The Teacher King

I know the Israelites in the days of the New Testament were expecting a Messiah to come and rescue them from the treacheries of the Romans. The timing was right in as far as prophecy had predicted the time when the Messiah would arrive. In fact, Jesus was a popular name for a baby when the Messiah was born. That's one of the reasons he was called Jesus of Nazareth. It helped identify him.

Other prophecy called for him to be a Servant King. And he was. The climax of this was when he washed the disciples feet. This was something new for his followers. Can you see the mayor of your town washing the feet of his office staff, including the janitors? Or a general of an army, who expects his commands to be followed without question, washing the feet of the privates under his command? Kind of gives it a different spin on it, doesn't it?

Whether you think of Jesus as a servant King, or a conquering King, or just simply the Messiah, he is known as a teacher to all of us. We read his parables today and still learn from them. We search his words regarding the end days to see if we are nearing them. We learn about heaven and what to expect when we enter eternity.

And while thinking of him as a teacher is second nature to us, it may have been a stumbling block to the Jews of old, especially the Pharisees. According to Lois Tverberg in Listening to the Language of the Bible, the people were expecting the Messiah to teach from and about the law. No wonder the people gathered to hear him speak. He brought understanding to the heart of the law. He walked the talk.

Somehow I missed that connection. I didn't realize the Messiah was suppose to teach the people. I just figured it was his way to get the word out that he had arrived and that the people needed to change their lives around in order to get right with God.