Command 16 : Do Not Cast Pearls | Day 110

Learn to Answer "Pearl Haters"!

On various occasions during His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus was confronted with many questions from those who did not recognize His value or the wisdom of His words. His wise responses provide us with excellent examples of ways that we should discern the motives behind questions and answer different types of fools without casting our pearls before swine.

“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit” (Proverbs 26:4-5).

Types of questions Jesus received and His responses to them:

• Rhetorical questions are ones to which no answer is expected or to which only one obvious answer may be given. A wise man will use a rhetorical question to present a listener with truth, but a fool will use it to emphasize his false ideas. When the Pharisees asked Jesus if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, Jesus responded to them with two rhetorical questions of His own, leaving them no choice but to agree. (See Matthew 12:11-12.)
• Argumentative questions are born out of pride. They stir up debate and controversy over conflicting points of view and force the listeners to take sides. When the Pharisees questioned Jesus about the basis of His authority, He exposed their divisive intensions and then addressed the topic of their questions, presenting truth about Himself through parables. (See Matthew 21:23-46.)
• Deceptive questions involve trickery and ingenuity in an attempt to ensnare the ones who answer them. They have "no win" answers. At the prompting of the Pharisees, one person asked Jesus if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. The intent behind the question was to cause Jesus to either defy the Roman government or to anger the Jews, who hated the Roman occupation. Jesus responded with perceptive questions of His own and then explained the principle related to the situation. (See Matthew 22:16-22.)
• Insincere questions do not express the genuine feelings of the questioner and cannot be taken at face value. Following Jesus's arrest, the high priest asked Him about His disciples and His doctrine. However, the high priest was not seeking to learn about Jesus but rather to find something about Him to condemn. Jesus did not provide the requested explanation. Rather, He pointed to the crowd who had listened to His teaching and told the high priest to ask them. (See John 18:19-23.)

  “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient” (II Timothy 2:24).

  When someone challenges you with a foolish or unlearned question, do you become defensive and argumentative, or do you discern if he is open to truth and determine how to effectively present it? Let's follow the instruction of Proverbs 16:23: “The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.”