Many Adventists grew up sensing that certain questions were off limits in Sabbath School. Ask the wrong one and the room goes quiet, or someone reads a quotation and moves on. Yet the Bible itself praises people who checked things for themselves. Luke wrote that the Bereans “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11, NKJV). Here are ten questions worth welcoming.
1. What did this passage mean to the people who first heard it?
2. Why do faithful Christians read this text differently?
3. Which part of this story is uncomfortable, and why?
4. Where do we see Jesus in this passage?
5. How do we know what we think we know?
6. Is this a teaching of Scripture or a tradition we inherited?
7. Who is missing from this story, and what might they say?
8. What does this text leave unanswered?
9. What would change if we took this verse seriously this week?
10. Does our reading make us kinder, or only more certain?
Every member can help make these questions safe. Bring one honest question to class and ask it gently. When someone else asks a hard one, thank them before anyone tries to answer. If nobody knows, say “Let’s study that together,” and then actually do it. Teachers can leave a few seconds of silence after a question instead of rushing to fill it.
Jesus Himself taught with questions. He asked His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15, NKJV), and He let them wrestle with the answer. Honest questions do not threaten a faith that rests on Him. They are often how He draws people closer, one conversation at a time.
Photo: “Holy bible book” by Leon Brooks, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped, darkened behind the title, text added. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holy_bible_book.jpg
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