If you pause for a minute and reminisce back to your school days, I would be willing to bet that most of you had a favorite teacher—that is, a teacher who either said or did something that profoundly affected your life. Who was your favorite teacher?
For me personally, I had so many wonderful teachers that it is hard to determine a favorite. I remember Mrs. Barbie, my kindergarten teacher. She hardly looked like a “Barbie” doll, but she was the nicest woman in the world, taught me phonics, and gave me a great academic beginning. I remember Mrs. McKinney, a third grade para-educator who spent extra time with me when I fell behind the rest of my class in reading.
I remember the concern on Mrs. Ripple’s face when she took me aside and told me that I was in jeopardy of flunking the fifth grade. I also remember her sacrifice her planning periods to help me memorize my states and capitals and get me graduated to junior high school. Not growing up in the church, I remember that it was my Mr. Meahan, my seventh grade social studies teacher, who first exposed me to the Bible and religion when we did a unit on the Middle East. And finally, I distinctly remember suffering from a serious case of “senioritis” during my sophomore year of high school, when my physical education teacher and football coach taught me a great life lesson. Mr. Dettorre always said, “When you do the little things well, the big things take care of themselves.” His words of wisdom were true for football, school, and life!
As I reflect back over my own school days, I don’t mean to brag (especially among such a crowd of high academic achievers), but I have to tell you: I graduated high school with a whopping 2.6 cumulative grade point average. Now that may not sound very impressive to most of you, but I came from a background of intense trauma and grew up in a family that didn’t value education. My family theme song was Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.” Do you remember the lyrics: “We don’t need no education; we don’t need no thought control. Hey, teacher, leave those kids alone!”(I guess Pink Floyd never learned that you shouldn’t use double negatives in English grammar). But in all sincerity, if it wasn’t for an outstanding and dedicated team of teachers, I am quite sure that I never would have graduated at all. I thank God for all of the amazing teachers who have influenced my life.
It was Henry Brooks Adams who said, “Teachers affect eternity; they can never tell where their influence ends.” All of us have memories of certain teachers who made a difference to us. Some were in elementary school, some in junior high, some in high school, and some in college. They differ in a thousand ways, but they have this in common: They cared about us, they made a difference, and we are better people because we knew them. Who is your favorite teacher?
A Teacher Named Jesus
I met my favorite teacher during my junior year of high school. I was a wayward, angry, cynical, sarcastic, unmotivated, alcoholic, reckless, devious, and destructive teenager, but upon receiving an invitation from a fellow classmate, I stumbled into church one Sunday morning and met the teacher who would alter the course of my life forever. Yes, the name of my all time favorite teacher is Jesus!
I had never been to church before, but that first Sunday I was so impressed with Jesus’ teachings and the love I experienced from the congregation, that I started attending every week. After about six months of regular church attendance, I became convinced that Jesus was in fact God and that he died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins and he was resurrected on the third day and offers eternal life to anyone who would follow him.
So, on a cold night in February of my junior year, I prayed to receive Jesus Christ as my teacher, Savior, and Lord. He saved my soul and began replacing the anger, bitterness, and confusion in my heart with love, peace, and joy! I had a genuine conversion experience! Not long after this, Jesus revealed the vocational calling of my life to be a pastor to his people. Ever since that night 20 years ago I have faithfully sat under Jesus’ tutelage. He has taught me so many things and has improved my life in innumerable ways. He is my favorite teacher!
If you have ever picked up a Bible and read one of the four gospels at the beginning of the New Testament (which are biographies about Jesus), you can’t help but see that Jesus is a master teacher. Even atheistic philosophers acknowledge this fact. Jesus employed all of our most sophisticated teaching tactics long before modern educators coined the terms. Jesus appealed to aural, visual, and kinesthetic learners. He taught by exhortation, image, object lesson, allegory, dialogue, debate, riddle, rhetorical question, proverb, paradox, parable. He utilized the models of co-teaching, student teaching, and internships with his disciples. He was a proponent of place-based education: he taught by the seashore, on the mountains, on the plain, in a boat, in the synagogue, and in the Temple.
Jesus’ curriculum covers a multitude of topics and answers of life’s deepest questions. His lessons not only cover religious topics like God, faith and prayer, but he also taught about practical matters like virtue, character, ethics, morality, sin, money, relationships, marriage, parenting, health, aging, worrying, dying & death, and most importantly heaven and hell—what happens after we die!
I would just say this about Jesus’ teaching: If you find yourself struggling in some area of your life, I encourage you to seek Jesus’ guidance. If you find yourself overwhelmed by some life circumstance, look to Jesus’ wisdom! If are spiritually lost or confused about the meaning and purpose of your life, Jesus not only has the answer—he is the answer! Is Jesus your teacher?
Jesus’ Greatest Lesson
In Mark 12:28-34, Jesus, the master teacher, teaches one of his greatest lessons. One of the teachers of the law came and interrupted Jesus while he was having a debate with a group of religious leaders about the possibility of resurrection. This teachers of the law hated Jesus because he was upsetting the religious status quo of the day. They were looking for a way to get Jesus to incriminate himself so that they could do away with him. This particular teacher thought he was pretty smart when he posed Jesus with the trick question, “Of all of the commandments, which is the most important?”
But this teacher of the law should have known that it is impossible to outfox the wisest and smartest and greatest teacher in human history. Jesus responded by quoting the great Shema from the Book of Deuteronomy, which affirms that there is only one God and that he requires us to love him with our whole heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This one line summarizes the Ten Commandments, reflects the essence of Jesus’ teaching, and outlines the core ethic of Christianity.
Even this teacher of the law recognizes the brilliance of Jesus’ answer. In verses 32-33, he affirms Jesus’ teaching and goes on to make the point that to love God with all of your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself are more important than offering sacrifices and burnt offerings. What he meant by this was that true affection for God and care for people are far more significant than outward acts of religiosity.
When Jesus saw that the teacher had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him anymore questions!
Even 2000 years later, Jesus’ teaching still penetrates our hearts. When the teacher of the law reckoned with the fact that true love for God is more important than all of the religious acts in the world, Jesus said that he was close to the kingdom. But how about us? There are many people today who play religious games with God. They say things like: “Well, I guess I will go to church and just get it over with,” and “I’ll drop my check into the offering plate so I can go to heaven when I die.” God cares about our hearts!
So, how close are you to the kingdom? Do you really love God with all of your heart? How are you doing at loving the people God has placed in your life?
They called him Rabbi—“Teacher”—and meant it as a great compliment, for he was indeed the Master Teacher. But no one goes to Heaven simply by calling him Teacher. It is true, but it isn’t enough. For he is more than a teacher; he is also Savior and Lord. He is more than a teacher of moral precepts; he is also the Savior of the world.
Part of what it means to be saved is admitting that you need salvation, that you can’t save yourself, and that Jesus Christ is the Savior you need. As long as you cling to your own good works as your hope for Heaven, Jesus is not your Savior. To be saved by Jesus means to stop trying to save yourself. When you finally give up on yourself and say, “Lord, I’m a sinner and I know it,” in that moment you have become an excellent candidate for salvation.
So it comes down to this. Is Jesus your Savior? Have you ever turned away from all your good works to trust Jesus Christ and him alone for your salvation? The good news is that Jesus died for you. He paid the price so that by trusting in him alone you could be saved. I invite you to open your heart right now and place your trust in him. In the moment that you do, he will become—not just your Teacher—but your Savior, too.
As I conclude, let me leave you with the words of Daniel Webster, who said, “If we work on marble it will perish. If we work on brass, time will efface it. If we rear temples, they will crumble to dust. But if we work on men’s immortal minds, if we imbue them with high principles, with just fear of God and love of their fellow-men, we engrave on those tablets something which time cannot efface, and which will brighten and brighten to all eternity.”