We like things to be clear. When we ask questions, we want definite answers.
When faced with puzzles – pastoral or personal – we crave unambiguous solutions. It is an understandable desire. Uncertainty is uncomfortable – it unbalances us, and we don’t like that. Clear, definite answers restore our sense of order and calm.
Which can make Jesus hard to handle. Because, all too often, direct answers are not what he gives. Should we pay taxes to Caesar? Instead of a simple yes or no, we get that famously enigmatic statement: ‘give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s’ (Matt. 22:21). John the Baptist’s disciples ask: ‘Are you the one to come or should we expect someone else?’ Again the answer is indirect: an allusion to Isaiah 35 and an assurance that those who do ‘not stumble on account of me’ will be blessed. Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus presents a child and tells the disciples to be like him (Matt.18:1-5). How many times must we forgive? Jesus offers an obscure number and a parable on forgiveness. (Matt.18:21-35). He rarely answers questions head on.
We do find one direct answer in Matthew’s gospel. Only it’s not Jesus who supplies it. Peter, when asked if his master pays the temple tax, confidently asserts that he does. Later, however, we can imagine Peter more than a little unnerved when, not only did Jesus know what had happened, but supplied a far more complex answer to the taxation question. And then sent him to catch a fish with a coin in its mouth to pay the tax (Matt.17:24-27)! Jesus, it seems, likes to make us think!
What do we make of this apparent reluctance to provide direct answers? It doesn’t mean Jesus, or the Christian faith, avoids certainty. Jesus views are often very clear. Think of him overturning the tables in the temple, or telling Nicodemus he must be born again. Jesus spoke with absolute clarity when the occasion demanded it and the Bible is full of unambiguous truth.
Sometimes, however, only enigmatic answers can avoid compounding error. Questions often contain misconceptions and a complex answer is needed to reveal that error. Indeed, a simple answer may well misrepresent the truth. A simple yes or no answer to the question: ‘Have you stopped stealing from the office?’ really doesn’t suffice!
Jesus’ enigmatic answers helps us grow in wisdom and truth because they open our hearts to new spiritual realities. By forcing us to puzzle, they make us aware of wisdom and knowledge that is currently out of reach. They create a growing edge. The Bible tells us that God’s wisdom is beyond searching out (Isa.40:13) and the human heart impossibly deceitful (Jer.17:9). Jesus answers help dull, deceitful hearts garner more of that wisdom.
This relates to pastoral concerns in two ways. First, it reveals both the desire for, and danger of, simple answers. Something in us wants to know the cause of someone’s anorexia. Many prefer to see addiction as a personal sin and nothing more. But the causal factors involved in anorexia and addiction (and so many human struggles) are not so easily defined. Trauma from the past, pressures from our culture, family dynamics, genetics, peers, pandemics and much more besides can all have a part to play alongside the sinful attitudes and desires of the heart. We may want simplicity, but it rarely does justice to the complexity of the human heart and the many factors acting upon it.
The second thing Jesus’ enigmatic answers press upon us is that spiritual change happens slowly. Spiritual quick fixes aren’t common. External change can sometimes happen quickly, but reformation of the heart is rarely so easily achieved. Simple answers don’t prompt the kind of personal engagement with God and His word that is needed. Many who questioned Jesus will have gone away dissatisfied, but some went away puzzling and in their thinking arrived at new insights and new growth in Christ. Our pastoral care should do something similar.
