The Teacher of All Teachers
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any who are
successful in all endeavors of life, have done so by following a model. It may
be a relative, a friend, or someone who is a master in their field. God has
created us in a way that we can be motivated and influenced by others, and this
is a blessing that many of us have overlooked.
It
would be difficult to find someone in Christianity who has not been impressed
by the apostle Paul. From the time of Paul’s conversion, it seems that he “hit
the ground running” for the Lord. He preached, he taught, he wrote, and he
traveled for Jesus. How could anyone on earth ever fathom the depth of his
influence as he spread the gospel to the world?
Someone
might ask, “What was the secret of Paul’s success?” You can be assured that the
power behind his success was not a secret! In fact, in his teaching and
writing, he wanted all to know that the reason for his success was Jesus.
“I
can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
“For
to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
“And
whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians
3:17).
“For
if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore,
whether we live or die, we are the Lord's” (Romans 14:8).
What
is Paul saying in these and many other verses? He is saying, “I owe ALL to
Jesus the Teacher of all teachers!”
When
Nicodemus paid Jesus a nighttime visit, he got down immediately to business. He
said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher
come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God
is with him” (John 3:2).
What
did Nicodemus mean by calling Jesus Rabbi? He was calling Him the Teacher of
all teachers. For not only was Jesus masterful in teaching, but He proved
Himself as being from God by the miracles He performed.
How
did Jesus respond to Nicodemus? He responded by teaching one of the most
powerful lessons of His ministry. He taught him about the new birth of water and the Spirit that is
essential to enter the kingdom of God, and gave a comparison between fleshly
and spiritual births illustrated by the wind. He also taught him about the love
and purpose of God who sent His Son to earth to die—which is the central truth
of God’s will.
The
ministry of Jesus is filled with teaching that motivated a better life. How
could anyone read and study His sermon from the mountain and not say: “No man
ever spoke like this Man!” (John
7:46).
Paul
knew the power and influence of this Teacher of all teachers, and wanted Him to
continually be his personal model.
What
about teachers in the church today? Has the need to follow the example of Jesus
changed? Certainly it has not! If we could combine and follow ALL the religious leaders of the past along
with their human creeds, this would be nothing compared to following Jesus.
This Teacher of all teachers, “taught them as one having authority, and not
as the scribes” (Matthew 7:29). Even in His hometown of Nazareth, they marveled at
the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth. And they asked, “Is this
not Joseph's son?” (Luke 4:22).
This
should lead us to ask, “What characteristics did Jesus have that made Him the
Teacher of all teachers? If we will study and follow His ways and actions, we
will also become better teachers. Therefore, may we consider some of the
characteristics of Jesus that made Him the Teacher of all teachers.”
Even
though Jesus was one of the persons in the Godhead and made all things in the
beginning (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16), He had become flesh to show “the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14). Therefore, He lived and taught daily the will of His Father. “For I have come
down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38).
Jesus
placed Himself under the directions of His Father as an obedient Son in His
teaching and in His suffering: “though He was a Son, yet He learned
obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).
Jesus
wanted His audiences to know that He was not promoting Himself, and was not
just a teacher giving His own opinions. His teaching and judgments represented
the will of His Father. “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and
My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the
Father who sent Me” (John 5:30).
Jesus
did what He saw His Father do. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do
nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the
Son also does in like manner” (John
5:19).
As
Jesus carried out His mission on earth “to seek and to save that which was
lost” (Luke 19:10), He always
glorified His Father. When His work finally came down to the garden and the
cross, He told His Father in prayer, “I have glorified You on the earth. I
have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4).
How
will we act as teachers if we follow the example of the Teacher of all
teachers? Can we seek anything less than what Jesus sought? How could anyone
believe that God is pleased with them as teachers, when they are teaching the
doctrines and commandments of men? Jesus taught that such teaching causes even
their worship to be in vain. “And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as
doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew
15:9).
Therefore,
we need to be teachers of the Book—seekers
of God’s will. Both teachers and the ones being taught will be judged by the
word that comes from God. Jesus said of His teaching, “He who rejects Me,
and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have
spoken will judge him in the last day”
(John 12:48).
When
Jesus sent the seventy out to teach, He told them, “He who hears you hears
Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent
Me” (Luke 10:16).
He
taught that false teachers are blind leaders of the blind, and said that all will fall into the ditch (Matthew
15:14).
Teachers
who are true to God (like Jesus) will guide their students to do God’s will.
Why? Because this is the only way to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Not
everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but
he who does the will of My Father in
heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
As
true teachers, our goal will always be to teach the
will of our Father.
It
can be said of Jesus the Teacher of all teachers that “Never a man lived like
this Man.” This fact was the most
difficult thing for the enemies of Jesus to face. They devoted most of their
time and energy, just to find one flaw in His life and character, but they
failed. For Jesus NEVER committed a
sin “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
The
devil with all of his power of evil and darkness must have thought he had a
chance to succeed with Jesus, but he was wrong! The temptations bounced away
from Jesus like sparks flying from a burning fire. For Jesus responded to each
temptation with a Scripture. Finally, when Jesus said, “Get behind Me, Satan! “ (Luke 4:8), he left Him. The devil had experienced the greatest failure in his existence.
Therefore,
when Jesus taught love, He practiced it. When He taught forgiveness, He
forgave. When He taught loving one’s enemies, He died for His. When He taught
others how to pray, He poured out His heart to His Father in prayer. Jesus lived what He taught!
As
Bible teachers and students, how much effort do we put forth to live what we
teach and learn? As teachers, do we experience failure because our students do
not see us live the things we teach? It is true that we cannot live without
sinning as Jesus lived. However, we need to ask ourselves, “Are we trying our
best to follow the example of His life?”
Imagine
a little boy trying to walk in the footprints that his dad has made in the
snow. He tries so hard, but occasionally he steps to one side. Does he give up?
No, but with even greater determination, he tries to follow his steps.
This
kind of effort is what pleases the Teacher of all teachers! He wants us to give
the best effort that we can possibly give.
The
price for being a Christian and a Christian teacher does not come cheap. We
must set aside self and the fleshly practices of our bodies mentioned by Paul
to the Galatians (Galatians 5:19-21).
Jesus
taught, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew
16:24).
As
Paul followed Jesus and taught the gospel to the world, he had to practice
discipline daily. “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection,
lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1
Corinthians 9:27). Like Jesus, Paul
was falsely accused of sinning on various occasions during his ministry.
However, he just continued on with faithful living and serving the One who was
crucified for him (1 Timothy 2:16).
Thus,
before we can be successful teachers, we must set forth the example of what we
are teaching by the way we live.
One
cannot study the actions of the Teacher of all teachers without seeing Him as a
man at work. The parents of Jesus recognized this very early in His life. When
Joseph and Mary left Him in Jerusalem thinking He was with some of the
relatives, they returned to find Him among the doctors listening and asking
questions. How did He defend His actions to His mother? “Why did you seek
Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?” (Luke 2:49).
From
this early age of twelve until He returned to His Father, this Teacher of all
teachers was at work. In fact, Jesus taught that His Father in heaven sent Him
on a mission. “My Father has been working until now, and I have been
working” (John 5:17).
One
day the disciples were concerned that Jesus was not eating enough food. “Jesus
said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work’ “ (John 4:34).
Jesus
did not work just because Joseph and Mary taught him to work, but His Father in
heaven motivated Him. “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is
day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).
Shortly
before Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed these words to His
Father: “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). Jesus had been at work! Perhaps it would
stagger our imaginations if we knew the exact number of hours that Jesus gave
to teaching during His few years upon this earth.
This
should lead us as teachers to do some personal soul searching. How much time
are we investing to be more effective Bible teachers? Are we at work for our
Father, or are we working most of our hours for ourselves? Yes, many hours must
be given to sustaining our physical lives, but we must remember that all of
these things are temporary. However, the work we invest in teaching God’s word
is eternal. The students whom we teach have eternal souls made in the image of
God (Genesis 1:26,27), and all need to obey and live for Jesus. He is the ONLY author of eternal salvation, and will
give salvation ONLY to those who obey
Him (Hebrews 5:9).
Therefore,
the work that we invest in to be better teachers of eternal things is the best
investment that we can make. This is true with ourselves and with the ones we
teach. Remember, this is a work that pays the highest dividends! “Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
The fact is, if we want to be better teachers and to please the Teacher of all teachers, we must roll up our sleeves and get involved in work.
Among
all the things that Jesus loved while living upon this earth, one of them must
have been to talk to His Father in heaven. Before becoming flesh and dwelling
upon this earth, He knew the riches and glories of being in heaven with His
Father. Who can deny that Jesus began and ended His mission on earth with
sacrifices? It began when He left heaven, and ended when He was sacrificed on
the cross.
“For
you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for
your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
What
was the one thing that sustained Jesus as He carried out His work among sinful
man? It must have been the prayers He
had with His Father. Jesus was one with His Father, therefore, they were one in
purpose. “I and My Father are one”
(John 10:30). Prayer was so
important that He make special efforts to pray.
There
were important things that followed these special times of prayers to His
Father. Luke records that after praying all night, He chose His disciples (Luke
6:12,13). After praying by Himself, He went to His disciples walking on the
water (Matthew 14:23-25). The beautiful and powerful transfiguration took place
when Jesus went with Peter, John, and James “up on the mountain to pray” (Luke 9:28). The arrest and crucifixion of Jesus
followed His “exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” prayers in Gethsemane (Matthew 14:34). Just before
breathing His last breath in death, Jesus prayed, “’Father, into Your hands
I commit My spirit.’ Having said
this, He breathed His last” (Luke
23:46).
Therefore,
we can say of Jesus that He lived by prayer, and taught His followers to do the
same. He taught a parable about a judge and widow, to emphasize how “that
men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). He also
taught His disciples the importance of praying with faith.
“Therefore
I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive
them, and you will have them” (Mark
11:24).
How can we become teachers who are seeking to be like the Teacher of all teachers, without daily praying sincere prayers? The preachers, teachers, and leaders of the early church, did their work teaching and serving with prayer.
Paul
gives two statements about the importance of prayer that sums up their lives of
prayer. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything
by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be
made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). “pray
without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians
5:17).
As
we prepare our lessons to teach God’s word, how much time do we give to prayer?
Does our faith become so small that we feel that we can teach without God? Do
we sometimes forget that we have been given an eternal assignment to teach?
If
we must admit a weakness in our prayer life as teachers, it is time to look at
the praying Teacher of all teachers. Then we can earnestly pursue the power of
prayer as we teach.
We
should not be surprised to learn that the Son of God boldly spoke the truth. In
fact, truth, in every sense of the word, is associated with God. Thus, Jesus
could say to His apostles, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
To
appreciate this great Teacher of truth even more, we have only to consider the
devil and his lies. The devil lives to lie and deceive, but Jesus taught the
truth about him. To those Jews who sought to kill Him, Jesus said, “You are
of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was
a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there
is no truth in him. When he speaks a
lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).
Therefore,
the devil binds with lies, and Jesus sets free with truth. Jesus also taught
that those who followed Him must always tell the truth. Instead of swearing so
that others would believe them, Jesus said, “But let your `Yes' be `Yes,'
and your `No,' `No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37).
There
were two ways in which Jesus spoke truth. First of all, He never told a lie,
and all of His promises were true.
The
world is filled with liars, and unfortunately, some who call themselves
Christians have lying tongues. However, the word of God (in all ages) reveals
how God feels about the awfulness of lying. When Solomon named seven things
that are an abomination to the Lord, the second one mentioned was “a lying
tongue” (Proverbs 6:16,17).
The
apostle John records a list of awful sinners who will not be in heaven. After
reaching the end of the list, he writes: “and all liars shall have their
part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death” (Revelation 21:8).
The
second way that Jesus spoke the truth was by who He was and His spiritual
message. In His prayer for His disciples before He faced the cross, Jesus
prayed: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your
word is truth” (John
17:17).
Therefore,
the full embodiment of His message was the way of truth. He came to provide the
way for sinful man to be reconciled to God. So, because of this, He could say
of Himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Me” (John
14:6). Thus, those who reject Jesus the truth, and His message of truth, cut
themselves off from the Father.
Jesus
came to earth to provide the blood necessary to enter the Holiest of All. The
temple under the Old Testament, with its Holy and Most Holy places, was
fulfilled as Jesus brought forth a better way. The Hebrew writer reveals these
words about Jesus:
“Therefore,
brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His
flesh” (Hebrews 10:19-20).
Only
those who accepted and lived this truth could be His disciples. Jesus, the
Teacher of all teachers, taught: “If you abide in My word, you are My
disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free” (John 8:31-32).
The
Law of Moses could not provide true freedom or permanent forgiveness of sins,
because there was the need for the grace of God. However, Jesus the way
provided this grace: “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ” (John
1:17).
Therefore,
as we teach, we must have before us always, Jesus the truth, and never pervert the truth of God’s word. Only
then can we be like the Teacher of all teachers!
Not
only was the message that Jesus taught backed up by God’s will, authority,
grace, and truth, but He also taught the message in a way that captured the
attention of His audience. There is one thing (among many others) that could
always be truthfully said about Jesus. “He was never boring.” His teaching
captivated even those who hated Him and worked daily to destroy His influence.
In fact, they feared the influence that He had with the people.
After
the Pharisees set a trap for Him and failed, we find: “When they had heard
these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way” (Matthew 22:22).
When
Jesus joined His words with His miracles, the audiences were amazed. There were
many things that caused the multitudes to follow Him as He taught, however,
there was one thing in particular that made this Teacher of all teachers so
successful. He illustrated His message by nature and the happenings of their
daily lives.
He
pointed to the lilies of the field as He taught them about avoiding worry
(Matthew 6:28-30). He taught
about the shepherd and his sheep to emphasize that He is the door of the sheep
and the good shepherd (John 10:1-18). He used the vineyard to teach that He is
the vine and His disciples the branches (John 15:1-8). He taught about a plentiful harvest to relate that
more laborers are needed (Matthew 9:37,38). He taught about salt and light to
show the importance of having a positive influence (Matthew 5:13-16).
This
Teacher of all teachers taught about two roads or ways—one is narrow and the other one is wide, to show the destiny of all humanity
(Matthew 7:13,14). Jesus told them about a successful farmer who wanted to
build new barns, to show that death can come at any time, and all without God,
will be lost (Luke 12:13-21).
He
spoke of a sower who sowed seed in different kinds of soils, to illustrate the
word being taught to different kinds of hearts (Matthew 13:3-9,18-23). He used
the tiny mustard seed, to show the power of faith and the growth of the kingdom
(Matthew 13:31; Luke 13:19). This
is only a partial list, because He used many other things in their lives as He
taught spiritual lessons.
The
Teacher of all teachers began with things of which they were familiar, and
moved into the unknown. In His parables, He first told a familiar story, and
then placed beside it the spiritual lessons. By comparing the two, He taught
them the mysteries of the kingdom that are either revealed or hidden.
“He
answered and said to them, ‘Because it has been given to you to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given’ ” (Matthew 13:11).
What
about our teaching today? Do we seek this successful method used by Jesus? Do
we take the time to plan illustrations, stories, visuals, and objects to
explain the word of God? The TV world visualizes most of their messages in full
color. Could this be one of the reasons they have captivated this and other
nations?
We
need to remember that a heart that is bored will not learn! It is vitally
important for teachers to capture and hold the interest of our students, because
this is the only way they will learn.
It
is not enough to say, “Well, I covered the lesson.” This is important, but as
we cover the material in the lesson, we must instruct and motivate their hearts
to change. The Teacher of all Teachers took people from where they were, and
moved them to where they needed to be!
How
do we compare? From our teaching, will our students become closer to God? Will
they be stronger to say no to the many temptations in their lives?
Jesus
taught in order to move people, to change their hearts, to prepare them for His
kingdom, and to give them eternal life.
“The
thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come
that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). He succeeded in His purpose by
illustrating His teaching.
He Loved His Students
One cannot study the life of the Teacher of all teachers without seeing that He had love for His students. The leading force that motivated Jesus to daily climb the hills and mountains of Palestine was love—love for His Father and love for lost souls.
In
one of His teaching sessions, a lawyer asked Him, “Teacher, which is the
great commandment in the law?” Jesus
said to him, `You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, and with your entire mind. This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these
two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’ “ (Matthew 22:36-40).
Jesus
always associated love with those who obeyed Him. He taught: “If you love
Me, keep My commandments” (John
14:15). Then He reversed the order
and said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I
have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10).
Therefore,
we should teach all of our students to love God, and keep the commandments of
Jesus and His Father. Those who teach that keeping commandments is not
important are false, and are teaching that love is not important. For this
Teacher of all teachers, let it be known that loving Him and keeping His word
will bring them both Jesus and His Father.
Jesus
answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23; cf. 14:21).
Jesus
loved His Father (John 14:31),
and He also taught His disciples to love Him. He prayed: “And I have
declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You
loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26).
Loving One Another
Among
the many lessons that Jesus taught His disciples, was the importance of loving
one another. “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have
loved you” (John 15:12). How much did Jesus love them and all who were lost in
the world? “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life
for his friends” (John 15:13).
It
was almost time for Jesus to leave His disciples, but He wanted to leave
something special with them. Thus, He said:
“A
new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you,
that you also love one another” (John
13:34).
How
important was this love for one another? This would be the way that they would
show the world that they belong to Jesus.
“By
this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
We
can never be like the Teacher of all teachers until we learn to teach love! In
fact, the whole purpose and message of Jesus is beautifully wrapped in the
heavenly gift love. When we fail to teach love, we fail to teach Jesus.
Therefore, I commend to all teachers the words of Jesus:
“As
the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love” (John 15:9).
In
one of His final teaching sessions with His disciples before returning to His
Father, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love
Me?” Each time Peter answered, “Yes,
Lord; You know I love you.” On the
third answer, Peter was grieved that He had asked this question three times.
Thus, Peter added, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You” (John 21:15-17).
What
an impact this Teacher of all teachers had upon Peter and the others whom He
taught! The greatest success of this powerful Teacher is found in the fruit
that was born by His disciples after He returned to His Father.
Truly,
the apostles and others were able to spread His saving message to “every
creature under heaven” (Colossians
1:23). Who can ever begin to
imagine the full influence of this powerful Teacher?
Therefore,
when we seriously study the Teacher of all teachers and give our all to follow
and imitate Him, we will become great teachers as we lead others to the Teacher
of all teachers! —BBBristow