Page 22 - Teaching Principles and Methods Student Textbook short

Study Section 4: The Example of the Greatest Teacher of all Times.

4.1 Connect

Some teachers in the past really stand out. I’m sure you have had some great ones! You
just wanted to work a bit harder for them to make them proud of you. Those teachers
that I recall encouraged me to excel in my interests. They bring back fond memories. I
am what I am today because of many of them and I am truly thankful for their love and
sacrifice.

But the greatest teacher of all times was Jesus Christ. He was masterful in every way. Read the Gospels
and watch Him teach others. In fact, it is recorded that He taught much more than He preached. He
taught large groups of people and of course, His disciples. But He took the time to even teach just one
person. He was available to anyone who wanted to learn.

He is still available to us. Some of His lessons are recorded in the pages of Scripture. We can go there
and analyze His style and methods to see how He masterfully used them to bring his hearers to
understand spiritual truth. It is an exciting journey. Let’s get started.

4.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to explain why, to be a effective teacher, you must immerse
yourself in a study of God’s Word daily.

2. The student should be able to describe the 8 characteristics of Jesus’ teaching that made
Him unique among teachers.

4.3 The Example of the Greatest Teacher of all Times

Over the eons of time there have risen some very great teachers. Of
the greatest was John Chrysostom (A.D. 345 – 407), Greek scholar,
teacher and pastor, who was among the most prolific writers of early
church fathers. He was called the teacher with the “Golden Mouth”.
Chrysostom was and still is hailed as the greatest pulpit orator the
Eastern Church has ever had. But even though God used Chrysostom’s
unique ability to teach, his abilities paled in light of the greatest teacher of all times,
Jesus Christ.

We have to remember that Jesus, being the Son of God, was also 100% human. Philippians 2 states that
Jesus emptied Himself and became a human being just like you and me. To do so, the pre-incarnate
Jesus, who existed as co-equal to the Father, had to set aside some of his attributes of being God. One
in particular he set aside was his omniscience or ability to know everything. He purposely set aside this
attribute to become a man who had to learn. He was born a baby and had to learn Hebrew and he
probably went to school. He learned Joseph’s trade. Jesus had to LEARN just like we learn. And
learning is hard work!

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