A Word about the Master Teacher

 

Today I want to share a word about the Master Teacher as I comment on Mark Chapter 4. Let’s begin by reading verses 1-9:

And he began again to teach by the seaside: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

My wife is a retired educator, and she disagrees with the idea that teaching is an easy profession. She strongly disagrees with the saying, “Those who can do, and those who can’t teach.”  That, as anyone who has ever taught knows, is a false statement.  Teaching isn’t all that easy.  Let me give you a couple of examples:

In every introductory psychology course in college, the students must participate in a laboratory experience where they train a white rat. In my school, we had to train the rat to react to a light by pressing a lever to get a treat.  You would think that training a dumb beast like a rat would be easy for intelligent humans, but that isn’t always the case. Every semester someone, often several students, trained the rat to grab the light instead of pressing the lever.  It isn’t all that easy to be a teacher.

Besides being a hard task, a teacher must be sure to teach the right things.  We often say that “practice makes perfect,” but in truth, “practice makes permanent.”  If you teach the wrong things, you will cause major problems for the students!  For example: A child’s aunt was trying to encourage the boy to learn his times tables. She told him, “You need to just rattle the answers off like snapping your fingers.  Like, you should be able to spit out 8 times 8 equals 72!”

If you didn’t understand that last part, remedial classes will be available soon!

It is not easy to be a teacher, but as we continue review the life and ministry of Jesus, we will find that he was the Master Teacher.  Today we will see the Master Teacher demonstrating His craft, so we need to watch Him and learn. Let’s begin by looking at the Ministry of the Teacher.

THE MINISTRY OF THE TEACHER:

Jesus spent much of His ministry teaching, so much so that, in fact, He was often called “Rabbi,” which literally means, “teacher.” He taught from the beginning of His ministry until the end, and He took every opportunity He had to teach. Jesus taught in many different situations:

• Jesus taught in the synagogue, among religious Jews.

• He taught as He walked and lived day by day with His disciples.

• He taught large crowds who came to see Him.

• He taught people in their homes at meals.

• He taught in the temple, and the scholars were amazed.

• He taught sinners as He showed them God’s love.

• He taught as He healed the sick and opened the eyes of the blind.

He has now passed on the ministry of teaching to us. The Great Commission instructed us to make disciples and to do that we must teach all that we ourselves have been taught. We are blessed that the Holy Spirit has given the gift of teaching to people, and those who have it must use it, but all of us are teachers, either intentionally in a class or with some we are mentoring, or organically, but the way we live our lives. 

Remember, Jesus told us in Acts 1:8 that we will be His witnesses, whether we choose to be or not!

As we teach, others learn about the love of God, and we learn more and more ourselves. In fact, the best way to learn is to teach.  The teacher always learns more than the students.

Next, let’s see the methods of the Teacher.

THE METHODS OF THE TEACHER: 

Mark 4:10-13 tells us:

And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.  And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

Different people learn through different techniques. Some people are visual learners, while other learn through hearing. Some are tactile learners, and almost everyone learns through doing. In His ministry, Jesus used the full range of teaching techniques.

He taught didactically, like in the Sermon on the Mount. He taught by example, like when He healed the paralytic. He taught though experience, by sending out His followers to do ministry out two by two. Much of His teaching, however, was through parables.

The basic structure of most sermons includes exposition, explanation, illustration, and application, but a parable is an illustrated sermon. It is not a sermon illustration, but an illustrated sermon. We remember stories when we don’t remember the sermon, so a parable uses a story to teach a truth.

I remember very clearly the time my pastor was preaching a sermon and would up a rift about the consequences of sin by proclaiming, “Be careful, for your sins will find you out, just like how God drowned the Israelites in the Red Sea!” For the record, it was the Egyptians who drowned in the Red Sea, but I will never forget what my pastor said that day about the consequences of sin, even though I don’t remember the rest of his message!

A less frivolous lesson was taught in the fabled “Footprints in the Sand” poem by Mary Stevenson. Many people have learned about God’s care and concern for them through that short, but powerful parable in the form of a poem.

For Jesus, there was a method to this perceived madness. Some people were not ready to hear the truth. and others were actively working against the truth. Using parables was the way that Jesus could teach them best. His method is an example to all of us as we teach God’s truth. For example, missionaries in a country which was closed to the Gospel learned to use the technique of Chronological Bible Storying in their missionary efforts. They were able to continue teach after the local authorities were informed of their presence. These government officials did not feel threatened because, “They are just telling stories.”

Next, let’s see the message of the Teacher.

THE MESSAGE OF THE TEACHER:

Mark 4:14-20 tells us:

The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Jesus did many things in His ministry: He fed people and turned water into wine. He healed people and he revived the dead. He radically opposed the powers that oversaw Israel. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. Jesus did many things in His ministry, but He had one purpose, to “seek and save that which was lost” through spreading the Gospel message.

Churches and Christians also do many things in our ministry: Some churches are like a kicked-over ant hill, and we have devised all kinds of programs from sports to scrap-booking. Activity for its own sake is not ministry, however. Believers must focus what they do in the way Jesus did. Sadly, purpose, vision, mission, are often all missing. 

The lesson we must learn from the parable is to focus on teaching the Gospel. This is what Jesus did, and it was what Paul did in his ministry as well as told the church at Corinth,

And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Paul also taught them,

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1-3)

Therefore, as Paul taught us, we should imitate him as he imitated Jesus. That means, if we aren’t teaching the Gospel, then all we are doing is just making noise and wasting time!

Finally, we see the majesty of the Teacher.

THE MAJESTY OF THE TEACHER:

Mark 4:21-29 says,

And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Teaching is hard, unheralded work. Few teachers accrue any fame or glory. In fact, the glory in teaching is seeing the lives of your students changed. Teachers want to see that they are having an impact. They want to see growth occur. They want to see their students be able to do what they couldn’t do before.

Jesus wanted to see lives transformed by the Gospel, and He still does. He wants our lives to shine out lamps. He wants our lives to be open books for God. He wants us to be growing daily in the Gospel.

Are we instruments of transformation in our home? In our workplaces? In our churches? In our communities? If not, we should be and we should do this by teaching the Gospel because when the Gospel changes lives it is a glorious thing! Paul described this effect in Philippians 4:1 saying “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.”

CONCLUSION:

Jesus is the Master Teacher, but have we been diligent students? We need to dedicate ourselves to learning from Him, and if we do, we will have the abundant life He has promised!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about the Master of Repentance

Today I want to share a word about the Master of Repentance as I comment on Matthew Chapter 3.

Let’s Start with Matthew 3:1-6. This passage reads,

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

When I was young, I believed my dad could do anything with his hands. He was a vehicle mechanic by trade, but it seemed he could do most anything. For example:

• When our hot water heater died, he plumbed in the new one himself.
• He built an addition on the back of our house using metal studs that he welded himself on top of a concrete slab that he poured himself. He broke open a wall and installed a door so we could have access to this addition.
• He did his own electrical wiring work and his own carpentry. 
• My mom wanted to divide our breakfast nook from our living room, so my dad built her a paneled room-divider from plans that he developed in his head.
• Later, he and mama built a barn and tractor shed from the timber left over from when his family’s old home place was torn down.

I asked him once about all his skills and he told me, “Son, I’m a jack of all trades, but a master of none.” I had no problem believing the first part, but I did wonder about the last half of his comment. He certainly was a master mechanic if nothing else.

If we review the Biblical record of the ministry of Jesus, we will begin seeing something new. The Old Testament is full of the acts of God as He carefully unfolded His plan to redeem the world, but now we will begin seeing him personally. We will begin seeing the Master of the universe walking amongst His creation and demonstrating His power and control. Today we will see Him as the Master of Repentance.

First, Let’s see the Preacher of Repentance: 

We understand situations based on our perspective. Each of us has a role to play in God’s Kingdom. This is reflected in our spiritual gifts, and it is also reflected in our individual callings. Like a football player who plays only in certain game situations, we too have specific roles to play in God’s Kingdom. Paul taught the Corinthian church about this in 1 Corinthians 3:1-10 and this fact still applies to the church today.

One very important but very difficult role is that of prophet. Prophets forth-tell the Word of God and they often confront sinful humanity with the truth of God. At times, this is not a particularly pleasant task as we see in 1 Kings 18:17 & 18: 

And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?  And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.

It is a pretty tense day when the leader of your country and your people calls you a troublemaker to your face! Still, Elijah did not back down, and he continued to share God’s truth!

In our passage today, we see that John, too, was a prophet of repentance. He was only the next in a long line of prophets. Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and many others had come before he did, and each one made calls to repentance. Like Job, however, John specialized in this call. He knew his calling from God and the task that he was required to perform, and he engaged it with every fiber of his being.

We Also Must See The Need For Repentance:

Matthew 3:7-12 reads,

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Why was John sent to call people to repentance? Because repentance is necessary for salvation. Without repentance there is no salvation as Jesus taught in Luke 13:1-3, which reads:

There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

In Acts 3:19 Peter told the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders in the Temple and Jerusalem, the same thing: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” 

But what does it mean to repent?

• It does not mean to just feel sorry, nor to try to do penance.
• It does mean to make a decision of the will to do right.
• It means that we agree with God about our sin, and we have decided to seek His help in blotting it out.
• It means deciding to make a “u-turn” in our lives.

Another vital question to ask is, who needs to repent? To answer that, we must consider the Biblical record which would include:

• The people who know that they are sinners, like the woman who anointed Jesus with oil.
• The people who aren’t sure if they need to repent, like the woman at the well.
• The people who don’t think they need to repent, like the Pharisee who prayed arrogantly.

In short, all people need to repent, Romans 3:10-12 tells us: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

Next, We See The Symbol Of Repentance: 

Matthew 3:13-15 reads,

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

Symbols are important, even if they are not important in themselves. They are important because they represent a deeper meaning, like the symbols on a road sign or the symbols on the controls on a car. The symbol of repentance is baptism.

Baptism was a relatively new practice at this time. Converts to Judaism were often baptized as a rite of passage and this might be why a lot of synagogues were located near water. The Essenes, the producers of the Dead Sea Scrolls, also conducted water baptism by immersion. Without the right meaning though, baptism has no effect.

Baptism is an audio-visual symbol of repentance to illustrate that people have decided to repent and allow Jesus to become their Savior and Lord. When you go under water it shows you died to the old life. When you come up it shows you have a new way of life. It is also a symbol of being washed clean of our sin by the shed blood of Jesus.

The proper meaning of baptism is a symbol of repentance & new life in Christ. If there is no internal change in your life before being baptized, then all you have done is gotten wet! However, if you have repented and received new life and are baptized, you have preached a powerful sermon to all who watched!

Finally, Let’s See the Example of Repentance:

Matthew 3:15-17 reads,

And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Jesus came to the earth for many reasons. He came to seek and save that which was lost. He came to defeat sin, and death, and hell. He came to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He came to bring light to people walking in darkness. He also came to be a model for our lives, which is why Paul said, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ”

Jesus, being fully God and fully man had lived a sinless life and he did not need to repent. John the Baptist knew this and tried to prevent Jesus. Jesus never sinned and was one with the Father. There was no need for Him to repent because He’s never done wrong. So, what was Jesus doing?

Jesus was leading by example.

Jesus was baptized because it was the right thing to do in His ministry as our spiritual leader. Leadership by example is the best form. The motto of a good leader is, “Follow me and do as I do.” The motto of a bad leader is “Do as I say, not as I do” and this is a poor leadership model. Jesus was baptized to show us what to do. We all need to follow His example.

Conclusion:

Jesus is the master of all things, and in this passage, we see that He is the Master of Repentance. He showed us what we need to do by His example of obedience.

Have you repented of your sin and become a child of God? If you are a child of God, do you have a besetting sin that is holding back your spiritual growth? In either case, Jesus has shown us what to do in these situations, and like John the Baptist, His counsel to us today and forever is: 

Repent!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt