Lesson: Jesus As The Master Teacher

Same as the last time, I didn't have enough time to create a quiz out of the Sabbath School lesson. But I still love to highlight parts which I think are important for my personal study. I hope you'll be blessed by these too.

Imitators of God

As sinful humans, we could not endure full access to the glory of God. As the incarnate Son, Jesus reflects that glory. It is muted in Christ’s humanity so that we might see it and understand clearly the character of God. (Heb. 1:1–4)

Jesus also is “the express image of his person” (Heb. 1:3). The term used here, the Greek word charactēr, is sometimes used of the impression a seal makes in wax or the representation stamped on a coin. So, Jesus is “the exact imprint of God’s very being” (Heb. 1:3, NRSV)

Just as God, at Creation, used light to dispel darkness, He has given us His Son, Jesus, to dispel false views about Him and to show us the truth about God.

Jesus accurately reflected the Father, something we, too, are called to do since we are invited to “be imitators of God as dear children” (Eph. 5:1, NKJV).

Single purpose

Everything Jesus did in His life on earth had a single purpose: “the revelation of God for the uplifting of humanity.”—Education, p. 82.

It is tempting to criticize Philip’s blundering statement (John 14:8). After years of close fellowship with Jesus, he still misses the essential point of the Incarnation—that Jesus has come to show the Father’s character...How long have we walked with Jesus? And have we understood Jesus any better than Philip had? “ ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.’ ”

Becoming servants

If Jesus could adopt human form—“the form of a slave, being born in human likeness” (Phil. 2:7, NRSV)—and even submit to crucifixion, how much more should they submit to each other out of love?

The world all too often invites us to exalt ourselves, to boast of our accomplishments. At a manger in Bethlehem and from the Master Teacher we learn a different lesson—that God’s great work of education and salvation is accomplished, not by exalting ourselves but by humbling ourselves before God and becoming servants to others.

Reconciliation

...A broken relationship can be mended. When that happens, we experience the wonder of reconciliation...

Worthy of worship

We must admire the first pupils of the Master Teacher—Joseph and Mary and the shepherds.

Before He has spoken His first parable or performed His first miracle, the Master Teacher is worthy of our worship because of who He is.

With wise men, shepherds, and angels, we are called to worship Christ, the newborn King—and to see in the infant Jesus the reality of God Himself

Express image

Regardless of people’s experiences, the number of Bible texts quoted, or the reverence for one’s denominational doctrines, the life of Christ must always serve as a corrective to our descriptions of God.

Just as the Father sent Jesus to show the world who He (the Father) is, Jesus now sends us to show the world who He (Jesus) is.

Jesus is the express image of God (Heb. 1:3), and humanity was made in God’s image (Gen. 1:26).

Jesus is the image of God, and we are to be restored into the image of Jesus (Rom. 8:29, 2 Cor. 3:18).

Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), but then so are we: “ ‘You are the light of the world’ ” (Matt. 5:14, ESV).

Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:14) in whom “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col. 2:9, ESV); by extension, the people of God are called “the body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:27).

God's coins

Hebrews 1:3 speaks of Christ as being the charakter of the Father. The Greek charakter first denoted the engraving tool used by an engraver. Eventually, it denoted the mark or impress made by the tool, an impress as one would see on a coin. The purpose was to make an exact reproduction of the king’s image on those coins.

Jesus was once asked a question on whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. He asked to see a coin and asked His audience whose image was on the coin. They answered, “Caesar’s,” after which Jesus said His famous line, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s” (Matt. 22:21). In like manner, Jesus will one day return to this earth looking for His own “coins.” When He does, He needs only to ask the same question He asked 2,000 years ago: Whose image is seen on these coins? If we bear the image of Christ and have the Father’s name impressed in our foreheads (Rev. 22:4), then it will be good news to hear, “ ‘Render . . . to God the things that are God’s’ ” (Matt. 22:21, ESV). God will gather His coins and we can go home—finally.

Sabbath School Lesson | Christian Education | Lesson 5 | October 24-30, 2020 | Jesus as the Master Teacher