35,760 people. 101 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:39,920 That's how many times Jesus asks a question, 307. 102 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:46,840 183, that's the number of times that somebody asks Jesus a question, they say, Jesus, I 103 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:50,160 have a question for you, 183 times. 104 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:56,320 Eight is the number of times Jesus actually gives an answer to the question that somebody 105 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:57,320 is asking. 106 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:01,240 In fact, another study, they read it a little differently, and they said, actually, that 107 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,540 number could be actually three. 108 00:07:05,540 --> 00:07:16,080 All that means is this, when you come to Jesus with a problem, there are 40 times more chance 109 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:22,160 that he asks you a question than he gives you an answer, the answer that you're looking 110 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:23,160 for. 111 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:29,560 He's 40 times more likely, which means that maybe Jesus isn't so much the answer as Jesus 112 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:30,560 is the question. 113 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:32,560 Jesus isn't the answer man. 114 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:36,160 Jesus is the great question asker. 115 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:39,240 And in this teaching series for the next number of weeks, we're going to look at some of the 116 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:43,320 great questions that Jesus asked. 117 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:50,520 And what we're going to see is asking questions was way more Jesus' style than giving answers. 118 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:54,320 And this all started like way early on in Jesus' life. 119 00:07:54,320 --> 00:08:01,520 There is a story in Luke's gospel, in Luke chapter two, where Jesus is at the temple 120 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,120 with his parents and he gets lost. 121 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,880 And they have to go back and they're looking for Jesus. 122 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:09,440 And they finally found him like three days later. 123 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,800 It sounds crazy, but they find him and look after three days, they found him in the temple 124 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:14,800 courts. 125 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:20,420 He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions from a very 126 00:08:20,420 --> 00:08:21,420 early age. 127 00:08:21,420 --> 00:08:25,580 Preteen Jesus is asking questions and his parents are understandably upset. 128 00:08:25,580 --> 00:08:28,320 And they're like, Jesus, come on, you know, what's going on? 129 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:35,320 And rather than give an answer to how he got lost, Jesus actually asks them questions. 130 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,200 Why were you searching for me? 131 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:39,200 He asked. 132 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:41,960 Didn't you know that I had to be in my father's house? 133 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:46,360 These, by the way, I guess you could say are the first recorded words of Jesus and they're 134 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:48,680 both questions. 135 00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:53,700 So if Jesus' first words were questions, it might not surprise you to know that so were 136 00:08:53,700 --> 00:08:55,080 his last words. 137 00:08:55,080 --> 00:09:01,800 As Jesus lay hanging on the cross, his life bleeding out of him. 138 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:06,920 His last words were my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 139 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:09,480 Another question. 140 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:13,920 After Jesus rose from the dead, you would think finally then Jesus would start giving 141 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:15,740 us some answers, explaining Jesus. 142 00:09:15,740 --> 00:09:16,740 What was it all about? 143 00:09:16,740 --> 00:09:17,740 What is this? 144 00:09:17,740 --> 00:09:20,760 And he start giving some statements, but actually know the very first words out of 145 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:28,520 Jesus' mouth in the Garden of Gethsemane when Mary Magdalene comes up to him is he says, 146 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:31,520 woman, why are you crying? 147 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:34,400 You see, Jesus' life starts with a question. 148 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:36,520 His life ends with a question. 149 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:41,560 The resurrection, his new life restarts with a question and all the time in between, it's 150 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:43,840 just more and more questions. 151 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:44,840 Where is your faith? 152 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:45,920 Why do you worry? 153 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:47,020 What is your name? 154 00:09:47,020 --> 00:09:49,300 How much bread do you have? 155 00:09:49,300 --> 00:09:50,560 What do you want? 156 00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:52,240 Do you want to be healed? 157 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:53,820 Why are you so afraid? 158 00:09:53,820 --> 00:09:55,400 Why do you still doubt? 159 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:58,560 Could you not wait with me for one hour? 160 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:01,920 Do you love me? 161 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:06,560 It's kind of funny because I often hear people say, oh, when I get to heaven, I'm going to 162 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:09,840 have a whole bunch of questions to ask Jesus. 163 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:13,480 And I think closer to the truth that when you get to heaven, Jesus is probably going 164 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:20,320 to have a whole bunch of questions he's going to ask you because Jesus is the questioner. 165 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:23,120 And he is the question in many ways. 166 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,720 But Jesus doesn't ask questions for the same reasons that you or I do. 167 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:28,080 And that's important to say, right? 168 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:32,360 We usually ask questions because we want to know something. 169 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:36,500 But Jesus asks questions because he wants to teach something. 170 00:10:36,500 --> 00:10:38,220 We ask questions to get something. 171 00:10:38,220 --> 00:10:39,880 Jesus asks questions to give something. 172 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:41,820 We ask questions for our sake. 173 00:10:41,820 --> 00:10:49,160 Jesus asks questions for the sake of those that are looking for answers. 174 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:53,200 And Jesus, therefore, he's not asking questions because he's ignorant, like, duh, I don't 175 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:54,200 know the answer to this. 176 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:55,200 Could you please tell me? 177 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:56,200 It's not out of ignorance. 178 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,600 But Jesus asks this because I think he's highly intelligent. 179 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:03,000 Jesus knows the power of a question. 180 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:07,000 He knows that questions have the ability to inspire people. 181 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,880 I mean, if you've ever been in a workplace and you really want to inspire people, throw 182 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:12,400 a question in front of them. 183 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:14,720 How do we solve this problem, team? 184 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:19,520 A question will inspire them to new heights and new actions. 185 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:23,600 Jesus also knew that questions can persuade people. 186 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:29,160 You've ever seen a courtroom trial that sometimes it's actually the question that the attorney 187 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:30,160 asks. 188 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:32,600 He says, where were you on the night of the murder? 189 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:36,760 And that's the thing that convinces the jurors. 190 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:42,040 Jesus also knew that questions connect people and that when you ask questions, it actually 191 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:45,600 forges an intimacy between people as well. 192 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:48,280 Think about when you meet someone, you start asking questions. 193 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:51,320 Oh, where are you from? 194 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:52,320 What's your family look like? 195 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:53,960 What do you like to do during the day? 196 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:55,320 These are all intimate questions. 197 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:57,440 These are getting at some of who we are. 198 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,600 And so it actually creates an intimacy to ask questions. 199 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:05,840 Maybe that's why Jesus asked so many questions, because he wants to create intimacy with us. 200 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:09,480 Jesus also knew that questions can stimulate thought. 201 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:14,060 That's why great teachers, both in Jesus' day, even today, they ask a whole lot more 202 00:12:14,060 --> 00:12:17,120 questions than making a whole lot of statements. 203 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:20,840 You know, class, what do you think will happen next in this chemical reaction? 204 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,420 Class, can you explain why this happened? 205 00:12:23,420 --> 00:12:24,840 Why do you think this happened? 206 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:30,480 And maybe frankly, as a preacher, I should be asking more questions and telling fewer 207 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:32,480 stories. 208 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:37,060 What do you think about that? 209 00:12:37,060 --> 00:12:41,720 And finally, Jesus knew that questions have the ability to disarm us. 210 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,760 I mean, making a statement to somebody like, hey, you shouldn't do that. 211 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:50,520 We have so many defense mechanisms, we can kind of block those out, the things that we 212 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:51,520 don't want to hear. 213 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:53,040 But a question sounds different. 214 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,320 Hey, why do you do that? 215 00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:01,440 That question sneaks past some of our defenses, it catches us off guard, forces us to think 216 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:02,480 twice. 217 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:06,680 And I would dare say there are some things in your life, that some changes in your life 218 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:12,880 that will only happen when you hear a well-timed question. 219 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:21,080 Jesus often asks questions that we are too afraid or too unaware to ask ourselves. 220 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,000 So just want to take a little pause there because that's a lot to take in so far. 221 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,420 And some of you, you know, well, how do you feel about this, everyone? 222 00:13:28,420 --> 00:13:30,420 How do you feel about all these questions? 223 00:13:30,420 --> 00:13:33,740 Some of you might be saying, you know, actually, I kind of like the idea that Jesus asked so 224 00:13:33,740 --> 00:13:38,320 many questions because I have a whole lot of questions and it makes Jesus more relatable, 225 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:39,320 makes him more human. 226 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:40,320 That's great. 227 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:44,880 Others of you, you might be kind of puzzled or a little bit confused because you'd be 228 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:47,960 like, I thought Jesus was like the son of God. 229 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:50,920 And if he's God, why does he have to go around asking questions? 230 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,760 I mean, doesn't he already know the answers to these questions? 231 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:55,040 So I'm kind of puzzled. 232 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:57,680 That's a fair thought to have. 233 00:13:57,680 --> 00:14:01,900 Others of you, you might actually be a little bit angry because you might say, I think you're 234 00:14:01,900 --> 00:14:03,200 being disrespectful. 235 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:07,720 You're making Jesus out to be some some ignoramus who doesn't know anything. 236 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:12,020 He's this wishy washy liberal who doesn't believe in any truth and doesn't have any 237 00:14:12,020 --> 00:14:13,020 answers. 238 00:14:13,020 --> 00:14:14,080 And I don't believe that about Jesus. 239 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:15,560 I believe he is the truth. 240 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:18,000 I think that's a good point. 241 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,000 And others of you, and I think this is where I think we probably should be, is we might 242 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:28,960 be a little bit anxious that Jesus asks so many questions because what if he asks me 243 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:29,960 a question? 244 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,200 What if he asks you a question? 245 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:36,400 Or better yet, what if he asks you the question about that thing? 246 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,720 You know, that thing that you don't want to talk about and that thing you'd like to keep 247 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:40,720 hidden. 248 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:45,040 What if he were to ask you a question about that? 249 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:46,560 That's kind of confrontational. 250 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:50,820 I'm not sure how I feel about that. 251 00:14:50,820 --> 00:14:54,340 Like it or not, though, this is how Jesus worked. 252 00:14:54,340 --> 00:14:58,520 And it is also, I think, the way that we should work as a church. 253 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:04,160 I think that we would gain a lot by following Jesus's model of question asking. 254 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,760 It could be so tempting for Christians to go out there and pretend to be the one who 255 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,360 have all the answers, right? 256 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:14,240 Even we go around pretending to be the ones with the answers to questions that nobody 257 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,680 is really asking in the first place, right? 258 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,620 We sometimes act like we know all the answers. 259 00:15:20,620 --> 00:15:23,000 We behave like we know all the answers. 260 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,840 We feel like we have to have all the answers. 261 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:30,580 And when we do this, man, oh man, it could be a real turnoff for the people that we're 262 00:15:30,580 --> 00:15:35,080 trying to reach or people who are searching for Jesus. 263 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:40,360 Also have you ever noticed that just giving answers to people's questions is rarely transformative? 264 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,880 You've probably had an ongoing argument with someone for years and years and years, and 265 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:48,040 you've made your case and you've made an airtight argument again and again and again, but it 266 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:50,840 hasn't changed their mind and it hasn't transformed them. 267 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:51,840 Why? 268 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:53,420 Because that's not what statements do. 269 00:15:53,420 --> 00:15:56,080 That's what questions do. 270 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:58,080 Questions get behind our guards. 271 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,600 Questions are what Jesus used to initiate conversations. 272 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:06,800 Questions are what Jesus used to get relationships going and to lead people into asking the deeper 273 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,900 questions and leading them into deeper knowledge. 274 00:16:09,900 --> 00:16:15,580 So don't try to have all the answers, but actually rather help people ask the questions 275 00:16:15,580 --> 00:16:18,940 they should be asking, but maybe they aren't asking. 276 00:16:18,940 --> 00:16:24,140 Because more than an easy answer, a question opens up all sorts of possibilities. 277 00:16:24,140 --> 00:16:28,160 On that note, today I just want to look at one question in particular that Jesus asked 278 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:29,500 just to get us started. 279 00:16:29,500 --> 00:16:30,920 And this is no ordinary question. 280 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:35,440 This is a special question because Jesus asked this question multiple times, like three times. 281 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:40,360 In John's gospel, he asks a version of this question three times and each time he asks 282 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:44,220 it, it's at a pretty pivotal moment in Jesus' life. 283 00:16:44,220 --> 00:16:46,520 So it's kind of an important question for Jesus. 284 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,160 And here is the question, all right? 285 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:53,280 It comes out in kind of different forms and maybe there's different ways of... 286 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:54,920 But here's the question. 287 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:58,560 What are you looking for? 288 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:01,920 Or who are you looking for? 289 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:05,360 Or even what do you want? 290 00:17:05,360 --> 00:17:09,020 The first time Jesus asked this question was in our reading today that Jack read. 291 00:17:09,020 --> 00:17:12,520 Right at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, right at the very beginning, when his very 292 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:17,920 first disciples decide to follow him, Jesus turns around and he looks at them and he says, 293 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,040 what are you looking for? 294 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,600 What do you want? 295 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:26,300 The next time it appears is on the night that Jesus is arrested. 296 00:17:26,300 --> 00:17:33,000 He's in the garden and a bunch of guards come up to him and Jesus looks at them and he says, 297 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,800 who are you looking for? 298 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,880 What do you want? 299 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:42,620 The third time Jesus asks this question is in the garden of Gethsemane after he has risen 300 00:17:42,620 --> 00:17:47,760 from the dead and the crying Mary Magdalene is there and he asks her the same question. 301 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:51,240 He says, who are you looking for? 302 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:53,380 What are you looking for? 303 00:17:53,380 --> 00:17:54,380 What do you want? 304 00:17:54,380 --> 00:17:59,800 See, this question is interesting because on the one hand, it totally depends on the 305 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:02,640 context how important this question is. 306 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:03,840 It could be totally trivial. 307 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:08,040 I could be shopping in a store and looking at sweaters and a salesperson comes up to 308 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:10,840 me and says, oh, what are you looking for? 309 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:15,720 In that case, I would just say, I'm just looking for a blue cardigan with extra long sleeves. 310 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:17,560 It's a trivial question. 311 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:19,740 It's an easy to answer question. 312 00:18:19,740 --> 00:18:22,160 It's hardly profound. 313 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:29,960 But when the risen Jesus appears to you and asks you the question, what do you want? 314 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,480 Who are you looking for? 315 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:33,480 What are you looking for? 316 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:41,260 Now, that one is not as easy to answer because that is a question about our longing. 317 00:18:41,260 --> 00:18:46,760 What are you looking for gets to that deeper question is like, what is it in life you're 318 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:47,760 looking for? 319 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:48,760 What is it you're longing for? 320 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:50,840 What are you searching for? 321 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:53,120 What is that thing that you think will fulfill you? 322 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:56,640 And if you could only get it, then your life would finally be complete. 323 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:58,040 What's the purpose of your life? 324 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,120 What's the point of your life? 325 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:01,120 What are you looking for? 326 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:02,320 No, no. 327 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:05,520 What are you really looking for? 328 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,160 What do you want? 329 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:09,840 What do you really want? 330 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:14,920 That is a probing question that could stay with you your whole life long because it's 331 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,080 so difficult to answer. 332 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:23,760 You probably remember the hit song by the band U2. 333 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:25,720 Bono wrote these lyrics in this song. 334 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:26,960 It's a great song. 335 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,400 It's called, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. 336 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:34,100 And in the song, he's talking about his search for meaning, his search for purpose, but he 337 00:19:34,100 --> 00:19:36,120 keeps coming back to this refrain. 338 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:40,400 But I still haven't found what I'm looking for. 339 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:44,520 And it's a neat song because I get the sense that it's not just that Bono knows what he's 340 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:48,800 looking for and he just can't seem to find it. 341 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:54,400 But it's actually that he's not sure what is the thing that he's looking for in the 342 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:55,400 first place. 343 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,960 But there's this longing there and there's this deep hunger inside of him, but he doesn't 344 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:02,780 know what it's all about and he doesn't know what he's really looking for. 345 00:20:02,780 --> 00:20:05,320 Many of us spend our lives exactly like this. 346 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:07,560 We have this sense that we're looking for something. 347 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:08,560 What are we looking for? 348 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:09,560 We don't know. 349 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:10,560 Well, what am I hungry for? 350 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:11,560 What am I longing for? 351 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:12,720 We try all sorts of things. 352 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:13,720 We say, you know what? 353 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:14,720 I know what I'm looking for. 354 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:15,720 I'm looking for a... 355 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:19,800 If I go to college and get a great prestigious education and get a degree and I can mount 356 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:22,640 it on my wall, then I'll finally have what I'm looking for. 357 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:23,840 And you go and you get all that. 358 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:28,280 And then afterwards you say, I still haven't found what I'm looking for. 359 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,560 And you say, you know, I think what I need is I need to make a whole lot of money. 360 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:32,760 And many of us have done that. 361 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:35,000 We've gone out in life and we've made a whole lot of money. 362 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,040 And we say, this is the thing that I was looking for. 363 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:38,600 That'll finally satisfy. 364 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:43,700 But actually we do it and we say and we sing, I still haven't found what I'm looking for. 365 00:20:43,700 --> 00:20:44,960 Or we say, it must be a relationship. 366 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:45,960 It got to get me a girlfriend. 367 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:47,400 Got to get me a boyfriend. 368 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:50,760 That'll be the thing that kind of finally fills that void in me. 369 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:52,360 And then I'll finally have what I'm looking for. 370 00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:55,440 And we do it and we still find ourselves singing. 371 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:58,520 I still haven't found what I'm looking for. 372 00:20:58,520 --> 00:20:59,520 We get a job. 373 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:00,520 We get married. 374 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:01,520 We have kids. 375 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:02,520 We buy a house. 376 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:03,520 We go on vacations. 377 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:04,520 We retire. 378 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:09,080 But I still haven't found what I'm looking for. 379 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:13,360 All the leading psychologists of the 20th century recognize there's a longing in us. 380 00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:15,720 Freud said we are looking for love. 381 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,040 Carl Jung said people are looking for security. 382 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,120 Adler said people are looking for significance. 383 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:24,800 It's possible that we look our whole lives for those things. 384 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:27,680 We are hungry and looking for things. 385 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:32,800 King Charles, formerly Prince Charles, said there remains deep in the soul, if I dare 386 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:39,360 use that word, he says, a persistent and unconscious anxiety that something is missing. 387 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:43,960 There's some ingredient that makes life worth living. 388 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:48,920 Sometimes our kids, they'll come into the kitchen and they'll open the fridge doors 389 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,200 and they'll just stare in there. 390 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:54,920 And they will, they do it quite often because they're always hungry. 391 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:56,080 They're hungry for something. 392 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:59,280 And they look in there and they might say, oh, what do I feel like? 393 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,400 Maybe I feel like some cheese. 394 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:07,440 Maybe I feel like leftover pizza or this quesadilla that's been there for a week or whatever is 395 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:08,440 in there. 396 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:09,440 I don't know about that. 397 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:13,520 And anyways, they're sitting there and eventually at some point I walk into the kitchen. 398 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,280 I'm like, would you close the fridge doors? 399 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:17,280 Right. 400 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:22,280 And they'll look at me and they'll say, but Dad, I still haven't found what I'm looking 401 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:23,280 for. 402 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:24,280 Right. 403 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:27,120 And maybe that's, have you ever had that feeling? 404 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:28,440 I'm sure you've had that feeling. 405 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:34,720 I think that's the same feeling those first disciples of Jesus felt when they saw him 406 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:36,880 walk by that day. 407 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:42,240 We're told the next day, John, John the Baptist, by the way, was there with two of his disciples 408 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:49,840 and he saw Jesus passing by and he said, look, the lamb of God, you're looking for something. 409 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:51,680 That's what you're looking for. 410 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:53,440 That's who you're looking for. 411 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:57,200 That hunger, that longing, he's the one you need to follow. 412 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,000 That's the person you're looking for. 413 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:05,240 And when those two disciples heard this, they, they followed Jesus. 414 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:09,600 And this is when Jesus turned around, of course, and he said, Hey, what do you guys want? 415 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:10,600 Right. 416 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:11,600 He says that to you today as well. 417 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:13,880 What are you looking for? 418 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:18,820 And this is awesome because it's their chance to finally ask the burning questions that 419 00:23:18,820 --> 00:23:19,820 they have. 420 00:23:19,820 --> 00:23:20,820 Right. 421 00:23:20,820 --> 00:23:21,820 They could have said, Oh my goodness, what do we want? 422 00:23:21,820 --> 00:23:27,280 We want freedom and we want hope and we want to, we want God's kingdom to come and we want 423 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:32,480 God to return and rule in Jerusalem and we want the world to be restored and we want 424 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:33,480 the Messiah. 425 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:34,480 Are you that we want to know? 426 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:35,480 Are you the Messiah? 427 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:36,480 Are you the chosen one? 428 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:38,120 Are you the one who's going to save us all? 429 00:23:38,120 --> 00:23:41,840 We have so many questions, but instead, and I love this, but instead, what is the one 430 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:43,240 question they do ask? 431 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:52,300 They say, we, we, we want to know, where are you staying? 432 00:23:52,300 --> 00:23:56,800 It's probably not the question they really, really wanted to ask, but it might, you know, 433 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:00,440 I think what happens is when you're face to face with the thing you've been longing for, 434 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,120 sometimes the words just don't come out quite right. 435 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:07,960 It doesn't matter though, because Jesus offers them the perfect response to this question. 436 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,560 And as I mentioned, Jesus doesn't give a lot of answers to questions, but in this case, 437 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:16,800 he kind of does answer their question, where are you staying? 438 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:21,120 And it's the same reply, by the way, that he gives to you with whatever question you've 439 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:23,400 come to church with today. 440 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:30,000 And the question is this, come, come and see. 441 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,000 Come he replied, and you will see. 442 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:34,100 What are you looking for? 443 00:24:34,100 --> 00:24:35,960 Come and see. 444 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:39,680 Jesus doesn't say, oh, I can give you five tips to lead a better life. 445 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:43,240 He says, no, I'm going to give you an invitation. 446 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:46,200 Come and see. 447 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:53,080 Wherever you are today, whatever question you have today, Jesus extends that invitation 448 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:54,080 to you. 449 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:56,800 Come and see. 450 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:00,880 There are some of us here today who I might call critical. 451 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:03,480 You would say, I don't even know if I believe any of this stuff. 452 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:05,280 I mean, I'm critical of Christianity. 453 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:06,480 I'm critical of the church. 454 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:08,540 I'm even critical of Jesus. 455 00:25:08,540 --> 00:25:12,380 Right there, how could there be a loving God? 456 00:25:12,380 --> 00:25:15,840 How could a God allow all this stuff to happen? 457 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,020 That is some of the questions you come with today to church. 458 00:25:19,020 --> 00:25:22,640 And by the way, Jesus does not say, how dare you question me? 459 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:24,720 Just believe and do as you're told. 460 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:25,720 No, no. 461 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:30,720 To your question, to your question, all those who are critical, Jesus says, come and see. 462 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:32,320 Come, come, come and see. 463 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:34,080 Come examine the evidence. 464 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:36,760 Come and explore this faith. 465 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:39,760 Come and see. 466 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:44,520 Others of you, you're not so much critical, but you're curious, right? 467 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:48,960 You've done a lot of thinking already about Jesus, and maybe you're like those disciples, 468 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:50,800 but you're wondering, how can I have faith? 469 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:52,520 Or how do I learn how to pray? 470 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:53,840 Or how do I read the Bible? 471 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:56,320 These are some of the questions that you've come with today. 472 00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:58,980 And Jesus says to you, come and see. 473 00:25:58,980 --> 00:25:59,980 Come and see. 474 00:25:59,980 --> 00:26:01,840 Come and see how I do it. 475 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:05,440 Jesus in this case maybe isn't inviting you to believe, but he's inviting you to follow 476 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:06,440 him. 477 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:07,780 Is that where you're at today? 478 00:26:07,780 --> 00:26:11,880 You're curious, but you've never really taken that step to follow Jesus. 479 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:16,360 And if so, Jesus says, come and see. 480 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:19,460 It's time to come and see. 481 00:26:19,460 --> 00:26:23,160 Others of you we might call considering. 482 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:27,920 Maybe you've been coming to Trinity for a few weeks or you've been watching online for 483 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:34,040 a few times, and you're wondering, I wonder if I should actually take the step and join 484 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:36,220 this church community. 485 00:26:36,220 --> 00:26:41,160 I think to you, Jesus would say, come and see. 486 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:46,800 Come and see what it's like to be part of a community of ordinary people who are learning 487 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:51,140 to follow Jesus in our own day. 488 00:26:51,140 --> 00:26:54,800 If Christianity was just a philosophy, all you'd need is the teachings of Jesus. 489 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:56,240 But it's not a philosophy. 490 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:57,920 It's a community. 491 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:01,520 And so you need to come and see what it's all about. 492 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:05,280 Be part of the community. 493 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,740 And then finally, I would just say some of you who are committed, maybe you've been coming 494 00:27:08,740 --> 00:27:12,120 to church your whole life and you've been following Jesus for a long time. 495 00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:16,840 I think maybe when Jesus has come and see to you, maybe it's actually an invitation 496 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:24,240 for you to invite others to come and see rather than trying to be the person out there who's 497 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,400 got all the answers. 498 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:34,120 Why not follow Jesus' example and invite others to come and see what it's all about for themselves? 499 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:35,120 So are you critical? 500 00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:36,120 Are you curious? 501 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:38,440 Are you considering? 502 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:40,440 Are you committed? 503 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:44,600 Whoever you are, bring your questions and come and see. 504 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,480 Augustine said, our hearts are restless until they rest in God. 505 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:50,960 Pascal said, we have a God-shaped void in our life. 506 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:56,320 And the psalmist said, as the deer longs for the water, so my soul longs for you, O God. 507 00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:58,640 What are you looking for? 508 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:05,720 I invite you to ponder this question right here with us at Trinity. 509 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:10,740 Rather than just coming here and sitting in a pew, bring your longings, bring your searching, 510 00:28:10,740 --> 00:28:12,840 bring your questions. 511 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:14,180 Are you looking for community? 512 00:28:14,180 --> 00:28:15,180 Come and see. 513 00:28:15,180 --> 00:28:16,180 Are you looking for inspiration? 514 00:28:16,180 --> 00:28:17,180 Come and see. 515 00:28:17,180 --> 00:28:19,160 Are you looking for forgiveness and a fresh start? 516 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:21,440 Come and see. 517 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:27,280 Come and see that your questions are welcomed here because everybody has the same questions. 518 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:33,540 If you come here looking for nothing, that's probably what you'll find. 519 00:28:33,540 --> 00:28:39,240 But if you come here with the deepest questions, you'll discover that yes, Jesus is the answer 520 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:40,380 to your questions. 521 00:28:40,380 --> 00:28:48,080 But even more, you'll also discover that Jesus is the question to your answers. 522 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:49,920 Well thanks be to God. 523 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:50,920 Amen. 524 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:56,840 Thanks for joining us today and we hope that you found this sermon inspirational and encouraging 525 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,520 as you go about your day and your week. 526 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:03,920 And if you like what you heard today, please make sure to rate and review our podcast so 527 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:08,040 that we can continue to reach even more people with the good news. 528 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:14,720 Today's sermon was taken from the July 23rd, 2023 service at Trinity Streetsville, Mississauga, 529 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:15,720 Ontario. 530 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:26,940 Thanks again, everybody.