Jesus, the Master Teacher, knew that in order for real discipleship to take place, He had to move his learners from simply receiving information, to a real life-change. As mentioned in my two prior posts, he used stories and he used illustrations of all sorts. One other way that Jesus accomplished His goal was to involve His learners in the lesson he wanted them to get. An example of this can be found in Mark 2:15-17.
Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that He came to call sinners to repentance. One day He showed them this by going to Levi's house (also called Matthew). Levi was a tax collector and considered by the Pharisees to be about as low as you could get. They questioned why Jesus would eat with sinners and tax collectors. Jesus used this time to explain to everyone present why He had come, "Those who are well don't need a doctor, but the sick do need one. I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners." Of course, he could have just said that, but do you think they would have remembered it as well? No, it was memorable because of what they saw, heard, and felt that day as they looked at Jesus dining with sinners and tax collectors.
On another occassion, as he finished eating the passover meal, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. (John 13:4-17). He could have easily just said "Okay. Listen to me. You need to humble yourself and serve one another." But instead, He showed them what He wanted them to understand. He washed the feet of each individual in that room. They knew who it was who washed their feet, and they were humbled. Then He closed it out with "You should do just as I have done for you." (v. 15b). Do you think they got it? Of course they did. They had just seen the Son of God humble Himself and wash their feet. Soon they would see His ultimate act of humility. They would watch Him die for those He loved. The lesson stayed with them. Many of them would also die a cruel death for their faith, but they would remain humble even unto death. They had understood. They had remembered. Real transformation had taken place in this group of disciples.
As teachers, we are called to pour everything we can into the lives of our learners. The goal should be that they will go on to do for others as we have done for them. In that process, we give it everything we have. We study to make sure we understand the passage of scripture completely. We plan our lesson with the desired outcome in mind. To get there, we use every tool we have at our disposal. We use questions that create a hunger, we use illustrations to illuminate the mind, and we involve our learner in the lesson so that he remembers what he saw, heard, and felt. We can use games, role play, debate, problem-solving groups, paraphrasing the lesson, individual writing or drawing, and a host of other methods. Whatever you do, make sure the method gets you to the desired change and makes the scripture passage memorable. Jesus always made sure the truth was what they remembered, not just the method.
Teachers, we have a high calling to make a difference in the lives of our learners. We should "study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15) Part of not being ashamed is to be able to know that we did everything we could to make sure we made it memorable. God's Word is too full of life for us to make it boring. Teaching the Word of God is something to be passionate about and it is best accomplished when we have close relationships with our learners and involve them in the lesson. "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matt. 28:19-20)
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