The Significance of Jesus for Us
“What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him” (Mark 1:27)
Who is Jesus? And what is his relevance in and for our world? If you ask people today, we might get a variety of answers. He is a “religious leader” says Britannica, a leading institution of knowledge. He is important because he “died for our sins” might be what some Christians today might say. I’ve even heard a long time Christian say - all religions are the same, they teach us to do good things. Jesus stands with the best of the moral philosophers and social ethicists of our world.
Who Jesus is to us, will affect His importance in our lives. If we say he is a “religious leader’, then we will NOT seek His thoughts about our personal finance, home renovations, asset management, diet and physical health, social life and public policy, national issues and geopolitical challenges. If all He is to us is Someone who “died for our sins”, then the only time we go to him, is to resolve our guilt and sin - only Saviour for us, but not LORD over us. If all He is to us is a good teacher for the moral and upright life, we would not consult Him for healing, practical needs - counsel, wisdom and direction for practical life.
This week’s Gospel reading presents to us a fresh reminder that Jesus is a Teacher. At first glance, we might think “Teacher”? That’s not a very big deal right? But we must understand that a ‘teacher’ in the Jewish world of that time is significant because a teacher was not confined to just matters of the “religious” sphere. Their worldview was much more holistic and involved all of life - before God, and ourselves, and one another, on the earth. Today, a Jewish teacher might closer to a philosopher of life or a ”life coach” - someone who taught us how to live and live well. In a world of specialisation and experts, this is hard to imagine - but this was who Jesus was. He spoke holistically about life, but with the depth and insight of a specialist. He was a true Teacher.
This is why sagely quotes about Teachers and Education can truly apply to Jesus.
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
- Henry B. Adams
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
- William Butler Yates
Jesus taught, not just to give us more knowledge, He taught to set us ablaze. To give us light within our hearts and mind and our souls - in order that we may gain wisdom and understanding for life. Teachers like this, do not just impact the person they teach, but their teaching echoes for generations because they concern principles that govern earthly life and human existence.
Mark puts it even more clearly ”What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him”. Jesus’ teaching was so real and powerful, it was Light, not only for the Visible world, but also for the Invisible world. The Light of His Words not only penetrated the human beings who were there, but also the demonic reality who were present.
Jesus is the Teacher worth listening to. I exhort you to seek Him with all your heart and soul and mind. And may we find Him to be all that we ever needed.