1.     Mark 4:1; Mark 6:2; Matthew 5:1-2

1.     He Knew His Subject

A.    He could teach with authority ... Matt 7:28-29

Mar 1:21-22 “They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. 22 They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” NASV

Because:

        1.     He could teach about God ... because he was with Him...

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God”

John 14:9 “Jesus said to him, "... He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?”

        2.     He could teach about Heaven ... for He had come from there...

John 6:38 “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 3:13; 31; 6:33)

B.    The Master Teacher taught His message by modeling it.

        1.  There was a tremendous consistency between his words and his behavior. Luke notes in the book of acts the impact of the master teacher:

Acts 1:1 “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up,”

        2.     Jesus understood that what a person does speaks so loudly that it masks the words of the teacher if the words and works are not congruent.

Matt. 5:19 “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

        3.     One remarkable characteristic of the master teacher was that he never asked a disciple to do something he was unwilling to do himself.

2.     He Loved His Subject and His Students

A.    The manner of love he had for us is mentioned in Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

        1.     What matter of love ... 1John 3:1

        2.     What greater love hath any man ... John 15:13

B.    The scriptures speaks of His compassion ...

        1.     The driving force which compelled Jesus to teach was his compassion for the people.

Mark 6:34 “And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.”

        2.     Gentleness and patience –

2Tim. 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves;

        3.     Persistence – This disciples were noted for their persistence –

Acts 5:42 “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ”

3.     He Was Zealous or Enthused About It

A.    The apostles knew of his zeal for his mission ...

John 2:17 “And his disciples remembered that it was written, ‘The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.’”

4.     He Used Successful Teaching Methods

A.    There is a subtle difference between preaching and teaching.

        1)    Learning is centered about the acquisistion of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors. Whether learning has been accomplished or not can be seen in the reflected attitudes and knowlege of the students.

        2)    Cf. Matt 19:11. The rich young ruler had not truly grasped the gravity of the Lord’s teaching, for he failed the test of ordering the proper priorities of his life.

 v. 11 “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.”

B.    Notice Some of the Successful Methods Jesus’ Used ...

        1)    He made effective use of praise ...

                a)      In the parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14) the man who left his business in the hands of his servants, praised those who acted faithfully.

                b)      Jesus praised the belief of a certain centurion when he requested relief for his sick servant. Luke 7:1-10

"Lord. trouble not thyself; for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. . . but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed." Jesus commanded the centurion, "I say unto you, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel"

        2)    He used stories, analogies, and illustrations.

                a)      Jesus clearly demonstrates his mastery of teaching, for instance, when he used an analogy to support his teaching in Matt. 18.10-14

“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones . . . How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray. doth he not leave the ninety and nine. and goeth into the mountains. and seeketh that which is gone astray?. . . Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one or these little ones should perish” (Mt. 18: 10-14).

                b)      The Lord was a master of using parables to teach new concepts and correct mistaken notions about God and His kingdom. Matt. 13

        3)    He effectively used questions ...

                a)      The art of asking appropriate questions as a teaching strategy was regarded from the days of Socrates as a mark of a master teacher.

                          1)       Jesus demonstrated his skill when he asked his disciples

"Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?"

                          2)      When they responded,

 "Some say . . . John the Baptist; some, Elijah: and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am" (Matt. 16: 13- 18)?

[ Research published by the U.S. Department of Education regarding questioning techniques indicates that "student achievement rises when teachers ask questions that require students to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information in addition to simply recalling facts" (Bennett, 1986) ]

    4)    He used visual aids - took a child up in his arms -- Mark 9:36

    5)    He may have used graphics (text or pictures, etc) -- John 8:6, 8

C.    He wanted to train others to teach – and they could prepare others...

        1.     He called 12 apostles to train and teach.

                a)      They were to teach others –

Matt 28:18-19 “Go ye there and teach all nations...”

        2.     Paul commanded Timothy to teach. "These things command and teach" (1 Tim. 4:11).

                          a)      And what to teach.

"And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2)

        3.     We are to grow as disciples and this growth suggests the ability to teach.

 Hebrews 5:12 "For when for the lime ye ought to be teachers, yc have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God: and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat."

        3.     Elders are expected to have the ability to teach – 1Tim. 3:2 The Greek in this verse means “skilled at teaching.”

        4.     Mature women are commanded to teach. –

Titus 2:3 “The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, ... 4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,"

        5.     All disciples are expected to teach and to teacher others to teach ... 2Tim. 2:2; Heb. 5:12

5.     He Knew The Needs of His People

A.    Jesus knew the hearts and needs of the people.

John 2:24 “But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”

 B.    He was mission minded ...

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

        1.     The effectiveness of his teaching was related to his mission. His clear and realistic view of his mission helped him to never stray for its pursuit.

        2.     He motivated his disciples to replicate his mission mindedness as well.

        3.     We need to teach... to win souls as well. The mission of the Bible School is to save souls.

Windell Gann – March 12, 2006

Rogersville Church of Christ