Why Did Jesus Respond to His Enemies with Questions?
Jesus responded to his enemies with questions because he knew their questions were not sincere and that they were just trying to trap him, but Christ refused to succumb to their obvious manipulations. A good example is when the Pharisees and Herodians teamed-up to force the Messiah to say something politically offensive (the Pharisees resented paying taxes to Rome whereas the Herodians supported it):
They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin , and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.
Mark 12:14-17 & Luke 20:20-26
Luke’s account ends with this statement: “Astonished by his answer, they became silent.”
We’ve got to get away from this idea that Jesus was some weak pushover. On the contrary, Christ could spot a fake from about fifty paces and was so brilliant in argumentation that he amazed his enemies and put them to silence. They even feared him (Mark 11:18).
Related Topics:
Why did Jesus Answer Questions with Questions?
Jesus Christ — Milksop or Mighty Lord?
Why Was Jesus Sometimes Ambiguous?
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