Jesus, the Master Teacher
You probably had at least one teacher in your schooling career who was very difficult to follow. He or she just did not make learning fun or easy. Maybe he didn’t care whether you learned or not. Maybe she was so smart that she just could not get the material down to a level that you could learn it. Or maybe the teacher was just a bad teacher. Whatever the case, it is very difficult to learn given these circumstances.
On the other hand, think about those teachers who taught and inspired you far beyond your present sphere of life. They lifted you up and took you on an educational journey that is still affecting every part of your life even to this day. What did they do differently from the other teachers? It was the same material. But, what was difference?
The difference may have been in you, the student. Maybe you just liked some teachers better than you liked the others. Maybe you liked some subjects better than others. Maybe you were more comfortable in the classroom with the students and that made you a better student. But, then again, it may have been the teacher.
Jesus was a master teacher. What was His secret? The secret really is no secret at all. Jesus communicated with people on their level but He did not leave them where He found them. Each lesson was a growth experience. They were better for having been there that day.
The key was parables. His parables spoke to the lives they lived with the things around them. In so doing, He made sure the lessons they learned were always before them. Everywhere they went they could see something that Jesus had used to teach some powerful lesson. That is the mastery behind Jesus’ teaching. This method had a two-fold design. Parables hid the message from those who did not have a heart to learn while revealing deep truths to those who wanted to know them.
The apostles asked Jesus why He taught this way. He replied, “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). Jesus was not saying that He taught this way so that they would not understand. He did not want to hide His teaching from them. So, what was His point?
Jesus’ parables could be understood. Jesus told a parable about a wicked vinedresser who wanted to steal the vineyard from the owner (Matthew 21:33-44). Eventually, he killed the son of the owner thinking this would allow him to have the vineyard. However, Jesus declared that he would be severely punished for his actions. Notice verse 45, “Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.”
When Jesus finished speaking the sermon on the mount, this was said about the people who heard Him that day, “and so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them a s one having authority and not as the scribes.” (Matthew 7:28-29).
Anyone who wants to know Jesus can. Just listen and see.
— Mike Johnson
