Mark 12:37b And the common people heard him gladly
We have often heard that there is no such thing as a dumb question. Probably all of us have wondered if that is actually true. I think that most of us have probably heard more than one dumb question in our life. Maybe in school someone raises their hand, the teacher acknowledges that, then what follows is what we would call a dumb question. Well, what is a dumb question? Is a question dumb simply because a person doesn’t know the answer? Or is a question dumb because the answer could be known but is rejected?
In Mark 12 you find the answer to that question. Jesus is questioned at least three separate times by people, most of whom do not accept Jesus and really don’t want an answer. There is a difference between asking a question for an answer and asking a question for an argument. Many times, people asked Jesus questions not to receive an answer, but because they wanted to give an argument.
In Mark 11:28 you find the actual question, the real question behind all the questions. When the religious leaders who rejected Jesus came to Jesus, they asked, “By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?” In other words, “Who said you could say this and do this?” They rejected that Jesus was the Messiah, and they certainly rejected that Jesus was God the Son. So, they wanted to know who gave Him His authority.
They felt as if they were losing power, and they feared the people. Throughout the book of Mark, whether it is Herod or the religious leaders, you find them having some fear of what the people thought. Though they had authority over the people, they realized that at some point that if the people were against them, that could be a problem. So, instead of going at Jesus with a frontal attack, they tried a new tactic. They pretended as if they had a question when really what they wanted was an argument.
For instance, in verse 13 it says, “And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.” The question that follows is not a question for an answer. They just wanted to catch Him in His words. They basically asked Him, “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar?” The answer was masterful.
Then in verse 18 it says, “Then come unto him [Jesus] the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection.” So, they rejected the resurrection, yet the question they asked was about the resurrection. Again, their intent was not to get an answer but to gain an argument. Jesus said they were mistaken because they didn’t know the Scriptures nor the power of God.
In verse 28 there is another question. It says, “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?” This enquirer seems to have more of an open heart and mind, but the bottom line is that after Jesus answered all these questions well, the Bible says in verse 34, “And no man after that durst ask him any question.” In other words, they didn’t ask Him any more question, not because they weren’t getting answers, but because they weren’t winning any arguments.
Your understanding is limited primarily by your attitude. It is more about a capacity of my will than it is a capacity of my intellect. One indication of a question for an argument is when you can’t win the argument, you just stop asking questions. Doesn’t it make sense that if these people really had a legitimate question to which Jesus gave a good answer that they would ask Him more questions? They didn’t ask Him more questions or increase their questions. They stopped altogether because they were not winning any arguments.
In contrast to these people of power who rejected Jesus, the Bible says in verse 37, “And the common people heard him gladly.” Anyone with an open mind and a humble heart can learn from the Lord Jesus. The Bible says that the common people heard Him gladly. That is why so many of these “common people” understood God and Jesus and life more than did their religious leaders. The common people had a heart to understand. They didn’t want an argument; they wanted an answer.
Today, do you want an argument? Do you want to win or do you want an answer? Do you want the truth? Anyone with an open heart and ready mind can have answers that give guidance, direction, and power for life because our understanding is limited, not by our capacity to know, but by our attitude, our capacity of will.