Afraid to Ask

David King
05/05/13 - Wings

“‘Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.’  But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it” (Lk. 9:44-45).
This was the first time Jesus gave His apostles details about the fate that awaited Him. The announcement was so shocking, so out of touch with their pre-conceived notions of the Messiah’s work, they couldn’t comprehend what He was saying. So how did the apostles respond to this puzzle? “They were afraid to ask Him about it.” Jesus’ words were bewildering, but rather than ask Him for clarification, they said nothing.  
Why were the apostles afraid to question Jesus’ statement? Very simply, they were afraid of looking dumb and uninformed. We know the apostles at this stage were still struggling with a pride problem (see v. 46-56). Here, too, pride led them to keep their ignorance hidden; so instead of asking questions, they chose to remain silent, even though they had no clue what Jesus was talking about. Several months later, when Jesus’ words were fulfilled, their ignorance left them unprepared, and they failed miserably. Their lack of curiosity about Jesus’ words eventually hurt them badly.
The apostles’ reticence to ask questions is a common human failing. Many of us, when faced with circumstances that don’t make sense, tend to “play cool” and pretend we know the facts. We may have no idea what’s going on, but like the apostles, we are too proud to reveal our ignorance.
But the truth is, we are ignorant. None of us is born with innate knowledge about anything. Everything we know, we have learned—either from parents and teachers who beat it into our heads, or from books and other media, or from mentors, counselors, friends, co-workers, or supervisors who took the time to share their knowledge. And no matter how much we have learned, our current level of knowledge is still quite limited. There will always be much that we don’t know. That’s not a failure, but a simple fact of life.
It’s the person who can freely admit, “I don’t understand, please explain,” who is in the best position to learn. His questions do not brand him as ignorant, but as curious and desirous of knowledge. People respect that. It was this respect for the curious mind that led Voltaire to say that we should “judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” A lifetime spent asking questions will sharpen our skill at asking more—and learning more.
After all, asking questions is the quickest way to replace ignorance with knowledge. We should remember this when dealing with others who pepper us with honest questions. Instead of belittling them for their ignorance, we should reward their honesty with all the patient guidance we can provide them.
So the next time you encounter a situation or concept that appears inexplicable, don’t try to preserve your dignity by pretending you know the answers. Just come out and state the truth: “I don’t understand”—then start asking questions. Eventually, others will start asking you the questions.“‘Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.’  But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it” (Lk. 9:44-45).
This was the first time Jesus gave His apostles details about the fate that awaited Him. The announcement was so shocking, so out of touch with their pre-conceived notions of the Messiah’s work, they couldn’t comprehend what He was saying. So how did the apostles respond to this puzzle? “They were afraid to ask Him about it.” Jesus’ words were bewildering, but rather than ask Him for clarification, they said nothing.  
Why were the apostles afraid to question Jesus’ statement? Very simply, they were afraid of looking dumb and uninformed. We know the apostles at this stage were still struggling with a pride problem (see v. 46-56). Here, too, pride led them to keep their ignorance hidden; so instead of asking questions, they chose to remain silent, even though they had no clue what Jesus was talking about. Several months later, when Jesus’ words were fulfilled, their ignorance left them unprepared, and they failed miserably. Their lack of curiosity about Jesus’ words eventually hurt them badly.
The apostles’ reticence to ask questions is a common human failing. Many of us, when faced with circumstances that don’t make sense, tend to “play cool” and pretend we know the facts. We may have no idea what’s going on, but like the apostles, we are too proud to reveal our ignorance.
But the truth is, we are ignorant. None of us is born with innate knowledge about anything. Everything we know, we have learned—either from parents and teachers who beat it into our heads, or from books and other media, or from mentors, counselors, friends, co-workers, or supervisors who took the time to share their knowledge. And no matter how much we have learned, our current level of knowledge is still quite limited. There will always be much that we don’t know. That’s not a failure, but a simple fact of life.
It’s the person who can freely admit, “I don’t understand, please explain,” who is in the best position to learn. His questions do not brand him as ignorant, but as curious and desirous of knowledge. People respect that. It was this respect for the curious mind that led Voltaire to say that we should “judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” A lifetime spent asking questions will sharpen our skill at asking more—and learning more.
After all, asking questions is the quickest way to replace ignorance with knowledge. We should remember this when dealing with others who pepper us with honest questions. Instead of belittling them for their ignorance, we should reward their honesty with all the patient guidance we can provide them.
So the next time you encounter a situation or concept that appears inexplicable, don’t try to preserve your dignity by pretending you know the answers. Just come out and state the truth: “I don’t understand”—then start asking questions. Eventually, others will start asking you the questions. 

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