“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.”

Having ministered among international Ph.D. candidates and post-doc research scholars for years, many of them have been kind enough to compliment me on my own research, writing and publication.  I never asked for such compliments; they offered them uninitiated by me.  What’s more, some have said, “Bill, you should get your Ph.D.”  Right, I think to myself.  What should I give up: being a dad? A husband?  How about sleep?  Working with international students is my ‘day job’, pastoring my ‘night job’.  Besides that, I don’t even have a master’s degree.  So there are complications to the suggestion that real life hasn’t had an answer for.

I remember the one time I seriously contemplated seminary.  I was still young and single.  After I surrendered my whole life to the Lord, I attended Bible school and graduated with a B.A.  After trial and error at many types of ministries and ministry functions, it became apparent to those in the church that I could teach, and teach fairly well.  I had friends in seminary and so it seemed natural.  But had God called me there?  Was he leading me there?  I had to check that out.  So one night I spent some time in the Lord’s presence and checked my heart.  I did admit that I was a little enamored with the idea of having some letters behind my name.  Looked nice on a résumé.  But did the church need me to get further education?  Did they ask me to go to seminary?  Was God leading me that way?  In order, the answers were no, no and no.  Was it bad to go to grad school?  Would it have been sin?  No again.  I just came to the conclusion that God would give me on the job training in the crucible of real life instead of a classroom.  After 7 kids, multiple jobs and quite a few years under my belt, I doubt the advanced degree will ever come.  But to God’s credit, many recognize my labors for him as worthy efforts to honor him with the talents he gave me.

So when we come to the description of teacher for Jesus, it’s one I really appreciate.  Jesus didn’t go to grad school either.  He didn’t have to attend seminary.  He didn’t even teach in a formal academic setting.  Au contraire, his “formal academic setting” was real life too.  To him, theology was neither divorced from life nor a theoretical exercise only.  Godly instruction always had to be on street level.

When we look at the original words used for teacher in the Bible, they are more typically translated (in the older versions) “master”.  Six different words are translated that way.  One means, “lord”, intending that we are his subjects and servants.  Another means, “guide”, indicating we need help in getting where we need to go.  A third means, “commander or overseer”, recognizing his authority.  Of the last three, two are Jewish terms, rabbi and rabboni.  The former means teacher and the latter, my great teacher.  The final word is a Greek term meaning the same thing as rabbi.  Of 34 times “teacher” is used of Jesus in the gospels, 33 are translated “master” in the New King James Version.  In the 11 times it is used of men in the epistles, it is translated “teacher”.  The NIV translates this word more consistently.  But what’s notable is that 50% of the words translated “master” are words meaning teacher.  What does that suggest about our deficits in learning, knowledge and wisdom?  How many of us see ourselves as spiritual apprentices?

Fairly early in his ministry Jesus first instructed his followers before sending them out (Matthew 10).  He warned them about some of the difficulties they might encounter.  In this context, he said (v. 24-25), “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for the student to be like his teacher and the servant to be like his master.”  Here we have teacher and master distinguished.  But the process, becoming like the superior, is the same.  What he meant was that they would face the same disturbing reactions he had faced and would face repeatedly, culminating in the cross.

At the end of his ministry at the last Passover feast, Jesus again utilized both terms: “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord”, and rightly so, for that is what I am.  Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:13-14).  There it is: truth literally at street level.  Always real.  Always practical.  Always aimed at the heart.

More than simply washing feet, Jesus took the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7) to do so.  Is it enough for you to be like your Teacher and Master?  Are you content with being a servant for the Lord?