The Savior's Yes and No Answers

In the book I’m listening to called Essentialism, the author Greg McKeown suggested that a crucial skill for us to learn in life is to say “No.”  What he means is that we need to be able to refuse to participate in activities that aren’t crucial for us and focus only on what really matters.  Too many of us, he pointed out, will by default simply say “Yes” to any reasonable invitation that comes our way without considering the tradeoff we are making by that response: we are potentially taking time away from more important things and losing control over our own time.  As I’ve considered his advice, I’ve thought about the Savior.  How did He respond to different invitations on how to use His time?  When did He say “No” and when did He say “Yes” to the requests from people around Him? 

               Near the beginning of His ministry, the Savior got up in the Nazarene synagogue and quoted these words from Isaiah about His own mission: “He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18).  It seems to me that whenever the Savior received a request which was in line with this divine mission of helping others, even when He was “busy” doing something else, He always said “Yes.”  When “there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean,” the Savior answered simply, “I will; be thou clean” (Matt. 8:2-3).  When the centurion came to him saying, “Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented,” Christ responded immediately, “I will come and heal him” (Matt. 8:6-7).  Another time when He was in the middle of speaking to the people, “There came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.”  Jesus gave no sign of hesitation—He did not suggest that He was busy teaching the people and couldn’t help him, but He “arose, and followed him” to go heal his daughter.  On the way a woman reached out to Him “and touched the hem of his garment,” and He not only took note but stopped and announced that she had been healed: “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole” (Matt. 9:18-22).  It seems that the Savior was never too busy to help those who came to Him in sincerity for aide.  Even in the case of the Gentile woman who sought help for her daughter, to whom He explained that His mission was not yet to her (because it would be the apostles that would minister to the Gentiles after His death), He still was moved by her request and said to her “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt” (Matt. 15:28).  The Savior always said “Yes” to those requests from people that helped Him fulfill His divine mission to bind up the brokenhearted.

               So when did the Savior say “No”?  First, He of course said “No” to those temptations of Satan which were not in line with His purpose for being on earth.  He did not waste any time considering the invitations to use His power for self-gratification or aggrandizement; He simply said “No.”  He also said “No” to even discussing the idea of not fulfilling His Father’s plan; after He had told the Twelve He would be killed and rise again the third day, Peter impulsively responded, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.”  Christ’s response was instantaneous: “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (Matt. 16:22-23).  Christ would not spend energy discussing any outcome other than doing His Father’s will.  He also refused to follow any suggestion by the Jewish leaders that He did not adequately adhere to their traditions.  For example, on one occasion, “Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.”  But Christ knew that this was not important and was not peer pressured into following extra man-made requirements—even if it was the tradition and common practice of the day.  He focused on that which was critical, saying, “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” (Matt. 15:1-3).  On another occasion, “The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.”  But His answer to them again was “No” and He said to them, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign” (Matt. 16:1-4).  At first it may seem that theirs was a request to be considered; wouldn’t it be good to prove to them once and for all who He was?  But did not entertain the thought for a moment; His mission was to serve and heal and bless, not to give glory to Himself or prove to others that He had great power.  Christ was perfectly focused on His mission from the Father to heal and bless and teach and ultimately die for the people, and He did not hesitate to say “No” when a suggested use of His time was not in line with that mission.