Jesus was a teacher, a rabbi. He is referred to as “Rabbi” 14 times in the New Testament — 40 times as “Teacher.” That was His job, and it’s important to note that there were standards associated with His chosen profession. Not just anyone could go around calling himself a rabbi. There was a system in place, a fairly intricate system.
For a young boy growing up in Israel, being a rabbi was the greatest aspiration. Beginning around the age of six, male children began learning the Torah. From the age of 6 to the age of 10, a little boy would sit at the feet of a teacher from dawn until afternoon, memorising and learning about Torah. Day after day, week after week, chanting and reciting the Law of Moses. Around the time a boy reached the age of 10, it was time to learn the family trade, and that was the end of his studies.
But some showed a special aptitude for learning, and these were invited to learn from rabbis how to apply the Law to everyday life. The rabbinical method of teaching was focused primarily on asking the students questions, such as “How do you honour your father and mother?” and “What kind of work is acceptable on the Sabbath?”
By the time a studious boy reached the age of 14, he had the entire Old Testament memorised, Genesis through Malachi. If, at that point, the student wanted to continue his studies, he went to find a rabbi he admired and asked if he could become one of the teacher’s followers — a talmidim.
A rabbi never recruited students. That was considered beneath a rabbi’s dignity. Students came to the rabbi, the rabbi never went to the students. In fact, students had to apply and submit to a series of screening tests. They had to prove that they were good students, that they had memorised large portions of the Scriptures and were able to rightly interpret portions of the Law. They had to interact with various schools of rabbinical interpretation.
If the student was good enough, the rabbi allowed him to become a follower.
If a rabbi accepted the student, the young man left everything behind for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn from a master teacher. The goal wasn’t just to gain information from the rabbi, but to study him, observe him, learn how to live like he lived. A good student never let the rabbi out of his sight for fear of missing something he could learn.
Jesus was a rabbi. He taught with great power. Everywhere He went, He caused a great stir, and people were amazed at His teaching.
But — and this is amazing — Jesus went out and recruited followers.
Jesus not only recruited followers, He went out and recruited people no self-respecting rabbi would want, uneducated fishermen, tax collectors, rebels and revolutionaries.
And women!
He allowed a woman to sit at His feet! There was a saying back then, “Better to burn the Torah than to teach it to a woman.” But Jesus was a rabbi of a different kind. He went to people who had been told that they didn’t have what it takes to really know God. They had been told that they didn’t have the mental aptitude or that they were born the wrong gender. And this rabbi with amazing authority told them, “I believe in you. I think you’ve got what it takes. You come follow Me. No prerequisites. No admission tests. I’ll be your rabbi, you’ll be My apprentices. Learn from Me. Watch Me. And one day, you’ll not only know what I know; you’ll live the way I live.”
He calls the most unlikely people. He’s even calling you.
Prayer
Holy Son of the living God, You did what no one ever did and taught what no one ever taught. Unlike other teachers and rabbis in Israel, You taught out of your own authority and revealed truths that were previously unknown. You taught that the standard of righteousness the Father requires is nothing short of His own perfection. When the religious leaders were trying to externalise the moral law and reduce it to manageable proportions, You taught the radical truth that the Law concerns not only what we do, but also what we say and even what we think. You revealed that the problem is not external but internal; it concerns the corruption of the human heart. Our only hope is the new birth in which You implant a new heart and nature within us. I praise You that You perfectly fulfilled the Law in thought, word and deed and that You impute your righteousness to all who trust in You.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
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