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Jesus Christ - The Master Teacher
Jesus is the greatest teacher that ever lived.
It is important to study what He teaches and how He teaches.
Jesus is our example in all that He did.
The life of Jesus was total love.
Even when He seemed abrasive, his love prevailed.
If Jesus rebuked anyone, He did it for the purpose of saving their lives.
Jesus’ plan and purpose was to save not to condemn.(John 3:16-17)
As preachers we must lead by example.
Preaching is proclaiming.
Jesus proclaimed the message His Father sent Him to proclaim.
In preaching, many people can listen at once.
Jesus was a master at finding natural theaters.
A hillside may form an effective amphitheater.
A small boat next to the sea shore would keep Him from getting crushed by the crowd,
and let more people see Him clearly.
Jesus also went from town to town teaching in the synagogues.
How simple it was to go than to the places people had already built to teach and learn about God
and His Word?
Jesus also would talk as He walked from place to place, and many would follow Him to hear his word.
He made good use of travel time.
Jesus’ preaching was great, but He didn’t just say that He came to show the love of the Father
and to destroy the works of the devil.
He proved it with demonstrations of God’s power and miracles of provision, healing, resurrection,
and protection.
Although demonstrations are of great value in teaching scouting skills and other such things,
they are even more value when God demonstrates the supernatural among us in response
to our obedience and faith.
When you see people get up out of wheel chairs and be instantly healed, that gets your attention.
When you see someone’s too-short leg grow to match the other one under the power of God,
it gets your attention.
When these miracles are associated with teaching, the miracles help people remember the message.
Many people teach and preach.
They often preach traditions of men, religious thinking, some truth, some half-truths,
and even some outright falsehoods that sound good but are not.
Others teach outright lies and false gods.
Some of these even have some kind of demonstrations, perhaps of demonic power or natural trickery.
Nevertheless, we are to do what Jesus did: proclaim the pure Word of God, and then,
we will see demonstrations.
If we believe what Jesus Christ said and you really preach the gospel then we will see signs
and wonders from our great God.
Jesus said: “Most assuredly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also;
and greater works than these will he do; because I am going to my Father.” (John 14:12)
Jesus said to them, "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.”
(Mark 16:15)
Jesus sometimes used objects to teach.
It would be something familiar in making His point.
He speaks of how well-fed the birds are and how well clothed the lilies are. (Luke 12:22-28)
He used mustard seeds to illustrate the Kingdom of God, and as an illustration of how much faith
it takes to move a mountain. (Matthew 13:31; 17:20)
Jesus preached to multitudes, but He also interacted one on one and in small groups.
He skillfully asked questions and gave wise answers.
His questions often drew the truth out of people, causing them to discover the truth themselves
and say it with their own lips.
This is extremely effective both with friendly and hostile company.
Questions are also effective at exposing hypocrisy and error when skillfully framed.
Jesus used stories of real events, both historical and current.
Luke 13:1-5 refers to then-current events concerning Galileans killed by Pilate and the Tower of Siloam.
The story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 is not presented as a parable,
but as a real situation.
Stories often hold interest and present abstract concepts more effectively than a simple statement
of the point of the story.
Jesus also taught in parables.
A parable is a story that uses a parallel between a very familiar situation (like farming)
and a less familiar topic (like the Kingdom of Heaven) to shed light and understanding on the latter.
Parables have the paradoxical effect of both revealing truth for whom the message is intended
and hiding it from those who don’t want to hear it.
Jesus would often tell a parable in public to multitudes, then explain its meaning in private
to his friends and disciples.
Jesus taught many people and preached to multitudes.
He touched many lives. He also called out 12 people who walked with Him, talked with Him,
lived with Him, and watched Him up close.
Jesus invested heavily into their lives, so that they could impart that same investment to others.
There is much more opportunity to interactively share with a small group of friends than there is
with a large multitude.
Jesus never hesitated to rebuke whatever and whoever comes against the Father and His Word.
His rebukes could be gentle ("go and sin no more" John 8:11), moderate (Luke 11:39-54),
and severe (whip & money changers in the temple John 2:14-17).
Being loving doesn’t mean you never challenge evil.
There are times when love will compel someone to confront evil to protect people from the effects of evil.
There is a vast difference between such a confrontation driven by love and the kinds
of confrontations people get into based on selfish desires.
Motivation and love make the difference between fatherly discipline and abuse.
Abuse harms, but discipline corrects, instructs, and draws back to the truth.
Godly rebukes are measured, and generally mixed with encouragement and hope.
Jesus used words and phrases that create a picture in our minds.
This is an effective means to communicate.
Instead of just saying that it is bad to make children who believe stumble,
Jesus painted an effective word picture by saying that it would be better to have a millstone
hung around your neck and be cast into the sea than to make one of these little ones
who believe to stumble. (Mark 9:42)
The latter statement has much more impact. (Luke 17:2,6,24,37)
Prayer is very strongly linked to teaching God’s message.
How can we share what pleases the Father, unless we know and communicate with the Father.
We must also study the Bible ourselves if we are to expect to teach others.
Jesus began study of the Scriptures early, and at age 12 amazed everyone at the temple
with his wisdom and knowledge of the Scriptures. (Luke 2:46-47)
It is in prayer and Bible study that God reveals to us what the people we teach need to hear.
God also reveals some details to us that we need to know when we spend time in prayer.
It is no coincidence that Luke 6:12 (speaking of Jesus spending time in prayer) comes right
before Luke 6:13-16 (selecting the apostles).
There is so much on prayer, and so many references to Jesus praying in the Bible
We see Jesus constantly withdrawing himself to a mountain or wilderness area to spend time
with His Father, even though His fame spread widely and the people placed mighty demands on His time
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