Jesus our Teacher by Rajendra Prasad
Recently the nation celebrated Teachers’ Day and the preacher spoke about how the world considers Jesus as a great teacher. While this is true, as Jesus’ disciples we must not forget to tell the world that He is the son of God and must spread His message about God’s kingdom.
In John 13:13, Jesus said “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.” Yes, He is a teacher as He taught us about God and His kingdom. He taught us many things and said come and learn from me. We must learn from His word/His teachings and need to put off our worldly nature, put on a Christ-like persona and then change the community around. Wherever God leads us, it is for the best. He gave this life to us not to boss or rule over people but to live a life that demonstrates His love. People are perishing and it’s our responsibility to tell them about God.
The preacher talked about God’s favor in his life and work and how his teachers helped and cared for him. He emphasized that the blessings and goodness are from God and though we have no greatness of our own, we do have the privilege of being entrusted with the gospel. It is our job to proclaim it because Jesus cares for even that one lost sheep; He wants all people to be saved.
The following are some of the aspects of Jesus as a teacher that we can imbibe in our life.
Teacher Who Taught With Compassion
Mark 6:34 tells us that, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” Unless we feel His love and compassion, we cannot love or care for the world that is perishing without Him.
Teacher Who Set an Example of Humility and Service to Others
Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ.” Though He was the greatest gift of God to us, the good teacher humbly washed the feet of His disciples. He has laid the foundation for how we need to deal with people. Unless we demonstrate such behavior, we cannot just preach or change the community. Isaiah 64:8 tells us that God is the potter and we are clay. Unless we submit to Him, He cannot change us.
Teacher Who Loves Us and Intercedes for Us
Today we have Whatsapp and Twitter and can reach people in any part of globe almost instantly. But in days of no proper transport, Jesus had such love for people that He traveled far and wide to tell people about God’s love. Even now (as the Bible tells us) that He sits at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Similarly, we need to reach out to others and pray and intercede for them. If we call ourselves Christians, we need to pray to survive as this world is in darkness.
Teacher Who Taught With Authority and Power
Our teacher taught us with authority and power. According to Matthew 7:29, “For He taught them as one having authority, and not as their teachers of law.” Matthew 4:23 Jesus started His ministry teaching at synagogues. He taught powerfully and we need to execute that teaching and show His power else we cannot be called Christians. As real soldiers in this spiritual warfare, we need to pray continuously to be strengthened and not turn our back.
Teacher Who Could Teach To Masses As Well As Scholars with Equal Ease
Jesus taught according to who the audience was. He taught the uneducated through parables. Luke 5:17 mentions how pharisees and teachers of law from various places came to be taught by Jesus. Luke 20:1 to 8 is an good example of how Jesus dealt with difficult people. We may also have to face different types of people as we teach them about God’s kingdom. The world may ask many questions but God has taught us how to overcome the situations. With the Word, we can conquer the world.
Teacher Who Challenged His Followers
Matthew 14:22 to 33 gives an account of how Jesus walked on water and how Peter started sinking when he tried to do the same due to lack of faith. Jesus challenges His disciples to go beyond what they believe is possible and “do greater miracles” through faith. But if we, like Peter, fail to know His power and fear, we will fail. The one who has called us is greater than he who is in the world. We need to step out of our comfort zone in faith and He will empower us.
Teacher who Discipled and Wants Us to Do the Same
Per the Great commission (Matthew 28:18-20), the Teacher wants us to make disciples. We never know when death comes but till we live, we must proclaim the good news, grow in His wisdom and reach out to the world. We are the light of the world; the salt of the earth. Only a handful of Jesus’ disciples turned the world upside down and so can we. But to bring the change, we need to change ourselves and then reach the community.
Reflection by Shubha Jha