If Jesus Were A Teacher Today…

What new insights might skimming 20+ online posts uncover about Jesus as a teacher? If you are like me, there can feel like a gap in knowing how Jesus taught compared to how you and I teach in the classroom setting today. It was surprising for me to find there’s very little specified content around “If Jesus Were A Teacher (or Professor) Today…” much like the phrase “If Jesus Were A College Professor…” [there’s much written on Jesus the teacher (not if Jesus were a teacher today)”]. Theologically, it is understood that Jesus is still alive as God still teaches us today, but practically and hypothetically, what might this look like in our current learning environments? So, for those teachers and professors trying to reconcile your everyday rhythms around the craft of teaching like Jesus, here are observations from over twenty online posts about Jesus as a teacher, courtesy of my Google learning excursion (not including links to posts with differing belief traditions discussing this same topic).

If Jesus were a teacher today:

1. He would be addressed as teacher (as he was 60-90 times as rabbi in the Bible), not avoid challenging other inquiring teachers (like Nicodemus in John 3:2, 10), teach that students in training will become more like their teachers (Luke 6:40, Matthew 10:24-25), connect the definition of being his disciple (mathetes) with learner and student, and have a teaching approach that stands in contrast to other religious rabbi/teachers,
2. He would possess and require the didaktikos (2 Timothy 4:2, 2:24-25) disposition and qualifications of a teacher.
3. He would teach us how to bring to life every discipline through the use of the Scriptures. In contrast to being sinfully self-originated or self-serving, His teaching impact (which people marvel over) would originate from his authority in God and His Word.
4. Much like his example as a child in the temple who embodied God’s love and listening ear before formally teaching others, Jesus would teach us to be humbly focused learners with questions and answers centered around God before publicly teaching others (If Jesus Were A Teacher Devotional in The One Year Salt & Light Devotional 2019.
5. He’d encourage a pedagogy, career, and life that is carefully submitted to God.
6. He’d find ways to incorporate God’s heart and life approach to the teacher and learner’s daily lifestyle.
7. He’d teach in a way that it’s worth his listeners building their lives on his words and teachings.
8. He would teach us to reorder our teaching/life content around God as the first love, who first loved us.
9. His teaching would engage the intellectual journey and academic pursuit of learning, leading some to Him/Jesus.
10. He’d encourage scholars to pursue the intersection of their faith and their academic vocation in always educating for shalom through Jesus.
11. He would not have perfect first-year student evaluations and completely favorable responses to his teachings and style.
12. He’d help other teachers to make connections between themselves, different subjects, and their students, so by the end of the training, other students could begin to synergize new answers together for today’s world.
13. We’d learn stylistically from his teaching approaches, like a balance of loving kindness and intolerance for work of no lasting imperfection, and approaches like the use of hyperbole, parables, anger, authority, forgiveness, etc.
14. He’d exemplify some repeated teaching techniques, pedagogy, and approaches to be learned from as he’d ask and answer questions, know his students, study the Scriptures, tell stories, use visual aids and object lessons, current events, illustrations, large lectures, one-on-one teaching, homework and follow up, know and love his students and subject matter, have an ordered plan, connect with his learners’ prior learning and experience, use discussion to engage with his learners, use Active Learning Techniques (ALTs) for engagement, use inquiry-based learning and collaboration for deeper understanding, while also using the methods of preaching the Word, being shocking, crafting sticky memorable statements, creating experiences, and practicing what he preached.
15. He’d teach that impact originates from more than teaching ability, especially from someone who understands humility is the key…along with the need to develop teaching skills…while allowing the Lord to mold and shape us…
16. He’d be relationally close instead of distant, approaching students with integrity and value independent of their grades, and His goal would be a person being regenerated, reborn, and becoming a new creation through God, knowing that the wrong foundation or outcome can be wasted with worldly knowledge lacking eternal value in the long run, loving and knowing the law but getting to the heart, all within trustworthy boundaries.
17. He would teach us to begin adopting and developing a “rhythm of life” with him, to faithfully coach, train, advise, mentor, and teach as Jesus taught.
18. He would not despise the ordinary moments.
19. He would give instructions, set people free, and often over a shared meal.

I’m curious as to what idea stood out to you most as you read. Rather than being overwhelmed, consider highlighting one or two things to consider studying and implementing into your course and approach this coming year. One colleague mentioned how they pray through their syllabus before posting it for a class. My hope is that you may internalize and incorporate one or more of these reflections from others’ online posts about Jesus the teacher, as his life and example continue to shape our rhythms, hearts, and lives more closely to His as Christians. If more is desired on any of these bullet points, feel free to comment, and I’ll consider diving deeper in a future blog if enough interest is evident.