AND THEN THERE WAS SILENCE
God Has Spoken.
Mockery, Hostility & Hurting Hearts
Ask Any Question About Jesus · Section Six
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Speak the Truth. Hear the Person.
Not every question about Christ comes from the same heart. Some speak with mockery or anger. Others are burdened by guilt, grief, bondage, or fear. Scripture gives us truth to speak plainly, and it also commands patience and gentleness in our manner. Read the passage before its explanation, and allow God’s Word to govern the response.
Mockery and Hostility
When someone ridicules Christ, the purpose is not to win an exchange but to speak what God has said. Read the Scriptures carefully, and do not answer mockery with mockery.
01 · People mocked Jesus before.
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
MATTHEW 27:39–40
Read in Context
Matthew records people mocking Jesus while He hung on the cross. The chief priests also challenged Him to come down so they could believe (Matthew 27:41–43). Their insults did not disprove His identity. Jesus remained upon the cross, where He gave His life for sinners. His followers should not be surprised when Christ is mocked, but neither should they reply with contempt. The servant of the Lord must be gentle, patient, and able to teach (2 Timothy 2:24–25). Our task is to speak God’s Word faithfully, not to win an argument.
Read Further in Scripture: Matthew 27:33–44; 1 Peter 2:21–23; 2 Timothy 2:24–26
02 · Jesus isn’t real.
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
JOHN 20:31
Read in Context
John does not ask his readers to trust a vague feeling about Jesus. He tells them that he has recorded selected signs of a real person who lived, taught, died, and rose again (John 20:24–31). Paul likewise names witnesses of the risen Christ, including the apostles and more than five hundred brethren (1 Corinthians 15:3–8). These are the Scriptures’ testimony, offered to be heard and examined. Their declared purpose is not merely to settle a historical argument, but that we might believe Jesus is the Christ and have life through His name.
Read Further in Scripture: John 20:24–31; Luke 1:1–4; 1 Corinthians 15:3–8; Acts 2:22–36
03 · If Jesus is real, make Him prove it.
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
MATTHEW 4:7
Read in Context
Satan urged Jesus to throw Himself from the temple, appealing to God’s promise of protection (Matthew 4:5–6). Jesus refused to put the Father to the test and answered from Scripture. His words do not forbid sincere questions, but they do rebuke the demand that God submit to our conditions before we will believe. Jesus’ works and resurrection are witnessed in the Gospels, and John explains why he wrote these things (John 20:30–31). We are called to consider God’s testimony, not to command Him to perform at our bidding.
Read Further in Scripture: Matthew 4:5–7; John 20:24–31; Deuteronomy 6:16; Acts 17:30–31
04 · I hate Jesus.
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”
JOHN 15:18
Read in Context
Jesus said these words to His disciples as He prepared them for the world’s hatred (John 15:18–25). He was not surprised by opposition, and His followers must not answer hatred with hatred. Yet a person’s rejection of Christ is no small matter. Scripture declares that God showed His love toward sinners while we were still sinners, when Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). The right response is not to flatter hostility or trade insults, but to tell the truth about the Savior and call the hearer to repentance and faith.
Read Further in Scripture: John 15:18–25; Romans 5:6–10; John 3:16–18; Acts 20:21
05 · I’ll go to hell and party with my friends.
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.”
LUKE 16:23–24
Read in Context
No. Hell is real, and it is a place of conscious torment, not fellowship and enjoyment. In Jesus’ account of the rich man and Lazarus, the man in hell pleads for relief, not companionship. Jesus describes a gulf that cannot be crossed (Luke 16:26). He also speaks of everlasting punishment in Matthew 25:46. We must not joke about what the Lord warns us to fear. Yet Scripture also declares that God gave His Son so that those who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
Read Further in Scripture: Luke 16:19–31; Matthew 25:31–46; Revelation 20:11–15; John 3:16–18
06 · Someone curses or blasphemes Jesus Christ.
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
LUKE 23:34
Read in Context
Jesus prayed these words while He was being crucified (Luke 23:32–38). His mercy toward those treating Him shamefully does not mean that blasphemy is harmless or that all are forgiven apart from repentance and faith. It shows us why His servants should not reply with the same anger or contempt. Christ’s name is holy, and salvation is found in no other name (Acts 4:12). Speak with gravity and patience, remembering that God calls sinners to turn to Him through the Savior they have dishonored.
Read Further in Scripture: Luke 23:32–38; Acts 3:17–19; Acts 4:12; 2 Timothy 2:24–26
When the Question Comes from a Hurting Heart
A person who is grieving, ashamed, afraid, or seeking freedom from sin must not be treated as though he is merely attempting to argue. The same Word of God that warns sinners reveals Jesus Christ as the Savior.
07 · Does Jesus care about me?
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
1 PETER 5:7
Read in Context
Peter writes to believers facing suffering and calls them to humble themselves under God’s mighty hand, casting their care upon Him (1 Peter 5:6–10). The promise is not that every trial will disappear, but that the Lord has not forgotten those who belong to Him. Jesus also calls the weary and heavy laden to come unto Him for rest (Matthew 11:28–30). We must not use Peter’s words without their setting, yet the testimony is clear: Christ welcomes those who come to Him, and His people may entrust their burdens to His care.
Read Further in Scripture: 1 Peter 5:5–11; Matthew 11:28–30; Hebrews 4:14–16; John 6:35–40
08 · Can God forgive sexual sin or adultery?
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
1 CORINTHIANS 6:11
Read in Context
Yes. Paul does not minimize sexual sin; he warns that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God and includes fornicators and adulterers among the sins he names (1 Corinthians 6:9–10). But he then reminds the Corinthians what God has done for those saved in Christ: they have been washed, sanctified, and justified (verse 11). David likewise confessed his wrongdoing to God and appealed to His mercy (Psalm 51). Forgiveness is not permission to continue in sin; it is found in the grace of the Savior who receives repentant sinners.
Read Further in Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:9–20; Psalm 51:1–12; 1 Timothy 1:15–16; Acts 20:21
09 · Can Christ free someone who is in bondage to sin?
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
JOHN 8:36
Read in Context
Yes. Jesus says that whoever commits sin is the servant of sin and that true freedom comes through the Son (John 8:31–36). He is speaking about spiritual bondage, not promising that every struggle or consequence disappears immediately. Paul teaches that those united to Christ are no longer to yield themselves as servants to sin, but to live unto God (Romans 6:11–14). Salvation is God’s gift through Christ; the believer’s subsequent walk involves hearing His Word, resisting sin, and yielding to God. The Son, not human resolve alone, is the source of freedom.
Read Further in Scripture: John 8:31–36; Romans 6:1–14; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11; Galatians 5:16–25
10 · I’ve wasted my whole life. Is there still hope?
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
JOHN 6:37
Read in Context
Yes. A person cannot recover the years already spent, but he need not imagine that those years place him beyond the Savior’s mercy. In John 6:35–40, Jesus promises to receive those who come to Him and believe on Him. The dying criminal beside Jesus acknowledged his guilt and turned to Him, and Christ promised him paradise (Luke 23:39–43). Neither passage encourages us to delay repentance. Both direct our attention away from a wasted past and toward the Lord who receives sinners who come to Him in faith.
Read Further in Scripture: John 6:35–40; Luke 23:39–43; 1 Timothy 1:12–16; 2 Corinthians 6:2
11 · I’m afraid to die. What can Jesus do for me?
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
JOHN 11:25–26
Read in Context
Jesus says this to Martha while she mourns Lazarus (John 11:17–27). He does not deny the reality of physical death; He declares that those who believe in Him have the promise of resurrection life. Hebrews 2:14–15 explains that Christ took flesh and blood, suffered death, and delivers His people from bondage through the fear of death. He can give a hope that death cannot destroy. That promise belongs to those who believe on Him, not to everyone regardless of faith. His question to Martha still calls for an answer: “Believest thou this?”
Read Further in Scripture: John 11:17–27; Hebrews 2:14–18; John 5:24–29; 1 Corinthians 15:20–26
12 · Does Jesus want someone like me?
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
MATTHEW 11:28
Read in Context
Yes. Jesus speaks this invitation to weary and burdened hearers, calling them to come to Him, take His yoke, and learn of Him (Matthew 11:28–30). He does not tell sinners to first make themselves worthy. In John 6:37 He promises that the one who comes to Him will in no wise be cast out. Christ’s invitation should neither be narrowed to people who have lived respectably nor turned into a promise that no response of faith is needed. Come to the Savior Himself, trusting His word rather than judging His willingness by your past.
Read Further in Scripture: Matthew 11:25–30; John 6:35–40; Luke 19:1–10; Romans 10:9–13
The Gospel at the Center
WELL, GOD SAYS…
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
ROMANS 5:8
The gospel does not deny sin or minimize judgment. Christ died for our sins and rose again according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). God calls sinners to repentance toward Him and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). Salvation rests in Christ, not in a formula of words or a work we perform. Whether a question begins with hostility or fear, our aim is to set God’s testimony before the person and point to His Son.
For Those Speaking With Others
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient;”
2 TIMOTHY 2:24
Listen carefully, read the Scripture, explain it truthfully, and do not guess when you do not know. The Lord’s servant must speak the truth without becoming quarrelsome.
The original church-worker booklet includes all six sections, a Gospel summary, and practical reminders. View or download the printable reference booklet (PDF).
AND THEN THERE WAS SILENCE
God Has Spoken. Study · Scripture Reference Library