The Disciples of Christ
3 - Learners
Last time we centred our thinking upon the importance of following faithfully as disciples, having found in Jesus Christ the perfect leader. We looked at Abraham, Caleb and Ruth as examples from the Scriptures of those who followed the Lord diligently.
This time we look at the importance of LEARNING, remembering that Jesus said in Matthew chapter 11 verse 29: "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me". For His followers HE was the total source of all knowledge and truth. You may remember that, in a previous talk in this series, we discovered that one of the words used for disciple in the original Greek of the New Testament was MATHETES. This means a student or a scholar. In the case of a disciple of Christ this means one who is being taught by the supreme teacher. One of the Gospel writers, Mark, graphically describes this perfect teacher in his first chapter verses 21 and 22: "And when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at His teaching because He taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the Law".
In John’s Gospel chapter 3 we read about Nicodemus, the Jewish ruler who came to Jesus at night-time. He started his conversation with the Lord in this way: "We know that you are a teacher who has come from God". Now both of these commendations speak for themselves. I expect, that like me, you have met good and bad teachers! But here the Word of God is describing the One Who is the master communicator.
The Bible also records the words of some who said of the Lord Jesus, ‘Never man spake like this man!" So, the teaching of this master will always be -perfect - pertinent - purposeful - and - productive.
Having thought about the teacher, what about the things he taught? What IS the "curriculum of his school"? It has to do with such things as -humility - compassion - meekness - godliness - diligence and service. Its lessons are not just academic, they are practical! These lessons need to be practised in your daily life. You don’t necessarily have to be academically bright, or of a high intellectual standard to benefit from the lessons of Christ the supreme teacher. Let me quote what someone once said about this: "The dullest natural intellect may be, and is, rendered keen and perceptive towards God, by the indwelling Holy Spirit". Before the Holy Spirit came at the time of Pentecost, the Lord Jesus Christ made this wonderful statement about His work: "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching, My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father Who sent Me. All this I have spoken while still with you, but the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of everything I have said to you". That’s John 14 verses 23 to 26. What a wonderful promise this was to His disciples both then and now! And how we all need that ministry of God’s Holy Spirit!
As you seek to live as a Christian disciple, you will often find the way difficult as your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, and as he places obstacles in you way. Sometimes the circumstances of life can hinder us and cause us to falter and fail. It’s because of this that we need the strength,
the sustenance and the guidance found in the Scriptures, God’s Word. This lovely book is the only place where we are shown the One Who is the way, the truth and the life. I hope then, that you will realise, as a student in Christ’s school, that He provides in His Word all that you need to help you in your endeavours to follow and to learn of him. As well as the Word of God, with its many lessons, we have as our tutor the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. He is described by the Lord Jesus in John’s Gospel chapter 16 as being the Spirit of Truth, the One Who "will guide you into all truth. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is mine, and making it known to you".
Our learning in the school of Christ is an ongoing exercise. No student ever completes his or her studies! The wonderful thing is that the more we learn about our master, the more we will want to know. The apostle Peter, that well known early disciple and servant of Jesus Christ, had many lessons to learn in his life. Some of these he had to learn the hard way. His experiences taught him many things. Towards the end of his life Peter wrote these words to encourage others in the faith - "Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ". That is indeed sound advice for all of us.