Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 18:18
It’s interesting! There must be hundreds of thousands of Christian churches in the world that label themselves “the Good Shepherd” but I don’t think that I’ve ever heard of one called “the Good Teacher.” Likewise, I’ve seen many stained glass windows and paintings of Jesus holding a shepherd’s staff surrounded by a small flock of sheep but I’ve never seen the Master holding an apple and a bunch of books. That might be because in our society, shepherds are better paid and more highly esteemed than teachers.
That having been said, teachers are generally credited for preparing people for life and the Good Teacher gets His followers ready for eternal life. Jesus’ parables tell believers about what they don’t know about the Kingdom of Heaven by beginning with things and experiences that they do understand. Christ’s Sermon on the Mount began as a P.E. class; they had to climb up a mountain and get their blood circulating before they could understand the spiritual exercise of faith. He used Old Testament scripture as His text book, not only quoting from it, but by fulfilling it as the Living Word of God.
However, more than anything else, the Good Teacher taught by example. He washed His disciples feet before asking them to do the same. Jesus was faithful to His calling even though He was despised and rejected by men. Yet, He instructed His followers that they needed to do the same. He called on men and women to take up their cross and follow Him and then was nailed to a Roman cross to show what He meant. The lesson stuck long after the class was over.
And so it is: theory is turned into reality in the lives that are touched by a really Good Teacher.
July 29
