What makes a Good Teacher?
And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. (Luke 24:27 NKJV)
Where was Recording Device?
The Lord was obviously a good teacher. What made Him a good teacher? He knew what He was talking about. I doubt that he covered every portion of the old testament scriptures that referred to Him in some way, but He obviously taught from every part of the old testament scriptures. He must have taught these two on the way to Emmaus from scriptures that He knew they would know because I doubt that they stopped and unrolled a scroll and read from it. But He taught and they understood. It caused their hearts to burn. I wish there had been a recording made of that conference. I think it would teach us a lot about how to teach others today.
How did the Early Church Learn?
In the Book of the Revelation, the Lord told John, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near (Revelation 1:3 NKJV).” Obviously, this book, one of the most difficult for us to interpret today, was to be read aloud. But it was also meant to be understood by those who heard what was read. The phrase, “those who heard” seems to imply that some would hear with a closed mind and get nothing from the reading and others would hear with an open inquiring mind and would understand. All teachers know that it is impossible to make something clear to those whose minds are closed. We laugh at the old saying, “Don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is already made up.” But unfortunately, that is often the case when Biblical truth is being presented. Our two on the road to Emmaus had a desire to understand and they didn’t even know who it was that was teaching them. They just knew that He knew His stuff and His teaching made sense.
In Colossians we read, “Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea (Colossians 4:16 NKJV).” It is obvious that Paul’s letters were read publicly and that they were understood by the hearers. The people in the congregation didn’t have the opportunity to take the manuscripts home and dissect them. They didn’t read commentaries on them. But they seemed to understand them. I wonder if they argued about the doctrines of election and predestination and free will. I wonder if they had any problem with prophetic truth or the moral issues of their day. You might say that it was a simpler time. I would argue that it was not a simpler time, but it was a simpler approach to teaching. The early church relied on the Holy Spirit to teach them and it did guide them into all truth (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit does not create confusion, that is what sin and self-will does.
We are a Privileged People Today
While we may not understand the original language and culture of the early church, we have scholars and studies that help us with that. But unfortunately, in many cases, we have substituted education and academic endeavor for the work of the Holy Spirit.
I am taken with the statement in Acts 4:13 concerning Peter and John. The verse says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” I believe in education. I always have. But those who are used of the Lord, particularly in teaching, need to have “been with Jesus.”
I would like to believe that John 3:16, means what it says and that based on what it says, I can know that I have eternal life. I would like to believe that the Lord Jesus revealed God to us and through His written word and the work of the Holy Spirit, He is still revealing God to us. I would like to believe that everyone who is truly saved and who has the Holy Spirit sealing them can still have their hearts burn within them as the Lord teaches them the things concerning Himself.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of May 26, 2019