Jesus

Jesus took every opportunity possible to teach people of the new life and kingdom that would take place because of his time spent here on earth. He began this at a young age, leaving his parents and teaching in the temple for days. There were many teachers present in Jesus' time; the uniqueness Jesus brought to the earth was his style of teaching. Most teachers would teach on the laws of Moses and recite scripture. Jesus would explain a new way of thinking and living that would use principles from the original law but would be changed from the original law because of the work he would do on the cross. He also pointed the hypocrisy of keeping the law outwardly but thinking differently inwardly.

The unique style Jesus brought to teaching was in using stories, or parables, to teach principles. These stories would be told in ways that people could understand and used everyday life situations. They allowed people to see practical ways to apply the teachings. The parables also allowed people to see and remember teachings in the same ways that they passed on other portions of life. Much of the family history and significant events were passed on through the generations by stories.

Jesus' way of teaching is very significant today in the way that we should try and explain the kingdom of heaven and being a Jesus follower. It is much more effective for us to explain God's principles through stories of ourselves or of other people than to simply give a list of rules that need to be followed. It can even help us to look at Jesus' ideas differently when we think of new ways to pass them along to other people.

Jesus often told of his purpose for coming to earth to his disciples. He spoke of his betrayal, death and resurrection to them. This was an idea that the disciples had a difficult time understanding. I imagine if we were with Jesus before the events took place, we would have difficulty understanding also. If we were to listen to his teachings without knowing the final outcome of his life, they would probably cause us to think differently about them. We may really search for reasoning why we should act like he said to, or think more critically