Jesus as a Teacher – Lenten blog post #5

 Three days later they finally discovered him. He was in the Temple, sitting among the teachers of Law, discussing deep questions with them and amazing everyone with his understanding and answers. (Luke 2:46-47, Living Bible)

During Lent this year, I’ve been sharing on my Sunday blog what different roles Jesus played, including son, brother, friend, and savior. Today I’m writing about Jesus, the Teacher.

The verse above is about the time when Jesus, as just a boy, stays behind in the temple and discusses serious issues with the men there. Even though these men should have been the teachers, it appears that Jesus was teaching them.

In multiple places throughout the New Testament, Jesus is addressed as Teacher.

 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? (Mark 12:14, New International Version)

 “The things that happened to Jesus, the Man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a Prophet who did incredible miracles and was a mighty Teacher, highly regarded by both God and man. But the chief priests and our religious leaders arrested him and handed him over to the Roman government to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. (Luke 24:19-20, Living Bible)

Those verses, and many more, are ones where Jesus is referred to as Teacher. However, they don’t demonstrate how or what He was teaching. For that, I turn to some of my favorite words in the Bible – the parables. There are too many to share here, but just open your Bible to Matthew, Mark, or Luke and seek out as many parables as you have time for.

 Jesus constantly used these illustrations when speaking to the crowds. In fact, because the prophets said that he would use so many, he never spoke to them without at least one illustration. For it had been prophesied, “I will talk in parables; I will explain mysteries hidden since the beginning of time.” (Matthew 13:34-35, Living Bible)

The theme for this year’s Lenten pictures is churches I’ve seen in my travels around the country. Today’s church is in Clarksville, Missouri. When I took the pictures in the spring of 2014, the building's sign claimed it was the United Presbyterian Church. I can’t find it on the map now, but looking at what rough shape it was in then, it's hard telling what its current fate is.