Most people believe answers are more valuable than questions. Maybe we think that questions never really lead us to the truth, or that questions just lead to more questions. The reality is that questions fuel the best conversations. The fact that Jesus asked so many questions in the Gospels reveals that he knew there was power in a question. We find few instances in Scripture where Jesus enters “lecture” mode, spouting off do’s and don’ts. More commonly, he is engaging people in a conversation, and Jesus’ conversations often started with a question. Sometimes it was as simple as asking someone their name.
Lesson Objectives
- WHAT: When we actively engage in a relationship with Jesus, we experience a greater opportunity for spiritual growth.
- WHY: It is easier and more organic for students to grow in their relationship with Jesus when they are able to interact with Jesus’ questions.
- HOW: Teenagers can go deeper in their faith by taking the questions of Jesus and connecting them to their lives today.
Primary Scripture: Luke 8:26-39
Secondary Scriptures: Mark 5:1-20
Let’s spend a few minutes exploring this unique passage of Scripture—sometimes all we need is a good question to help get us started!
1. Questions help us feel valued
What’s the craziest question someone has ever asked you?
Why is it meaningful when someone asks you what your name is? What does that reveal?
When has your day gotten so much better simply because someone asked how you were doing—and genuinely wanted to know the answer?
Why would Jesus want or need to ask questions?
Sometimes the greatest thing we can do for someone is ask them how they are doing—or what their name is. There is something powerful about calling people by their name. And if we don’t know that person’s name, the best way to find out is to simply ask!
2. Jesus asks questions to get us thinking
Think of the last time you avoided a conversation with someone. You don’t have to give us all the details, but why didn’t you want to talk with that person?
What kinds of challenges would the man in this passage have faced in his day-to-day life?
Why would Jesus ask this man what his name was?
How did Jesus demonstrate care for Legion?
There is definitely something crazy about Jesus casting out demons—and while that might be something that we can’t really relate to, we can relate to how Jesus interacted with someone that society had rejected and ignored. Jesus didn’t just spend time talking with people that were easy to talk to—he engaged in some difficult conversations as well.
3. If we interact with Jesus, we will experience life-change
In his interaction with Legion, Jesus began with a simple question. From that moment on, the man’s life was changed. Not only was he free of the demons that had plagued his life, he was now fully clothed and perfectly sane. A lot of things happened that day, but probably the most impactful was that the voices in his head were quieted, and he was able to hear from Jesus—in fact, this passage says he was sitting at Jesus’ feet!
How does this interaction with Legion show us Jesus’ true heart for people?
When have you allowed Jesus to clear things out of your life so you could interact with him more clearly and easily?
What kinds of junk can keep us from experiencing the life-change Jesus offers us?
Why do some people experience radically changed lives right away after encountering Jesus, while other people seem to see slower, more gradual change?
What people in our world today are most like Legion—rejected, outcast, or living on the fringes of society? How might Jesus want us to minister to them?
BGroup Questions
- What do you need most from Jesus today?
- When Jesus interacted with Legion, he made it very apparent that he wanted to relate with him on a personal level, so Jesus removed all the things that kept him from seeing Jesus for who he really was. What could Jesus remove from your life right now so you could do likewise?
- Are there people like Legion in your life—people at school or at work that everyone else avoids? How might you go about treating them like Jesus treated Legion?
TAKE ACTION: Memorize this Scripture this week! “ ‘Go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.’ So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him” (Luke 8:39).
**Leaders, leave 3-5 minutes for prayer at the end of your group time.
Youth Small Group Series
Have you ever wondered why Jesus asked questions? Didn’t he know “all things” anyway? Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus asking hundreds of questions—everything from “What is your name?” to “Who do you say that I am?” What if Jesus wasn’t asking questions just to get an answer? What if there was something greater at work?
This small group series for youth will engage in conversations about some of the questions Jesus asked. Teenagers will encounter Jesus’ desire to engage them on a truly relational level—a relationship based on dialogue and conversations.
