Lesson 5: Jesus as the Master Teacher (Hebrews 1, Luke 2, Matthew 13, Luke 16)

by | Feb 9, 2022 | Topical Studies

Introduction: When you were in school did you notice that some teachers were a lot better than others? Why is that? A general problem among all employees is laziness. No doubt some teachers are lazy, and put in the minimum effort to keep their job. Other teachers love to teach. They put a lot of effort into teaching because they like it, not because they are paid. Then there are the education and technology factors. Have the teachers been taught teaching skills? Have they mastered technology? My wife believed that college had not taught her all of the necessary skills to teach reading. She sought out an experienced reading teacher and learned from her. Finally, there is the human factor. People are different, with different levels of intelligence, and different kinds of talents. What about Jesus? He volunteered to teach us and He was fully God and fully man – that means He had a great skill set. Let’s dive into our study of the Bible and see what we can learn about Jesus, Our Master teacher!

  1.         Best Teacher

  1.         Read Hebrews 1:1-2. How is Jesus a superior teacher to the prophets? (The prophets were told what to say. Jesus is our Creator and He is “the heir of all things.”)

  1.         I read a report that the average law school teacher in an Ivy league school had a little more than a year of practicing law before starting to teach.  When I started teaching law school I had been practicing law for 30 years.  What practical difference does that make for the students? (It is the difference between just reading about it and actually doing it. In Jesus’ case, He made everything He was talking about!)

  1.         Read Hebrews 1:3. How is Jesus qualified to teach us about His Father? (This says that Jesus is “the exact imprint of His nature.” We could not have a more qualified teacher than Jesus. In John 14:8 Jesus tells us that if we have seen Him, we have seen His Father.)

  1.         Read 2 Corinthians 5:14-15. How devoted a teacher is Jesus when it comes to His students? (He died for us. That is devotion to the welfare of students!)

  1.         Relatable Teacher

  1.         Read Luke 2:11-13? Why was Jesus born in a place where animals lived?

  1.         Read Matthew 8:20. Why was Jesus homeless? (Although the Bible teaches us that the rich face challenges when it comes to following Jesus, it also teaches that obedience to God brings prosperity – thus the message about wealth is mixed. There is often resentment against the rich because of the sin of envy. I conclude that Jesus was poor and homeless so that humans would not resent Him or claim that He could not relate to us – whatever our financial situation.)

  1.         Simple Teaching

  1.         Read Matthew 13:3. What lesson for teaching do we find in the phrase, “He told them many things in parables?” (Stories help us to understand and remember the point being made.)

  1.         Read Matthew 13:4-8. Let’s break this down. How did the sower treat all the soil? (He treated it the same.)

  1.         Was that a good idea?

  1.         Have you a better idea?

  1.         Was most of the seed wasted? (If each of these examples involves equal amounts of seed, then most of it was wasted.)

  1.         Was all of the seed equally successful? (No. It varied greatly.)

  1.         Read Matthew 13:9. We all have ears. What is it we are supposed to “hear” in this story? (This story is generally thought to be about sharing the gospel with others.)

  1.         If you were teaching the points that Jesus makes in this story, what would they be? (There are many factors to consider in sharing the gospel, many of these factors are adverse.)

  1.         Let’s revisit Matthew 13:4-5. If you were making a list of challenges to teaching the gospel, how would you explain this? (Some people are not ready or do not have a good environment to receive the gospel.)

  1.         Do you see how telling a story helps us to understand and retain that point?

  1.         When I previously asked you what we should “hear,” the superficial answer is that this is about the problems of sharing the gospel. What specific lessons do take away from this story? (The sower’s obligation is fulfilled when he shares the seed. He might try to target his seed, but other factors determine his success.)

  1.         Thousands of people have signed up to receive this lesson by e-mail. It is not easy to sign up, because it requires that you have to twice indicate your desire to receive these lessons. On the other hand, it is easy to get dropped from the list – if your computer system rejects the lesson twice, you are dropped. Knowing this would cause you to think that everyone on the list wants to read the lessons. But, that is not true, the “open” rate for the lessons is low. Knowing this is discouraging! What encouragement is there in our story about the sower?

  1.         Do you think the story of he sower is easy to understand? The points are easy to grasp?

  1.         Complex Teaching

  1.         Read Luke 16:1-2. What would you do if you were the manager?

  1.         What is the reason given to fire the manager?

  1.         Read Luke 16:3-4. What solutions to unemployment will not work for this manager?

  1.         Do you think they won’t work? Or, he just does not want to accept them?

  1.         Read Luke 16:5-7. What does this suggest about the truth of the reason for firing this manager? (This shows it was likely true. Once again he is “wasting” the property of his employer. Worse, he is cheating his employer for his own benefit.)

  1.         Given the fact that the manager was trying to figure out how he could live after he was fired, what is his plan? (Those who owe money to the employer will feel obligated to this dishonest manager, and will be inclined to help him out.)

  1.         Read Luke 16:8. Is this story easy to understand? (If it is, then the lesson is that we should cheat others, even those to whom we owe a duty of loyalty, in order to benefit our self.  That does not seem to be consistent with the rest of the Bible.)

  1.         Read Luke 16:9. Notice that this parable is about eternal life “eternal dwellings.” If that is the case, then the “master” is Jesus and humans are represented by the manager. Should we become thieves so that we can pay for evangelistic campaigns?  Is that the teaching of this parable?

  1.         Read Luke 16:10-12.  Is this a joke? Is this a mistranslation? Did Satan sneak this text into the Bible? How can the point of the story be honesty when it clearly promotes dishonesty?

  1.         Let’s go back and find where we went wrong. Look again at Luke 16:8. What specific point is Jesus making? (The world has more common sense on some subjects then the followers of Jesus.)

                                                        

  1.         Read Luke 16:9. What is “unrighteous wealth?” (It would be what pagans consider to be wealth – money, influence, education, beauty, and position.)

  1.         Now, add this point to the one made in verse 8. What is the combined message? (Jesus wants us to use the common sense tactics of the world to “make friends” for the Kingdom of God. Common sense tells us to use our money, influence, education, beauty, and position to influence others to the gospel.)

  1.         Read Luke 16:13. Does this now make sense as the summary of this story? (Yes! Jesus encourages us to use our assets to promote winning friends for heaven.)

  1.         Are some church leaders missing this point? (If some one suggests that we should do things the way we always have done them, if someone says we should ignore successful marketing strategies, then this parable is meant for them.)

  1.         Friend, will you take these tips for teaching and incorporate them into your soul winning?

  1.         Next week: More Lessons From the Master Teacher.