When we study the teaching of Jesus, we see that He always asked a lot of questions. His disciples often asked Him questions and He would answer them with a question. What is the purpose of this kind of teaching? Jesus was such a Master at knowing just the right question to ask because He knew what was really in the heart of the people he was teaching. He wanted them to take a look at their own heart and realize their wickedness and their need for redemption. He wanted His disciples to see their need for growth because of the task that was before them.
As we seek to make disciples, the first step is asking questions that help people understand where they are in the discipleship process. Are there areas of their life where God still does not have full control? Are there things they should be doing that they haven’t begun to practice yet? Once a person identifies his need and level of maturity, he is better able to begin growing toward Christ-likeness.
When we teach a Bible passage, we should always have in mind some change that should take place in the lives of God's people. That requires a lot of prayer to make sure we are getting what God is saying. Then, we should plan our lesson with the end in mind. As we ask our questions, just as Jesus did, we are guiding our learners to the truth we want them to discover and the change that we think should be made. Jesus, the Master Teacher, watched His learners have those moments when they understood what He was teaching them; an "aha" moment. He told stories and He asked questions. He would refer back to the law and the prophets, but he knew if they were going to really get the truth that He wanted them to get, they had to think about it for themselves. We should follow His pattern as we seek to make His disciples. Of course, we should always be open to God doing something we had not planned. He’s just like that sometimes.
If we are going to be effective at making disciples, the task before us is not to help people just know more information. Law, prophets, poetry, history, the gospels, and the epistles are all important parts of the Bible that need to be learned. However, what good is simply listening to information if we are not understanding how God wants us to live differently in light of it? James admonishes us to be “doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22) The task before us is to help people become more like Jesus Christ by living a life that reflects the teaching of Scripture. When we stand before our group to teach, we do so with the understanding that the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and He will speak to hearts as we plan well the questions we will ask after we have explained the context of the Bible passage. We may need to say less so the Holy Spirit is able to say more.
If you are a teacher in God's church, I want to challenge you to try to teach as much like Jesus as you possibly can. When he taught the masses, he used mostly the lecture method, inserting plenty of illustrations to help them see. But when he taught the small groups, he used mostly questions. Since discipleship is best done in smaller groups of people with close relationship with one another, I want to ask leading questions to help my learners discover the truth of the Scripture; the way Jesus did. I hope you will too.
Next Tuesday, June 11, 2013: “Never Miss an Opportunity to Share a Good Illustration.”
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