Question-Trappers (Matt 21-24)

Did someone ever trapped you by their questions that you could not either say "yes" or "no"? Someone once asked me those question-traps! I knew that I couldn't say either "yes" or "no" even though I disagreed. If I said yes to the question, "Am I right?" then I'm lying in His eyes although I will please that person. If I said no to the question, then that person will become angry simply because I am being honest with my answer. Therefore my final answer was, "If I say yes, then I am lying and if I say no, then I will make you mad, so I won't be able to answer this question." It worked! That person left me alone after this response!

In the same way, the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus through their question, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus knew that this question is a trap question, so instead of answering, Jesus asked them a trap question, "I also will ask you one [trap] question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. [now here comes the trap question] The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?" Oh man, those Pharisees realized that Jesus understood this game, so they had to huddle together to decide how they may outwit the trap question. One of them speak for the group, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From man,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet." After they explained why they are not able to answer this question, they justified that their answer is, "We do not know." They were cornered down!

Jesus didn't allow the Pharisees to be question-trappers because he outwitted them by asking them a trap question to become a question-trapper himself! Now after they responded, "We do not know", Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." Actually I think Jesus said this, "Man, you had to defend yourself for your non-answer, I don't! I simply say that I will not answer you by what authority I do these things!"

I love Jesus' wit! Next time I got to be well-prepared like Jesus was to be able to ask a trap question before answering a trap question.

Jesus also acted as a question-trapper in Matthew 22:41-46 when he trapped those Pharisees with this question, "If Jesus is the son of David, then why did David called him the Lord?" They couldn't dare to ask him any more questions! Jesus scared them away!