“He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised Him.” – Luke 4:15

Though it is one of the five ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit, it’s not so common to hear of ministers who carry the title, “Teacher.’

‘Pastor,’ ‘Prophet,’ ‘Apostle’ and sometimes ‘Evangelist’ are the most popular, aren’t they?

But before He ever healed the sick, raised the dead or calmed the stormy sea, Jesus was a teacher.

Before the miracles drew the crowds, His teaching did.

And that was no accident; it was part of His messianic assignment.

When the prophets described the coming Messiah, they did not only paint the picture of a conquering King or a suffering Servant.

Isaiah 54:13 declares: “All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace.”

When Jesus stepped into those synagogues in Galilee and opened the Scriptures, He was fulfilling a divine job description.

He was the Word of God explaining the Word of God. He was the prophesied Rabbi.

What set Jesus apart from every other teacher of His day was not just what He taught, but how He taught, and why.

He taught with authority (Matthew 7:29), yet with extraordinary patience.

His goal was never to impress; it was to transform.

He did not want crowds who applauded His power.

He wanted students who understood His Father’s will.

This is a distinction we cannot afford to miss in the Church today.

We love preaching, and rightly so. A good preacher can light a fire in the soul.

But beloved, whereas preaching lights the fire, it’s teaching that builds the fireplace.

Without the steady, faithful ground work of teaching, the flame that was lit on Sunday morning cannot survive the storms of Monday through Saturday.

In a world flooding us with misinformation and false doctrine, a church that only preaches and never truly teaches is a church that won’t stand the test of time.

Professing to be a Christian is cheap, but one can easily tell that a believer was not taught.

The Apostle Paul understood this so well.

Writing to his young apprentice Timothy, he gave a charge that still echoes across the centuries: “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2).

Four generations of discipleship in one verse!  

Paul did not ask Timothy to impress people with miracles, signs and wonders.

He was commissioning him to light candles that would light other candles.

Let’s quietly sit at the Rabbi’s feet and learn, so we can be faithful teachers of those who will teach others also.

Teaching, in Paul’s mind, was the engine of the Church’s mission throughout the generations.

This brings me to you. Yes, you – who is reading this article right now.

The first classroom God assigned you was your own household.

Deuteronomy 6:7 commands parents to teach God’s Word to their children diligently – when they sit at home, when they walk along the road, when they lie down, and when they rise up.

Before you look for a pulpit, look across your dinner table.

Your children are watching and waiting to be taught, by you, not social media and TV.

The legacy of faith begins at home.

And then it extends outward to the community and your circles of influence.

And if God has given you the ability to take the complex and make it simple – to open the Scriptures so others can see the beauty of God’s truth – do not bury that gift.

It may not always receive the loudest ‘Amens’ or get people standing up shouting ‘I receive!’ it is doing some of the most essential work in the Kingdom of God.

Though not highly esteemed, it’s the teachers who shape disciples. Disciples change the world!

Let’s honour the teachers among us.

Let’s be eager students ourselves – willing to learn so we can teach others.

And let us never forget that the greatest Teacher who ever lived is still teaching through His Spirit.

Let’s quietly sit at the Rabbi’s feet and learn, so we can be faithful teachers of those who will teach others also.