The Teacher's Pattern

The Sunday School Teacher 7

If this next sentence comes as a shock, you should not be teaching Sunday School. The teacher's pattern is Jesus Christ. Of course, in all things, Christ is our pattern. In sewing terms, He is the one we copy, seeking to replicate exactly in our own lives that which we see in Him. But this is true not just in the generic sense for the Sunday School teacher but in the specific sense. Jesus was a teacher.

Matthew 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Matthew 13:54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?

Mark 1:22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

Mark 2:13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.

Mark 4:2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

Mark 9:31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.

Mark 10:1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.

Mark 11:17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Mark 12:35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?

Luke 4:15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.

Luke 19:47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,

Luke 20:1 And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders,

John 6:59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

John 7:28 Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.

John 8:20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.

Parse that however you like, it is a staggering point of emphasis in His life. The constant repetition of the phrase, "he taught", is not merely for rhetorical flourish. Every word in the Bible is there on purpose. Jesus both excelled at and drew attention to the necessity for teaching.

Having established He is our pattern in this area, how is He our pattern? In other words, besides being a teacher, what did Jesus do as a teacher that is copyable by us, for lack of a better term? I see five answers to that question in the passages above.

First, Christ taught with authority.

When I say authority here, I do not mean that Christ dogmatically asserted truth rather than offered up gentle suggestions. At the risk of quoting myself, let me give you a brief selection from my book, "The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached":

The prevailing rabbinic system of His day reveled in tying itself tightly to previous rabbinic interpretations and authorities. Edersheim, the nineteenth-century converted Jew who became an Anglican preacher, in his fabulous book on the life of Christ, tells of a rabbi in Jesus' day who was proud of the fact that he had nothing original to say. Instead, he only passed along to the people the traditional interpretations that he had been handed from previous centuries of rabbinic scholarship. Jesus turned that system on its head, and, rejecting the supposed earthly authorities, fearlessly asserted His own interpretation. For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. (Matthew 7.29)

The point for us here is that Jesus' teaching was authoritative because it rested on the Word of God. He did not have to quote a guy who quoted a guy who quoted a guy who quoted from the Oral Torah handed down by Moses alongside the actual Torah. He just quoted Scripture. He strenuously insisted that people turn their gaze to the Scriptures themselves. Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures. (Matthew 22.29) The rabbinic system had mangled the pure intent of the Word of God with a massive system of pseudo-hermeneutically derived principles of application. In the process, they had obscured the Word of God and made themselves and their interpretations the authority.

When you stand (or sit) to teach in front of a group of God's children, always do so from an open Bible. Refer to it often. Turn to passages in it. Read from them. Ask them to read them. Craft your points around the Word of God. Illustrate your applications with biblical people. It is not wrong to use additional resources or even to refer to them, but the bulk of your teaching ought to come from the Bible itself. In you and me, there is no inherent authority. In the Word of God, there is all the authority of an omniscient, infallible, inerrant God.

Second, Christ knew human nature and used it to His advantage.

I do not mean He manipulated people. I mean, He related to them, identified with them, connected with them very well. Put another way round, He knew what to say to whom to engage them.

With some people, like the woman at the well, He played on her curiosity. With others, like the Pharisees, He built such a tight box of legal reasoning that they were compelled to admit He was correct. Christ was a great emoter, so to speak. It is all over His life and ministry. As such, He was able to instinctively feel what His target audience was feeling and convey to them that He was feeling it. I do not mean to imply that Jesus was a comelian. But at weddings, He was happy with people, and at funerals, He was sad with them. In another context, Ezekiel put it this way, Then I came to them of the captivity of Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. (Ezekiel 3.15)

Whatever age or stage your Sunday School students are in, you need to connect with them, and do it so well that it is almost instinctive. You must care about what they care about, even if you would otherwise not care about it at all. With the mechanic, you talk about race cars. With the farmer, you talk about rain. With the senior, you ask to see pictures of their grandchildren. I have broken through many a crusty teenager's aloof distance with the simple question, "Tell me, what is the best thing that happened to you this week?" Ask them that question four weeks in a row, and watch their face brighten when they see you coming to ask it the fifth week. Now then, you are getting somewhere. And you will see it on their countenance when you stand before them to teach.

Third, Jesus used a variety of teaching methods.

I have previously asserted the superiority of the traditional Sunday School class approach. I am not here retracting it. But within that construct, you can and should still use some variety in your teaching. Speaking broadly, the younger your class is, the more variety you should employ.

Christ did. Sometimes, He lectured. Much of the time, He engaged in vigorous verbal discussions that revolved around an exchange of difficult questions. He was a master illustrator, getting His point across by likening it to something with which they were already familiar. He even used object lessons. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? (John 13.12)

Fourth, our Lord knew His material.

We see this in Him first at the rather young age of twelve. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. (Luke 2.46-47) Of course, growing up in the home of conscientious observing Jews like Joseph and Mary, the Torah would have been His first textbook and His primary textbook. It is apparent from how easily its quotations flowed from His lips that He internalized it. As He Himself said, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (Luke 6.45) He packed Himself full of the Scripture, of both a head and a heart knowledge of God, and it flowed out of Him at every turn.

"Ok, Bro. Brennan, but you can't seriously expect me to know the Bible as well as Jesus did."

No. But I can expect you to aim for that. Christ is the goal, is He not? For each of us. In every area of the Christian life. That is the whole point of this chapter, after all.

Beyond that, however, is a more simplistic yet still accurate application. Jack Hyles used to say, "Don't tell 'em everything you know. Somebody might ask you a question when you get through." There is nothing more off-putting than raising your hand, vocalizing a question that has formed in your mind, and watching the teacher stare at you blankly with zero idea of how to respond. Your mind screams, "Why are they teaching me? They don't know any more than I do!"

Leadership is confidence. Put another way round, no one wants to follow someone who does not seem to know where you both should be going, let alone how to get there. Your class's confidence in you will wither if you are tried and found wanting in the knowledge department. I realize we cannot be as deep as Jesus was because He is God and we are not, but we can know our stuff. That we certainly can do.

Fifth, Jesus' life exemplified what He taught.

Before you start, no, I do not think it is reasonable to expect moral perfection from my Sunday School teaching staff. Nor should the students. But if our life does not in a significant way match the words coming out of our mouth, what is the point of us saying them?

Jesus Christ lived perfectly everything He taught. He did not flaunt that. As D. L. Moody said, "Lighthouses blow no horns; they just shine." But when He opened His mouth and taught of love, it found a ready audience in the hearts of the people He loved. If He called for mercy, it was from a platform of mercy extended. If He urged unconditional obedience to the Lord, there was nothing in His life that argued the contrary.

In a sense, this is not a fair expectation. I have spent my entire life preaching a perfect Book. I am certainly not a perfect man, nor will I be this side of Glory. Which means at some point, my preaching, teaching, writing, parenting, witnessing, leading, praying, mentoring, and counseling will all fall short. My life cannot possibly line up precisely with the perfect Word of God. But our people understand that, in my experience. Yes, there are the occasional unreasonable, intractable, obstinate individual who sees us doing 30 MPH in a 25 MPH school zone and thinks they can throw out every lesson we have ever taught. But they are the exception, not the rule. By and large, if you genuinely seek to live what you teach, your students can tell. And they care. Deeply. If it does not impact your heart, you cannot reasonably expect it to influence theirs.

I have had many good teachers and some downright excellent ones. Teachers who inspired me, who pushed me, who brought more out of me than I thought I had in me, who changed my life. Without exception, those latter teachers showed me Jesus. In their life and on their lips.

Be someone's excellent teacher. Do not just tell them of Christ. Show them Christ.