16. The Teaching of Christ
“A Teacher Come from God”
The Teaching of Christ
“WE KNOW THAT thou art a teacher come from God,” said Nicodemus on his nocturnal visit to Jesus (John 3:2). “Never man spake like this man,” averred the officers of the chief priests who were sent to apprehend Him (John 7:46).
O Christ our Saviour, who can teach like Thee,
For Thou dost blend most perfect sympathy
With knowledge all exhaustless. Thou dost lead
Thy dull and weak disciples gently on,
With accurate perception of their need,
Just as the shepherd guides His flock along.
The dew-like words fall softly on the heart,
And to the drooping spirit life impart;
Thou wilt not break the bruised reed, nor force
Into maturity the budding flower,
But soft and limpid from its hidden source
Thy doctrine comes with fertilizing power.AUTHOR UNKNOWN
It is widely conceded that Jesus is the peerless teacher of the ages. True, He lived in an age when many outstanding teachers had exercised far-spreading influence, but in solitary splendor He towers above them all.
Sir Edward Arnold, one of the greatest authorities on Buddhism, declared that one sentence from the Sermon on the Mount was worth more than everything Buddha had ever taught.
“What sweetness,” exclaimed the infidel J. J. Rousseau, “what purity in the manner of Christ! What an affecting gracefulness in His instructions! What sublimity in His maxims! What profound wisdom in His discourses!”
Forty-five times the gospels refer to Jesus as teacher, and a great part of His time was occupied with teaching one or two, or three, or twelve disciples. He called Himself by the same name. “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am” (John 13:13). His followers were therefore called disciples, or learners.
We shall look first at the manner and then at the matter of His teaching.
The Manner of His Teaching
It was dogmatic. His favorite formula, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee” (John 3:3), left no room for argument. Those who heard Him teach were amazed at the contrast between Him and the scribes, “for he taught them as one having authority” (Matthew 7:29). Unlike them, He did not have to refer to the teachings of others. His was an authoritative word. “Moses said … but I say unto you….”
“Here is a tone of authority,” wrote D. J. Burrell, “which finds no parallel except in the thunder of Sinai. No other preacher can dogmatize in this manner. He who presumes to say, ‘I am Sir Oracle, and when I ope my lips let no dog bark,’ is laughed at for his pains. And yet we preach Christ with a ‘Verily, verily,’ because we rest on the authority of His word.” It has been well said that His authority was not the magic of a great reputation, but the irresistible force of a divine message, delivered under a sense of divine mission.
When Jesus spoke on any subject, there was nothing more that needed to be said. The Jewish leaders could not but recognize this quality, repugnant though it was to them. Even though they were not prepared to recognize His Messiahship, they were ready to acknowledge His unique gifts as teacher.
It was simple. No other teacher has so skillfully and successfully combined simplicity and profundity. In His utterances there is an artless absence of pedantry or striving after effect. No man in His audience ever needed to knit his brow and wonder what the preacher was aiming at, even though he may not have understood the full spiritual import of the words. “His illustrations are commonplace, His words within the reach of the humblest. Are they real in faith and honest in heart? Then the poorest are capable of recognizing His simple teaching, and following it as in His perfect life.” So wrote Horace Bushnell.
Our Lord thought in images, and His teaching was full of figures of speech. His parables—concise and pointed stories in figurative style—expressed spiritual truths so vividly and lucidly that they have remained in the minds of succeeding generations. How could He more effectively have portrayed His Father’s love than in the parable of the prodigal son? The words of Jesus had an incomparable directness that left a clear and indelible impression on His hearers.
Although Jesus did not contravene the dictums of true science or philosophy in anything He said, He made no overt references to them. There is an absence of technical terms and a minimum of theological expressions in His teaching. Small wonder that “the common people heard Him gladly” (Mark 12:37).
It was vital. Our Lord never wasted time on secondary topics but always dealt with the fundamentals in man’s thinking. The speculative and theoretical found scant place in His teaching. He always went right to the heart of things. All He said and taught revolved around the plan of salvation in one or other of its aspects. Nothing shallow or trivial passed His lips.
It was ethical. He impressed on His hearers that doctrine was valueless unless transmuted into holy living. It was not sufficient for men to “talk the walk,” they must “walk the talk.” His Sermon on the Mount is the loftiest ethical pronouncement of all time. He did not scale down His ethical demands to meet the limitations of sinful human nature.
It was practical. No sermon Jesus preached lacked its personal application. Nor was His method always to reserve the application until the end. When the sermon began, the application began. No member of His audience was left in doubt as to the person to whom it was applicable. They were either enraptured or enraged, but they could not remain neutral.
G. K. Chesterton maintained that it could never be said that the teaching of Christ had been tried and found wanting. It has only been found difficult and not tried.
It was psychologically correct. The maker of the human mind knew best how to approach it, and here a wealth of wisdom in dealing with the spiritual problems of individuals opens up to us. To analyze the sermons and conversations of the perfect teacher is to learn the ideal method of presenting truth. His teaching violates no psychological law. Otto Borchert writes, “The psychologist must look up to Him with respect, for there has never been a man who knew men as He did, no one ever estimated human nature so justly, or could read the human soul so easily and unerringly. We have only to think of the masterly description of the human heart in the parable of the different kinds of ground” (Matthew 13:3–19). “He knew what was in man”(John 2:25).
It was original, but not in the sense of absolute newness, for much that Jesus said had parallels in Jewish and other literature. What He said was original in its manner of formulation, in its spirit and atmosphere. It was free from the clichés and casuistry of the Jewish teachings. Old truths were stated in new ways that challenged fresh thought and action. His teaching carries its own inner stamp of genuineness. It was original because His ideals and standards of greatness on many things were the very antithesis of generally accepted standards.
An Example
James H. McConkey, who himself was remarkable for the singular clarity of his teaching of biblical truth, pointed out that there was a threefold method in our Lord’s flawless teaching. Taking Matthew 6:25–34 as an example, he indicated the three steps.
State. In this paragraph, Jesus is warning against the peril of anxious care. First He states the great truth He is about to teach. The value of crystal-clear statement of truth cannot be overestimated. To state the truths of the text lucidly will not only clarify it to the hearers, but will be an excellent mental discipline for the teacher. That lawyer is most likely to win his case who can state it most lucidly to the jurors.
Illustrate. Next, Jesus followed up His statement with three exceedingly familiar yet effective illustrations—the birds of the air, the cubit of stature, the lilies of the field. Each illustration throws a beam of light on the truth He is seeking to enforce.
Our Lord’s method here demonstrates the importance of the association of ideas, of linking the unknown with the known. The sky, the sea, the pearls, the sheep, the well. Profound though it was, a child could follow His teaching and profit by it. His illustrations were not only simple but they were familiar to the people to whom they were spoken.
Apply. There is no point in mixing a remedy unless you take it. There is little use in stating truths and illustrating them, if the truth is not applied to the heart and conscience of the listener. Jesus searchingly applies His teaching on anxious care. He does not fear to make it pointedly personal. He used personal pronouns, “you” “ye.” He does not scorn repetition to reinforce His lesson.
The Matter of His Teaching
It is of interest to note the dominant themes in the teaching of the Lord, and to test our own teaching by His standards. It is noteworthy that He did not propound any special system of doctrine, nor did He adopt the current theological jargon, but spoke the language of life. He dealt with deep and enduring principles and master truths of perpetual relevance.
Among the prominent themes in His teaching are:
The kingdom of God. This expression occurs seventy-eight times, and represents thirty different occasions in His ministry. The term has a universal application in the sense that God is “King” with reference to the universe or any phase of the entire creation. It has a spiritual significance, and refers to the messianic reign in the heart and life of the believer. A great many of Jesus’ parables are concerned with the nature, growth, and consummation of the kingdom.
Eternal life, a theme especially prominent in John’s writings, and vitally related to the kingdom of God. In Christ’s teaching we are in the presence of the abiding and eternal.
Sin and righteousness are everywhere in evidence. The reality and heinousness of sin, and the necessity and availability of righteousness form a background to His teaching.
His death and resurrection occupy a disproportionate part of the gospel records. Although His disciples were slow to discern the full significance of His words, Jesus sought to show them His coming death in its divine perspective.
God the Father. Since He had come to reveal the Father, this truth inevitably crops up constantly in His utterances. But His presentation of the Fatherhood of God made it abundantly clear that only those who were united to Him by faith were included in its scope.
The Holy Spirit. As the time for His departure from the earth drew near, the mission and ministry of the Comforter assumed increasing prominence in His conversation with His disciples.
The life to come. He did not leave men to grope around in the mists of uncertainty, but gave clear instructions concerning what lay beyond the veil.
In recounting his return pilgrimage from unbelief to faith, G. J. Romanes said that one thing that especially impressed him was that in contrast with the words of other world teachers, even Plato, the words of Jesus do not become obsolete with the lapse of time. They do not grow old. He confessed that he did not know any part of Christ’s teaching that the subsequent growth of human knowledge has had to discount.
“Jesus will forever remain the Peerless Preacher. The Christian pulpit has not produced His equal in the art of giving truth to men through oral discourse. Jesus of Nazareth abides without a rival as the World’s Master Teacher.”
He might have reared a palace at a word
Who sometimes had not where to lay His head.
Time was when He who nourished crowds with bread
Would not one meal to Himself afford.
He healed another’s scratch; His own side bled,
Side, feet and hands, with cruel piercings gored.
Twelve legions girded with angelic sword
Stood at His beck, the scorned and buffeted.
O wonderful the wonders left undone,
And scarce less wonderful than those He wrought!
O self-restraint, surpassing human thought,
To have all power, yet be as having none!
O self-denying love that thought alone
For needs of others, never for His own!RICHARD C. TRENCH