Explore the reading

Invite the congregation to give an example of a simple question (e.g. What did you have for breakfast?); a cheeky question (e.g. What time did you come home last night?); a mean question (e.g. Are you putting on weight?); a complimentary question (e.g. Where did you get that cool new bag?); a test question (as in an exam, e.g. What’s the square root of nine?); a trick question (e.g. almost any joke); a searching question (e.g. What would you like to be doing in ten years’ time?). Identify together other categories of question. Invite people to try out different kinds of questions on each other, then discuss how this felt. 

Look at the questions in today’s Gospel. What category do they fall into? The religious leaders’ question is a mean trick question disguised as a simple question: they want to catch Jesus out. But Jesus treats it as a simple question, gives a straight answer, and shuts them up.

What sort of questions are the ones Jesus asks? His last is also a trick question, and all are meant to make the people think. What sort of questions might we ask as we read the Bible? What really happened? (We can’t always know.)

What else do I need to know to understand this story: for example, who were the Sadducees (see Bible notes)? Does this story really make sense? What’s this story all about? What does this story mean for my life? This is a kingdom question! Are there any questions you would like to ask about today’s story? Any answers to those questions? Stress that it’s OK to ask any questions you want to: you won’t always get an answer straight away, but there is no question God can’t deal with.