{"id":10789,"date":"2025-11-05T08:40:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=10789"},"modified":"2025-11-04T21:30:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T03:30:31","slug":"november-9-2025-how-jesus-handles-loaded-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/november-9-2025-how-jesus-handles-loaded-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"November 9, 2025 – How Jesus Handles Loaded Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prepare<\/h4>\n

This reading begins with a question about the afterlife from the Sadducees, a group of leaders who did not believe in the resurrection. This is important to note because the question is not really about the resurrection at all, but about trapping Jesus. The Sadducees want him to give an answer that somehow \u201cconvicts\u201d him. Keep in mind that this gospel lesson comes just one chapter after Jesus has made his final entry into Jerusalem, what we celebrate as Palm Sunday. So this conversation takes place sometime between Sunday and Thursday, before the Last Supper.<\/p>\n

To clarify the question, the Sadducees are asking about a law that sort of protects women. In practice though, it mostly protected a man\u2019s property and lineage. According to the Torah, if a man died without a son, his brother was expected to help by marrying the widow and attempt to give her a son. In many ways, this helps the woman since she cannot own property. Either her new husband or son would inherit her dead husband\u2019s wealth and take care of her. Ultimately, it\u2019s a symbol of the patriarchy that existed and Sadducees\u2019 question becomes one about ownership, who the woman \u201cbelongs to\u201d even in the afterlife.<\/p>\n

Jesus does not answer the question directly. He defers to the fact that some are worthy to be in God\u2019s kingdom and some are not. Yet, more importantly, property and wealth won\u2019t matter anymore, because earthly rules do not apply in the kingdom of God. He reminds them that God is God of the living, and not of the dead, and that life in God\u2019s kingdom is not bound by the same rules and hierarchies of this world.<\/p>\n

Opening Exercise<\/h4>\n

Question for pairs or trios: Has someone every asked you a question that didn\u2019t seem to have a right answer, but felt like it could have many wrong answers? How do you feel about or respond to dangerous questions?<\/p>\n

Texts Read Aloud<\/h4>\n

Luke 20:27-38<\/a>
\nThessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17<\/a><\/p>\n

How Jesus Handles Loaded Questions (And How We Can, Too)<\/h4>\n

It\u2019s so easy to fall into the wrong conversation, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

When the question is a trap, choose what really matters.<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s common these days. Someone asks you a question about a hot-button topic, and you answer with what you know to be right. But then, it happens. The questioner disagrees with you and argues with you. Suddenly you feel like your values are at stake. The conversation turns into a heated discussion about the particulars of one side or the other and everyone walks away feeling beat up, angry, or confused.<\/p>\n

This is exactly the kind of question Jesus is asked by the Sadducees in today\u2019s reading from the gospel of Luke. They are trying to trick him into answering, then trap him on the specifics of his response. Jesus, however, is a master at seeing through questions like these. He answers with a response that truly gets at the heart of things\u2026what really matters.<\/p>\n

Instead of answering which husband she would belong to, he flips the conversation to one of what matters most in the afterlife, and these details apparently don\u2019t. Jesus speaks of not being dead but being alive, that everyone at this point is a child of God, and that God is a God of the living. In other words, eternity is not a place where wealth, status, or hierarchy matter anymore. This question is irrelevant in God\u2019s Kingdom.<\/p>\n

Maybe the best lesson for us from this gospel reading today is to stop and take a breath when someone asks a tricky question and think about it from a deeper perspective. Rather than be tricked into quibbling over details that aren\u2019t important, we can approach questions asked of us with answers that aim to bring both parties together. Jesus recognizes the Sadducees\u2019 question to be one of wealth and status. Rather than playing into their hand, Jesus assures those listening that God\u2019s love is for all the children of God, and that God is God of the living. There is no need to worry about power and wealth when God is God. And it\u2019s an answer that no one can argue with.<\/p>\n

Paul urges the Thessalonians to do this too: \u201clet no one deceive you\u201d he writes in 1 Thess. 2:3. Here he is writing about people who come with false information; not about people who ask dangerous questions. But the message is the same. Don\u2019t let people deceive you or draw you into what\u2019s not important. Instead, focus on what is important:<\/p>\n

\u201c13 But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 For this purpose he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a great message for us today in a divided world. When asked a dangerous or tricky question, take a breath. Find the true meaning behind the question, keep the focus on what\u2019s important, and answer in love.<\/p>\n

Reflection Questions<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. What did the Sadducees want to know?<\/li>\n
  2. Why do you think the Sadducees asked Jesus this question?<\/li>\n
  3. How does it feel when you are asked a question that feels a little dangerous?<\/li>\n
  4. How might you answer differently if you took a breath and received more context for the question<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Closing Activity<\/h4>\n

    Have the students practice answering hard questions with a response that gets more at the heart of the matter. For example:<\/p>\n