Interview with Stan Guthrie, Part 3

Were there any surprising themes that emerged as you looked at all the questions of Jesus together?

To get a handle on all the questions, I divided them into 26 chapters, under five broad themes. Here are the section headings: Who Is Jesus? How Do You Follow Him? Where Is Your Thinking? Why Is Character So Vital? and What Are Some Critical Doctrines? Others might have divided the questions differently, but to my mind these were how they naturally fell into place.

Looking at those themes, I’m surprised at how comprehensive Jesus’ questions are for our lives. They run the gamut from knowing and serving him to the intellectual and moral aspects of our lives until, finally, they force us to confront key truths of the Christian faith. We are unified wholes of mind, will, and body, and the questions recognize this. Remember, the questions are just one aspect of his life and teaching. There are so many more, such as parables, sermons, his example, and so on.

But the questions, in a way some of the other aspects don’t, invite our introspection and participation in the things of God. This to me is mind-blowing, that the Lord who knows everything asks for our input and respects us enough to wait for our answer. The questions assume that human beings have special dignity because we can relate with God on a very real level. Probably because we are made in his image, we can connect with him. That’s an amazing truth that the questions bring to the fore, and also an awesome responsibility.

How does thinking about the questions of Jesus help the average church member in America?

I’m not sure how to answer that. I can’t really say until I receive more feedback from readers. I can only tell you how they have helped me. Their effect has been cumulative for the most part, but some specific questions have brought home vividly certain things I have needed to hear, such as God’s desire that I be more compassionate, just when I needed to hear them. As often happens when I’m writing a book, I become very conscious of his sovereignty along the way. Illustrations and anecdotes drop into my lap just when I need them. Other times something I’m learning is immediately applicable to my life at that moment.

I expect that the responses of readers will be as varied as they are themselves. The questions, like the rest of God’s word, are living and active and have a way of penetrating our defenses. And because they are questions, they demand our response. The questions will touch each of us in different ways, at different points in our lives. I think readers will come away with something new each time they consider the questions. But clearly our listening to Jesus ask his questions—which, when all is said and done—puts him in the driver’s seat, where he belongs, and where we need him to be.