Why Does Jesus Ask Questions?

God is doing far more than eliciting information. He's drawing us to notice and confess.

As the divine Son of God, Jesus knows everything. He knows where the fish are (Luke 5:4–11). He knows every time one of his people is persecuted (Acts 9:4–5). He even knows what people are thinking before they speak (Matt. 9:4). But if this is the case, isn’t it curious that Jesus still asks questions? Why does he ask if he knows all the answers?

We’re so accustomed to using questions to elicit information that we think Jesus must be doing the same—or at least going through the motions for our sake. But everything Jesus does, everything God does, is done with poetic intentionality.

My favorites are when Jesus asks the obvious questions. He asks two blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Matt. 20:32). He asks a lame man, “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:6). He asks Philip where they’re going to buy bread right before he multiplies the loaves and feeds five thousand (John 6:5). He asks a weeping Mary at his own tomb, “Whom are you seeking?” (John 20:15). Again, why does he do this?

The short answer: Jesus’s questions aren’t for him; they’re for us.