Flagstone Church of Christ Flagstone Church of Christ

Imagine being one of Jesus' disciples and getting to be an eyewitness when He demonstrated His supernatural power over nature and diseases and even spiritual forces. One would think that His disciples would have no problem trusting in His ability to overcome problems and protect those He cared about. And yet on one particular occasion their faith seemed to be diminishing, if not completely crumbling. It prompted Jesus to ask them a very pointed question - a question I still have to answer for myself today.

From scrolling through social media to binge-watching the newest shows to catching up on highlights of our favorite sports teams to having conversations with family members, friends, and coworkers, we have a lot of things that battle for our focus and attention on a daily basis. Our vision can become so fixed on a variety of different things that we might even miss seeing the things that really matter. Jesus once asked a question to someone who, in that moment, was focused on the wrong thing. It's a question that still demands an answer from us today.

When given the opportunity, many of us tend to choose the thing in life that is newer or flashier or more convenient. And that principle comes into play with our belief systems as well. Many of us often choose to focus on and put our trust in whatever is most popular or most trendy at the time or at least whatever requires less effort from us to participate in. Jesus once found Himself dealing with a group of followers who suddenly found it too challenging to continue to follow Him. He had an important question that He asked His disciples that we still need to answer for ourselves today.

Words and names carry a lot of power. The names we use or the character traits we use to describe someone often stem from our perception of that person or what we've been told about them. In His time on earth, Jesus was referred to by a lot of different names - some positive and some negative - based on what various people thought of Him or had heard about Him. With that concept in mind, Jesus asked His disciples an important question...one that we still need to answer for ourselves today.

One of the more challenging questions Jesus ever asked was actually a rhetorical question. He wasn't seeking an immediate audible response from His audience. He just used a question to confront an issue they were in habit of overlooking. It's a question we still wrestle with today, because it gets at the heart of how we view and treat others...and ultimately how we view ourselves.

When Jesus rose from the grave, it came as a surprise to many, including His own disciples. It shouldn't have been as shocking as it was for two reasons: 1) He told them several times ahead of time that He was going to die and then rise again. 2) He articulated to one of His followers some time before His death that resurrection and life were part of what made Jesus who He was. Following that conversation, Jesus asked a very important question to that disciple that we still need to answer for ourselves today.