Jesus, the Master Teacher--Challenge Your Assumptions!
Jesus, the Master Teacher
Sabbath School Bible
Study
May 30, 2015
Teacher: Larry R
Evans
Introduction
though
he understands, he will not respond” (Prov. 29:19)
“From time to time, teachers
arose who pointed men to the Source of truth. Right principles were enunciated,
and human lives witnessed to their power. But these efforts made no lasting
impression. There was a brief check in the current of evil, but its downward
course was not stayed. The reformers were as lights that shone in the darkness;
but they could not dispel it. The world “loved darkness rather than light.”
John 3:19. When Christ came to the earth, humanity seemed to be fast reaching
its lowest point. The very foundations of society were undermined. Life had
become false and artificial.” [EG White in Education, pp. 74-75]
It has been said that Scripture is not just for learning but
for living. (Lawrence Richards) Jesus,
the master teacher, came not only to teach but to teach while living what He
preached. By doing so He taught with
authority. Presenting great “moral
ideas” was not sufficient for Jesus. He
sought not just to change thinking but to change the way we live, the way we
hope and to alter how we viewed the meaning in life. Good times and bad times should not be able
to change that view if it truly is based on eternal principles. To do that, God
came in person to prepare His church to teach and to live as He did. He came to give life and to show how to live
it even in imperfect circumstances.
The Bible indicates that life’s meaning cannot be summed up
in the brief span of years between one’s birth and his burial. The meaning of life is expanded in the New
Testament. Two words are used for
life. One (Bios – Lk 8:14) speaks of the
physical aspects of life the other (Zao – Rom. 7:3) has a richer and more
varied sense and speaks of both the physical and the supernatural dimensions of
life. To say that Christ gives “eternal
life” is in fact to speak of life’s quality and nature as much as of its
duration. Jesus, the Master Teacher
brings a wholistic understanding of life and its ultimate meaning to life. It is important to realize that the life God
gives us in Christ has its own nature and character just as the physical life
has certain characteristics. In this
week’s study we will only touch upon some of these principles but they are
critical to the driving desires of the Master Teacher.
Reflective Questions to Outline Our Study
1.
If, after hearing: “Love your neighbor as
yourself,” we have to ask who is our neighbor, it is likely we have a very
different worldview than that of Jesus. (Matt 22:36-40) True or False? [What was the worldview of
Jesus]
2.
The
authority of Jesus resided in what He was able to “do.” (Lk 4:31-32; 8:22-25) True or False? [What authority is the Bible talking about?
Why do you think the disciples wanted to know how to pray like Jesus? See Lk 11
but only after you first read Luke 10.]
3.
Christianity
is like the spokes on a bicycle wheel—the more good qualities one develops the
stronger the wheel. (Lk 6:20-49; ) True or False? [What assumptions does the
question as by the lawyer imply in Lk 10:25? Keep in mind this person knows the
law very well. If Jesus told the story
of the Good Samaritan after this what should have been the desired first
question? How do you feel after reading
the Sermon on the Mount? Do you ever
feel inadequate? So, what should the
first question have been?]
4.
The primary point of the “Parable of the Good
Samaritan” is that we should not allow race or religion interfere with our
Christian responsibilities. (Lk
10:25-37) True or False? [Really?
Is that all there is to it? Who is the
Samaritan in the story?]
5.
Doing the
right things make us family. True or False? [What if someone does the wrong thing? Are they still family? How should a family respond?]
Notes
on Questions
1.
If,
after hearing: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” we have to ask who is our
neighbor, it is likely we have a very different worldview than Jesus did. (Matt
22:36-40) True
[What was the worldview of Jesus]
We began with the words found in Proverbs 29:19
“A servant cannot be corrected by mere words;
though he understands, he will not respond”
“As they ceased to recognize the Divine, they ceased to
regard the human. Truth, honor, integrity, confidence, compassion, were
departing from the earth. Relentless greed and absorbing ambition gave birth to
universal distrust. The idea of duty, of the obligation of strength to
weakness, of human dignity and human rights, was cast aside as a dream or a
fable. The common people were regarded as beasts of burden or as the tools and
the steppingstones for ambition. Wealth and power, ease and self-indulgence,
were sought as the highest good. Physical degeneracy, mental stupor, spiritual
death, characterized the age.” {EG White in Education,
75}
This is a description of
the conventional wisdom in the time of Jesus. Sound familiar!! How can a difference be made? Do you correct behavior with the courts of
law? Do you appeal by throwing out the
politicians who seek their own welfare before those whom they serve? Maybe.
But this isn’t where Jesus began even though He lived and breathed when
there was corruption all around Him. Jesus certainly didn’t remain silent and
ignore the problem. However He did have a different starting point. As
observers of Jesus saw Him at work and in private they concluded that there was
something different about Him. They said
He had a different kind of authority. It
is no coincidence that while they didn’t understand all that Jesus stood for,
they did ask that He teach them how to pray.
His connection with heaven was far different than what they had
experienced. It was His starting point.
This is a reminder of a prophecy found in Zechariah:
“This is what the Lord
Almighty says: ‘In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take
firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because
we have heard that God is with you. ’” (Zech 8:23)
Jesus operated from a different set of values and because of
these values He saw people differently and therefore He saw His mission
differently.
2.
The
authority of Jesus resided in what He was able to “do.” (Lk 4:31-32; 8:22-25) True but it didn’t begin there!
[What authority is the Bible talking about? Why do you think the
disciples wanted to know how to pray like Jesus? See Lk 11 but only after you
first read Luke 10.]
In Matt 6 we find Jesus addressing three important religious
practices of Jewish religious life at the time:
giving to the needy, prayer and fasting. Why do you suppose Jesus spent so much time
addressing religious issues rather than political ones? Could it be that He believed that the moral
fiber of the world is best addressed not by political reform (though that has
its place) but rather by the inner motivation and personal character of those
in the world?
This can be illustrated by reviewing how Jesus responded to
the question posed by a lawyer: “What
must I do to be saved?” (Lk 11:25) Jesus
responded by saying that he should “Love
the Lord your God with all your heart . . . “ and “Love your neighbor as
yourself.” A good answer but it wasn’t
enough. So the lawyer asked another
question: “Who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus tells the story of the “Good
Samaritan” but with the first question still in mind. Conventional wisdom says that the conclusion
is that we should treat all people with kindness regardless of religion or
race.” Certainly noble but are we
missing something?
Challenge your
assumptions: Did the lawyer ask the
right question—“What must I do?” After
reading the sermon on the mount where we learn that if we are even angry with a
“brother or sister” (Matt 5:22) that person will also be subject to the
judgment and the same with the person who lusts who has actually committed
adultery in his/heart or the person whose marriage is on the rocks, divorces
and remarries. Tell me, is the right
question: “What must I do?” If we read the 10 Commandments and memorize
them, is the next question: “What must I do?”
Whether we read the 10 Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount, and both
were presented by Jesus on a mountain, don’t we feel overwhelmed with not just
“doing” but “how”!! We feel struck to
our very depths with our overwhelming inability to “do” or to “be” what God
wants. This brings us to the next
question:
3.
Christianity
is like the spokes on a bicycle wheel—the more good qualities one develops the
stronger the wheel. (Lk 6:20-49; ) False
[What assumptions does the question imply?]
To compensate for the feeling of inability, the Jews
produced many more “laws” for “doing” with the hope that this would somehow
meet their inner needs. As a result they
began to see God, others and themselves differently as well. Is it the spokes in wheel that makes it
strong? They certainly have a part to
play but only if they are connected to the hub!
So back to the question of the lawyer. What would have been a better
question to ask? What question should we
ask after reading the 10 Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount? Isn’t the question, “How”? I’d like to suggest that Jesus told the story
of the Good Samaritan to answer the “How” and not just the “Do” question. So the next question in our outline is this:
4.
The primary point of the “Parable of the
Good Samaritan” is that we should not allow race or religion interfere with our
Christian responsibilities. (Lk
10:25-37) We suggest
False. [Really? Is that
all there is to it? Who is the Samaritan
in the story?]
As Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan He profiles
for us the inadequacy of the prevailing religious paradigm – that being part of
a religious organization is a sure fire way of inheriting eternal life—as
understood with conventional wisdom.
[The is ample Scriptural evidence that God works though the organized
church but He sought to bring reform so that it might indeed function as He
intended it to.] The parable shows how a
priest and a Levite walked past the hurting and the one in trouble. Then we see the Samaritan, the unlikely one,
stopping and rendering loving care. So
what is our conclusion? Be careful! We just might end up with an even longer to
do list than the Jews had.
If the first question asked by the lawyer should have been
“how can I become” instead of “what must I do” THEN I ask you who is the
Samaritan in the story? Who was it that
was seen as the outcast? Who was it that
cared deeply for all people – wounded paupers, wounded politicians like
Nicodemus? Who do you think is the real
Samaritan in the parable? It is the only
One who has the authority and power to help you “become” the person that
reflects the heart of the 10 Commandments, the spirit revealed on the Sermon
the the Mount and the One who can help you see and minister to those wounded
all around us. The answer, of course, is
Jesus – the true Good Samaritan.
5.
Doing
the right things make us family. False [What if someone does the wrong thing? Are
they still family? How should a family
respond?]
Following what we have just seen in the lawyer’s question
and the following parable of the Good Samaritan, how do we relate to a family
whether it be our personal family or the church family? Its not who is “neighbor” but who is “family”? A family without Jesus will be a family that
has a self-centered existence. As the
Good Samaritan, Jesus knows how to pick up and bind the wounded. He has already paid the price for the
healing. We need to allow Him to first
pick us up and take us to the Inn where healing can take place.
But Jesus isn’t through yet with the “how” answer for the
lawyer. Following the Good Samaritan
story in Luke, through the experience of Martha and Mary, redirects our focus
again to the Source of hope, the Source of healing. Mary did the right thing by spending time
with Jesus because that was where the help was.
This is the answer the lawyer needed to hear.
The next thing that we hear from Luke is the disciples
wanting to know how to pray as Jesus did. (Lk 11:1). Addressing God as “Father” (Abba – the
affectionate term) then the very first thing before petitions or confessions
Jesus prays, “Hallowed be your name.”
All requests, all petitions and desires for inner heart changes, flows
first through the recognition of who God is and what kind of life He knows will
restore hope and meaning to our lives.
Indeed the Lord’s Prayer is a climax to the question raised by the
lawyer. So it can be for us as well.
Concluding Thought
The authority of Jesus was not positional though He
certainly was the “Son of God.” The
authority of Jesus resided in who He was – what kind of person He was – and
because of that others knew He cared in a supernatural way and some began to
see Him as the long awaited Messiah. I
believe it is for this reason that Zechariah prophesies why God’s last day
church will have a unique authority in the hands of God:
“This is what the Lord Almighty says:“In those days ten men from all
languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and
say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you. ’” (Zechriah, 8:23)
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