I remember the first time he said, “I don’t know.”
The setting was my very first Bible study, or at least the very first one I took seriously. The group was small; maybe 4 or 5 of us. The book was John. The “he” I mentioned was Dave, the Bible study leader who was teaching us all how to know Jesus through the Scriptures. I was just a baby Christian at the time, but I knew that Dave knew everything about Jesus. Everything!
And that’s when it happened.
Somebody asked a question about the text. I don’t remember exactly what it was. Maybe it was why Jesus responded the way He did to His mother in John 2:3-5. Or whether John 3:16-21 was spoken by Jesus or was John’s commentary. Regardless, Dave’s answer astounded me.
“I don’t know.”
That impacted me for several reasons. First, Dave was suddenly more human. I now had the slightest bit more hope that maybe one day I could lead like he leads (though to this day he’s still a lot better at it than I am!) Second, most of my experience with Christians involved watching them get offended, angry, and/or frightened when they didn’t know something. Instead, here was Dave modeling real humility! And third, it was simply an honest answer to a good question! No shame in that.
Now, this blog is called Knowable Word, and we really do believe (and plan to show why we think this) that the Bible is knowable, that Jesus is knowable, and that you can experience a great deal of joy as you grow in knowledge of God.
However, I do hope we can also be humble enough to say, “I don’t know.” There’s a lot of hard-to-understand stuff in the Bible. The apostle Peter says that Paul is hard to understand in 2 Peter 3:15-16. Paul says that God is hard to understand in Romans 11:33. Are we wiser than they? Aren’t there many passages where we too scratch our heads and basically have to confess, “I don’t know”?
Perhaps this is what the author of Proverbs 3:5 had in mind when he penned,
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (ESV)
I find saying ‘I don’t know’ to be one of the most challenging things to say during bible study or during discussion of biblical doctrines at any time. How should we respond to people (believers) when we say, I don’t know, then they mock you?
Hi Jake. That’s a great question, and I’ve considered several ways to respond to it. I think my favorite is this: when mocked, consider it an opportunity to share the gospel.
For example, “Yeah, you’re right. I really should know this better. Thankfully, God doesn’t require me to know everything in the Bible in order to be accepted; all He asks is that I trust in His Son Jesus. Even if I did end up memorizing and understanding all the Scriptures, I’d still sin. I’m so thankful that Jesus paid the penalty on the cross for my sins! Can I share more about the cross with you? That’s something I *do* understand a bit better!”
Hey Tom!
Great post. This is a familiar feeling of being asked a question and feeling embarrassed/all eyes on me if I don’t nail the response.
Thank you for the reminder to be humble and honest, and that our salvation isn’t about knowing all the answers – it’s all Gods grace.
Thanks again!
Mike
Hi Tom, excellent commentary!
Please, this sentence is difficult for me to parse; can it be redone?
“Second, most of my experience with Christians involved watching them get offended, angry, and/or frightened when they didn’t know something.”
I could take it in two ways, that Christians who are caught now knowing a thing get upset; OR that people who hear someone say “I don’t know” get upset. In fact, I think both things happen! Blessings, Gary
Amen, Mike! Thanks for the encouragement!