Jesus the extraordinary teacher

Jesus the extraordinary teacher

Jesus was an extraordinary teacher. Crowds of people followed him everywhere. They wanted to see what he did. They also wanted to hear what he would teach them. Moses had said that God would send a great prophet. We can read what Moses said in Deuteronomy 18:15-18. Now what Moses had said was true. Isaiah also said that the Messiah would say words of wise advice (Isaiah 9:6). The Gospels show us that this is true.

At one time Jesus got into a boat, and taught the crowds from it. The crowds were on the shore (Mark 4:1). On another occasion Jesus decided to take his disciples away from the crowds. They went away in a boat, but the crowds saw them. They knew where Jesus and the disciples were going. The crowds got to the place before them. When Jesus left the boat he saw the crowds. He thought that they were like sheep without a shepherd. (A shepherd is a person who looks after sheep.) So, Jesus taught the people many things (Mark 6:34).

At another time, Jesus was on a mountain when he taught the people. Everyone thought that he taught very well. He spoke with authority. Later, officials ordered soldiers to arrest Jesus. The soldiers returned without him. They said, ’No man ever spoke like this man‘ (John 7:46).

All the time, people spoke about what Jesus said. They had never heard anything like it before (Matthew 13:54, Mark 10:24-26, 11:18, John 7:15). His enemies sometimes tried to defeat Jesus with clever questions. Near the end of his ministry, they no longer did this. Jesus gave answers that defeated them all the time (Matthew 22:46). His answers often upset them.