SESSION 4 TEACHINGS LIKE NO OTHER 38 SESSION 4
What makes your favorite teacher your favorite teacher? QUESTION #1 #BSFLteachings BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 39
THE POINT Jesus teaches us how to live and calls us to follow Him. THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE Whatever you d like to learn, someone will teach it to you. Whether you re hoping to play the piano, plant a garden, program a computer, or anything else you can find people to help you on your way. The best teachers instruct, lead, correct, guide, and encourage. And with their help, you gain a new skill set. But where do you go to learn how to live well? Where do you go when you want to know how to be a better person or overcome challenges? Who do you seek to teach you what s best or how to make right choices? Will you find those answers in magazines? Talk-shows? YouTube? Jesus Christ is the greatest resource you can find to teach you about life. He s not simply a religious icon or a distant God speaking in ethereal or intangible terms. His teaching is clear and gets to the heart of what it means to live life to the fullest. Let s consider how the Giver of life is also the Teacher of life. 40 SESSION 4
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Mark 1:21-22; 10:17-22 (NIV) 1:21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 10:17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. Good teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 18 Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother. 20 Teacher, he declared, all these I have kept since I was a boy. 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. One thing you lack, he said. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. 22 At this the man s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Capernaum (1:21) A city located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus used this city as His main base of operations throughout His public ministry. Commandments (10:19) Jesus list is from the second half of the Ten Commandments, which focused on behavior and relationships with other people. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 41
THE POINT Jesus teaches us how to live and calls us to follow Him. Mark 1:21-22 We don t know what Jesus specifically taught in this passage, but one thing is clear: those who heard Him teach knew He did so with authority. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law (v. 22). For the rest of us, any authority we have is limited to the roles we ve been given. Whether you re the President of the United States or a mother corralling a 3-year-old, your authority only extends so far. Yet Christ s authority is unlimited because it rests intrinsically within Him. He taught with authority like no other because He is that authority. He embodies absolute truth. He said I am the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). Jesus backed up His authority with His actions. He demonstrated the dependability of His words with miracles: He paid his taxes with a coin out of the mouth of a fish (see Matt. 17:24-27). He cast out demons His disciples could not (see Mark 1:23-27). He raised the dead (see Mark 5:35-42). He turned a few fish and bread into a giant meal for thousands (see Mark 6:30-44). He walked on water His followers feared (see Mark 6:45-52). If Jesus teachings had gone no further than the people who originally heard Him speak, His authority might have gotten lost on the dusty shelves of history. But that s not what happened. In fact, shortly before He returned to His Father, Jesus commanded His followers to go out in the world and teach on His behalf. Out of His authority, He gave us this charge (see Matt. 28:18-20). Jesus sits in a position of authority today, and He has called us to both live and teach His words from a position of authority as well (see Eph. 2:6). What s the difference between knowledge and authority? QUESTION #2 42 SESSION 4
ASSESSMENT: JESUS TEACHING Use the following questions to evaluate your comfort level with Jesus teachings. Circle the mark on the scale that corresponds with your answer to each question. Information How confident do you feel in your understanding of biblical doctrine? (not confident) (confident) Application How confident do you feel in your ability to do what Jesus wants you to do? (not confident) (confident) Communication How confident do you feel in your ability to teach others about Jesus and how to follow Him? (not confident) (confident) As a group, how can we help one another become more comfortable with understanding and applying Jesus teachings? BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 43
THE POINT Jesus teaches us how to live and calls us to follow Him. Mark 10:17-21a John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible. You probably know it by heart: Jesus wept. The verse only has two words, but they reveal an abyss of emotion. They don t tell us Jesus teared up. They don t say He dabbed the corners of His eyes with His holy hand towel. Instead, those two words let us know precisely that Jesus did more than just cry He wept. Not only that, but He wept in front of others. Yet why should we be surprised? Time after time the Scriptures record our Savior experiencing great emotion and love. The Jesus of the Bible is not the stoic, halo-topped, European actor we so often watched on biblical movies growing up. He s not a flannel-board Messiah of one-dimension. Our Lord felt great compassion, and that compassion motivated his actions in love. We read: When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them (Matt. 9:36). When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick (Matt. 14:14). Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand (Mark 1:41). When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her (Luke 7:13). As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it (Luke 19:41). In Mark 10, Jesus met a young man who wanted to experience something more out of life. This man wanted someone to teach him about eternity, and so he came to Jesus. Out of His love, Jesus affirmed this man s actions and gave him one very powerful invitation: sell all he had and give it to the poor. Because in doing so, he would store up treasures in heaven. Out of His love, LOVE Jesus urged this man to let go of all the things there were keeping him from experiencing true treasure. How does Jesus approach help us love those we disagree with? QUESTION #3 44 SESSION 4
Mark 10:21b-22 What the young man in this story learned and what we need to learn is that Jesus teaching calls for a response. To merely admire Jesus as a great Teacher without applying the truths He taught is to forfeit the treasure of which He spoke. It s the same as declaring you really don t believe Him after all. Obedience to what Jesus teaches is proof that you believe Him. Acting in belief on Christ s words requires faith. And faith is measured by your life, not your lips. It involves your feet, not just your feelings. In fact, to not live by faith is to call God a liar. It s to challenge His integrity because faith means you are taking Him at His word. In other words, faith is acting like something is so even when it s not so in order that it might be so simply because God said so. Yet faith is only as powerful as the object to which it is attached. You could have all the faith in the world that your car was suddenly going to sprout wings and fly you to the moon, but you would still end up on the ground. Yet when you attach your faith to Jesus Christ and His Word and you respond by obeying what He has revealed that s the kind of faith that moves mountains (see Matt. 17:20). Responding to Jesus teaching means trusting Him enough to do what He says. Why is it loving for Jesus to call us to do something difficult or even painful? QUESTION #4 How have Jesus teachings changed the way you live? QUESTION #5 Jesus is the world s greatest Authority on how to live life to the fullest. And He has given us His teaching in His Word. To read it, study it, discuss it, and yet not apply it makes no sense at all. Therefore, choose to listen to Jesus teaching and respond with trustful obedience. BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 45
24 HOMELIFE FEBRUARY 2014 possibilities, even when we re addressing important moral and ethical issues. For some questions, there just don t seem to be right or wrong answers. Worse, in other situations, there seem to be several right answers. Not only do good people disagree, really good people really disagree. A lot of the issues we face don t have a direct scriptural response. For some questions, indeed for a lot of questions, there s no Thou shalt not text giving us unambiguous and direct guidance. For instance, we know murder is wrong. A commandment forbids it. But is that commandment binding in every circumstance? What if someone breaks into your home intending to hurt you and your family? Well, you say, that s different. I know, but that s the point. It s a gray area. How do we deal with those gray areas? What about questions of ethics, morality, identity, or behavior Scripture doesn t directly address? What about questions that lead to certain passages in the Bible that can be interpreted in multiple ways? The vantage point from which we engage the question before us will have a great deal of impact in determining how we address the question. The place where we stand will determine our perspective. Our perspective will determine what questions we answer. Our values bring to bear on how we answer and how our answer will be woven into our lives. Perhaps this is why Jesus spent so much time developing the perspective of his followers. This is why Jesus told so many stories. The parables of Jesus aren t designed to give us new information but rather, give us new windows through which we view God, our neighbors, our world, and ourselves. The parables of Jesus give us new windows to place in our minds and souls, so we can literally see in a different way. Jesus said there are two great commandments. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, and soul; and the second is like the first. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. To love God requires us to love our neighbors and we can t love our neighbors without authentically loving ourselves. In order to love ourselves, we have to know God s love in our own lives. Like the Trinity itself, these three commandments can t be separated if they re to be obeyed. is hard, unchanging, made of steel and concrete. On the other hand, love is seen as soft and unstable, an emotion that can t be trusted as a reliable guide for our lives. But with God, there is no such conflict. God is love. God is truth. They are both descriptions of His character and His essence. In the beginning, John writes, was the Word. The Greek word logos can be interpreted as meaning, also. In the beginning was the meaning. And what was this meaning? This meaning was the essence of God agape Christ is the agape of God in human form. The agape message Jesus taught His disciples is what He knew from the Father. God-love, agape, is a love that always seeks the best for the beloved. God-love doesn t seek its own pleasure, but sacrifices itself for whatever the Beloved needs. This is how Jesus teaches us to love our world. One reason Christianity is so difficult is Christ never gives His followers permission to react. We re never given permission to act one way because somebody else acted another way first. We can t say to Jesus, I m sorry I lost my temper, but You should have seen what the other guy did. More than thinking, What would Jesus do? the believer needs to think through, Who would Jesus be? That is, followers of Christ should seek to become like Jesus to the point that we live out of His essence in us the way He lived out the essence of the Father before us. Like Christ, everything about us our thoughts, our actions, our dreams and desires must flow from our essence, which is agape, the God love of Christ. post-modern culture, a disciple of Jesus must study Scripture in the presence of the Divine Author so that the disciple understands not only the literal meaning of the text, but the heart of the One who gave us the text. Yes, there is a literal interpretation, but there is a deeper truth as well. It is a truth based on the love God has for His children that, in turn, informs us how we are to react not only to Him, but to the world around us. Every aspect of our lives the way we think, the things we desire, how and what we love has been scarred and disconnected from God s intentions, and needs to be redeemed. As Paul reminds us, one place the salvation process begins is with a renewal of our minds. A mind filled with Christformed, stained glass windows will see His kingdom purposes in our decisions and bring kingdom wisdom to these issues and others like them. Mike Glenn is the executive editor of Mature Living and serves as senior pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tenn. Follow his blog at mikeglennonline.com. FEBRUARY 2014 HOMELIFE 25 THE POINT Jesus teaches us how to live and calls us to follow Him. LIVE IT OUT How can you apply Jesus teaching to your daily life? Consider the following suggestions this week: Read. Read through one of the Gospels this week. As you come across Jesus different teachings, reflect on how living by that teaching would benefit your life. Commit. As you read God s Word, make a conscious, deliberate decision to obey what it teaches. Pray through that commitment for the rest of the day. Teach. Consider leading a Bible study or teaching a class for kids, students, or adults. Let God use you to communicate the teachings of Jesus to others. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, you have a daily opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus. You can learn from Him and learn how to experience life to the fullest. Take advantage of that blessing today. Gray Areas ~Gray~ Areas In your quest for truth, let God s love be your guide. Illustration: ThikStock by Mike Glenn e live in a world of infinite W The Essence of Following Christ Most of us see a disconnection between love and truth. Truth Every aspect of our lives the way we think, the things we desire, how and what we love has been scarred and disconnected from God s intentions, and needs to be redeemed. A Deeper Truth In order to deal with these complicated issues of our We live in a world of infinite possibilities, even when we re addressing important moral and ethical issues. For some questions, there seems to be no right or wrong answers. What s worse, in other situations, there seems to be several right answers. Not only do good people disagree, really good people really disagree. To continue reading Gray Areas from HomeLife magazine, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/articles. 46 SESSION 4
My g roup's prayer requests My thoughts BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 47