Questions of Motivation

These questions move past behavior into the interior — not what you are doing, but why. Jesus asked these questions of opponents, of disciples, and occasionally of no one in particular, which is to say of everyone in earshot. The common thread is that He was not content to address the action at the level where it was being presented. He wanted the root.

The most uncomfortable question in this category is probably the one aimed at the most devout: "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and don't do what I tell you?" It is not addressed to the indifferent. It is addressed to people who are actively using the right language. Calling Him Lord and not obeying is a specific combination, and Jesus named it specifically. The question exposes the gap between the confession and the life.

1. Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and don't do what I tell you?

Luke 6:46

2. Why do you think evil in your hearts?

Matthew 9:4

Context: Spoken to scribes who were accusing Him of blasphemy for forgiving a paralyzed man's sins — a charge they were making silently, in their own reasoning. He answered what they were thinking before they said it.

3. Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil?

Matthew 12:34

Context: After the Pharisees accused Him of casting out demons by Beelzebub. He had just said that a tree is known by its fruit, then asked what kind of fruit could be expected from these roots. The question is not polite. The situation did not call for politeness.

4. And why do you break the commandment of God because of your tradition?

Matthew 15:3

Context: The Pharisees had accused the disciples of not washing their hands according to tradition. Jesus reversed the accusation: they were using tradition to nullify the commandment to honor father and mother. The question exposed a system of religious practice that had learned to construct exceptions to the Law while appearing to uphold it.

5. Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye,' while there is a beam in your own eye?

Matthew 7:3-4

6. Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me?

John 8:46

Context: He had just told the Pharisees they were of their father the devil, a father of lies. He then asked them to produce a charge against Him — and followed the silence with a question about their unbelief. Absence of evidence against Him should have been evidence for Him. He asked why it wasn't.

7. Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?

Luke 22:48

He knew who Judas was and what Judas was doing. The question was not a request for information. It was an invitation — the last He extended to Judas — to name the act for what it was. Judas did not answer it.

The question that exposes the most territory: "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and don't do what I tell you?" Everything in this category leads here.