Why Jesus was the master teacher
1)
I was going to make tonight’s material the final lesson
about teaching.
2)
After looking at what I intended to say, I thought
there are just few more things to cover.
3)
One of the things I have planned is a lesson on
discouragement.
4)
Tonight’s material is entitled, “Why Jesus was the
master teacher.”
5)
We will list some reasons why the Lord was so good and
what He did.
6)
One of the things we will not explore until next week
is Jesus teaching during discouraging times.
7)
That material should be productive for past, current
and future teachers as well as parents.
8)
If we spend many years in the church, we will probably
get to hear a wide variety of teachers.
a)
Some will be young and some will be old.
b)
We may think that some are boring or may not have a
very powerful style of presentation.
c)
Some may have a voice that can be heard across the
street.
d)
Others may seem to have a great deal of knowledge and
some seem to know just enough to teach.
e)
We will also find that, in our personal judgment, some
teachers are better than others.
9)
No matter how good a teacher may seem to us, he or she
will always be less than Jesus.
10) The
Lord was the master teacher—He was literally the perfect teacher.
11) Tonight
we want to think about Jesus as a master teacher from several different
viewpoints.
12) Hopefully we can try to
model our lives after these points as we seek to instruct people about God’s
word.
a)
Jesus was a great teacher in spite of His CIRCUMSTANCES.
b)
Jesus
life did not involve formal training; He did not get to attend things we would
compare to college.
c)
Jesus had limited formal training, but He taught very,
very well.
13) Today
I think there are some teachers who look at themselves and think, “Oh, what can
I do?”
a)
“I have not been formerly trained. Most of my training has come from classroom
experience.”
b)
“I do not have the skills that others in this
congregation or other congregations have.”
c) Some of our Bible class
teachers may lack formal training. Most
of them may not be formally trained.
14) A
very wise man once said, “There is more than one way to get an education.”
15) Some
go to college and are educated in that manner.
There are also other ways to train people.
16) This
is certainly true when it comes to teaching.
17) Jesus
was a master teacher - Mk. 6:2 says people were “astonished” at Jesus’
teaching.
18) Being
able to present the truth in a simple manner made Jesus stand out to those who
heard Him.
19) We may never be formally
trained, but we can still be a great teacher with our children and in a Bible
class.
20) A diligent study of God’s
word and a desire to teach will be enough to help many people be good teachers.
21) Point
2: Jesus was a great teacher because of
what He taught.
a)
What if Jesus had taught math? What if He had come and taught world history?
b)
What if Jesus had taught small children to read the
Hebrew language?
c)
History would regard Him much, much differently.
d)
Jesus came and taught the word of God and that was one
of the reasons that made Him great.
e)
Part of what makes Bible class teachers so effective is
the book they teach.
f)
If kids go to a class and that class time is wasted,
everyone loses.
g)
If the Bible is taught, everyone is in a position to
gain something.
h)
Jesus was a master teacher because when He taught, He
instructed people in God’s word.
22) Jesus
asked people what was “written in the law” (Lk. 10:26) and He spoke about God’s
law.
a)
He sometimes gave insights on what the New Testament
would offer.
b)
After many years of teaching some may be an “average
teacher.”
c)
There is no sin in that. We do not need to be the #1 teacher in the
church.
d)
What matters most is that we are teaching the most
important book in all the world.
e)
Great Bible teachers are men and women who school
others in the scriptures.
1)
Item 3: Jerusalem
was a great teacher because He was clear and definite.
a)
Jesus was not “wishy-washy” or unclear in what He
believed or taught.
b)
Politicians may speak then we say to ourselves, “What
did they say?”
c)
Or, we may say “He contradicted himself in that
speech.”
d)
We never find this type of thing with Jesus. He said
what He meant and meant what He said.
2)
There are going to be people who may not like some of
the gospel teaching they hear.
a)
Baptism for the remission of sins is not always
something people are willing to accept.
b)
Having the Lord’s Supper each Lord’s Day is not the way
some want to do things.
c)
Refusing to have women preachers upsets people.
d)
Just using the Bible will displeases some folks.
e)
People may not like what we teach or what we believe and that is okay.
f)
The important thing is that we need to be clear in what
we teach.
g)
Jesus sought clarity, even when He knew that was not
going to be popular.
h)
He said He had existed before Abraham (Jn. 8:58) and
that point was very clear.
i)
The Jews understood it so well they took up stones and
tried to kill Him (verse 59).
3)
Point 4: As a
teacher Jesus had a mission and He sought to fulfill it.
a)
We should have a mission when it comes to teaching
others.
b)
If we have an unsaved spouse, part of our mission is to
help that mate become a Christian.
c)
If we have children, part of our mission is to instruct
and guide them.
d)
If we are a Bible class teacher, like Jesus, we also
have a mission.
e)
We want to instill in those we teach the very most
Bible knowledge we can impart.
f)
We want to teach them God’s word as well as help them
remember and apply it.
g)
We want to do our best to motivate others to faithfully
serve God.
h)
Jesus once said He came to “seek and save the lost”
(Lk. 19:10).
i)
In many respects this is also part of our life’s work—we
are seeking and trying to save the lost.
j)
That process sometimes involves the Bible classes we
teach.
k)
We cannot die on a cross for people, but we can teach
them and encourage them to be obedient.
4)
Point 5 about Jesus is that He was a teacher who
perfectly practiced what He taught.
a)
No teacher can fully emulate this part of the Lord’s
example.
b)
A teacher may be great in math, but he will still have
some math errors from time to time.
c)
An English teacher may speak wonderful English, but she
will sometimes make mistakes.
d)
Teachers may be very good and very qualified in their
fields, but they are not perfect.
5)
Not long ago I was reading a book by an author who is
deceased.
6)
There were several Bible references in this book and
before I checked them, one did not look right.
7)
Sure enough, the passage was incorrect.
8) The person who typed the
book could have made a mistake; I think the author cited the verse from memory.
a)
As bright and as good as this man was, he was not
perfect.
b)
This is also true for us and it is a point that we have
touched on a few times in the past.
9)
If we are a teacher, our goal is not a perfect Bible
class time after time.
10) If
this is our standard we are going to fail.
a)
We want good classes.
We want our classes to be as good as they can be.
b)
If our standard is a perfect class, those times will be
few and far between.
c)
Jesus has given us an example, 1 Pet. 2:21, and part of
that example involves teaching.
d)
We will never fully match up to the Lord’s perfect
example, but we can do our best.
11) Point
6: Jesus had an understanding of the
people He taught.
a)
When He was dealing with women, He was sensitive to the
gender.
b)
He did not deal with the Pharisee in the same way He
dealt with the common people.
c)
Jesus dealt with the sick and hungry in special ways.
d)
Good teachers give consideration to the people they are
trying to teach.
12) For
instance, teachers should consider the number of students they have.
13) A
class that has one student should be taught differently than a class with 10
students.
14) In
small congregations there is often a need to combine some classes.
15) In
these cases it is very important to consider the dynamics of a class.
a)
Some may think this is impossible to combine some
classes.
b)
This is difficult, but it is not impossible.
c)
The United States used to have “one room schools.”
d)
A wide variety of ages were all gathered together in a
single class.
e)
This kind of arrangement is not ideal and it makes for
a lot of extra work on the part of teachers.
f)
With some planning it can be done.
g)
Here is a practical and important point for teachers.
16) If
we are a teacher and we know that we are going to be away in a few weeks or a
month…
17) And
it looks like our class will need to be combined…give people some advance
notice.
18) Classes
can be successfully combined if there is time to do some planning.
19) Dumping
2-3 classes together without advance planning really imposes a burden on
teachers.
20) When
this happens, it is very difficult to effectively teach.
21) We want to consider the
kinds of students we have and help teachers be prepared for their classes.
22) Point
7 is Jesus’ attitude towards the truth.
a)
Before
Josh left we made some phone calls to help him find a new and doctrinally sound
congregation.
b)
One of the questions that was asked on his behalf
involved marriage, divorce and remarriage.
c)
Not every congregation teaches the truth on this point.
d)
One man who responded to this question said something
like this:
e)
“We teach that subject just like Jesus described it in
Mt. 19.”
f)
That was an impressive answer.
23) Jesus’
attitude towards the truth was, “This is what the Word says and this is what
must be done.”
a)
He did not try to find loopholes or legislate around
what the Old Testament law said.
b)
This should be our attitude as a teacher.
i)
We want to show people what God’s word says and let
them know there are no loopholes.
24) Some
points are going to be difficult to teach.
Some questions may be difficult to answer.
25) A
young girl once asked her father where babies came from.
26) The
dad thought for a few minutes and then he asked his daughter to pick up a big
box.
27) The
girl tried and said the box was too heavy.
She said she could not lift it.
28) The
dad said that she was not ready to lift that box today, but a time would come
when she was ready.
29) A
similar thing was true for her question.
30) That
day she was not emotionally ready for her question to be answered.
31) A
day would come when the time was right and that question would be freely
discussed.
32) Some people are not
immediately ready for some truth – Jesus held some things back from His
disciples.
33) His attitude was, “I want to
teach you and will teach you, but you need to be ready for my instruction.”
34) This
needs to be our attitude as well. Some
truths may need to be conveyed later rather than sooner.
35) We
do need to teach people the truth.
36) Jesus
said the truth frees; Jn. 8:30-32. Jesus
is the truth (Jn. 14:6).
37) If
we are teaching people about Christ, the truth will be what we teach.
38) Point
8: As a teacher Jesus had a vision for
the entire world.
a)
He thought about His local community, but He also
thought about all the
b)
He thought about the places outside of
c)
As a teacher, we should seek to have a world-wide
vision.
d)
We want to get God’s word into as much of the world as
possible.
e)
Our world-wide vision should be communicated to others.
39) Our
kids are a savvy bunch when it comes to modern media.
a)
They know how to send things around the world in all
kinds of ways.
b)
If we do not help them take that knowledge and join it
with Christianity, that is a tragic error.
c)
Kids need to see a connection between their faith and
their skills, one of which is technology.
d)
If we teach, people will go.
e)
One of the congregations we checked with in
f)
At least 300 of those people go on a short term mission
trip every single year.
g)
If we do not teach evangelism to our students, they
will not reach out into the world.
40) There
are some subtle things that we can do with those we teach.
41) Many
cell phones are able to carry a fully copy of the Bible (Old and New
Testaments).
42) Have
we encouraged our kids to have the Bible on their phone and use it?
43) Anyone
who teaches helps shape and mold lives.
44) Tonight
we hope that our life is being shaped and molded in the right way.
45) Have
we been brought to the point where we have become a Christian?