Rabbi: Follow the Master

Part 1: Whos your teacher?

Luke 5:1–11 ESV

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Prayer

I want to begin a new series today: a remix of an old series which i am bringing back called “RABBI”

Who is Jesus to you?

A nice person, A helpful figure who can bring a bit of peace, A friend when you need him? Someone you interact or transact with when things get a little tough

You see Jesus is Saviour thats who he is.

He is king, thats right

But for us he also must become LORD.

This is a revelation from God that turns us from being believrs in the faith, to disciples no matter the cost.

So we come to the cross of Christ, We recognize two things

We are sinners, we are seperated from God, We cant save ourselves

and so we reach out to Jesus and accept what He did through the finished work of the cross and we become Christians.

Saved: Through Grace By Faith Alone.

Then… we need to start on a journey called discipleship: and then we grow

But grow into what?

This is kingdom stuff right here:

The World: try to become, an ethical, moral, GOOD person: try really hard and become that kind of person: so in effect saying to you: try to be who you arent

What does the kingdom say?

Come to Jesus… as you are

Now that your His… its time for you to become what you already are: thats a disciple.

Disipleship is about helping you… teaching you… to become what you already are

Enter our SERIES Today: Rabbi: Follow the Master

I wonder how you see Jesus:

Perhaps you see him as he is… As savior

a close companion…..As Friend

But i wonder if you see him…. As Lord?

… as teacherr?

Jesus is desc ribed in the bible with quite a few different titles: Not Mr Jesus Christ, Christ is not his last name. Its his nature and truth: he is the Christ, and his name Jesus means YESHUA or the lord Saves.

But throughout the new testament he has different names

Prophet

Messiah

Lord

Priest

Carpenter

…. But he is also a rabbi:

Many people referred to him with that name:

John 9:1–2 ESV

1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Mark 10:51 ESV

51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”

Recognized HIM AS RABBI In both instances the disciples or the blind man….. NAMES HIM AS RABBI. Many people referred to Jesus as Rabbi. *His disciples (Luke 7:40),*lawyers called him Rabbi (Matt. 22:35-36), (lawyers addressed him with Pharasee”s about the great commandment)*ordinary people (Luke 12:13), “someone in the crowd asked him a question aboutinheritance and possessions).*the super elite’s (Matt. 19:16), the rich young ruler addresses him in this way*Pharisees (Luke 19:39), and Sadducees (Luke 20:27-28).  …..Jesus in every sense fit the description of a first century rabbi especially one at the most advanced level, What is a rabbi and what did that mean then? QUICK DISTINCTION HERE:A Rabbi is not a priest - a Priest was chosen for temple duties & functions… But a rabbi…. It meant “TEACHER”. …. or to explain it fully - the word truly means “mastery or great teacher” John 1:38 ESV “Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”. John 20:16 ESV Jesus said too her, “Mary”. She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (Which means Teacher). Its important to understand what a Rabbi at the time was. This was not like a vocational teacher. Like someone who can show you how to cook, or how to surf….. or lean a particular kill There were rabbinical schools that served to TEACH THE LAW to Jewish men. And the schools were schools of thought that had differing perspectives on the Hebrew Bible and the interpretations....We see the apostle Paul said he was educated “at the feet of Gamaliel”. (Acts 22:3). A Rabbi wasn’t a teacher vocationally…. A Rabbi was a teacher for LIFE. In John 1:38 notice how they ask him “where are you staying?”…. Because a Rabbi would often have students come and stay with him… follow him everywhere he went. The term for a student of a rabbi is: WRITE THIS HEBREW WORD DOWN:“TALMID” - Which is Hebrew for…. DISCIPLE. (Group TALMIDIM). THIS WAS AN AMAZING UNIQUE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TALMID & THE RABBI. There is a great saying that I love when I study this that sums up the role of a student and the rabbi relationship:  & this is something that would be said to a prospective “Talmadim”. “May you get caught up in the rabbis dust”. One story goes that as a student was accepted to leave and study under a rabbi as they would leave their home was  Becoming a Talmid was much more than just being a student. A student wants to know what the teachers knows for the grade. LEARN THE TEXTBOOD…..To complete a class or degree to pass and move on. A Talmid wants to be LIKE the teachers, and become fully IMMERSED in WHAT THE TEACHER IS. The TEXTBOOK WAS THE TORAH AND THE RABBI’s LIFE. Becoming a student of a rabbi….. was Fully involved Fully Immersed of their world.Completely drenched in the teachings of the rabbi. The rabbis teachings were considered the greatest thing you could possess. There was a passionate devotion to a rabbi and it was a bare minimum that they would listen and NOTE everything he did or said. HERE IS WHAT I WANT US TO UNDERSTAND THROUGH THIS SERIES: THIS WAS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL LEARNING It was an intense and personal SYSTEM of EDUCATION. AS a rabbi lived and taught his understanding of the scripture his students (Talmidim) listened and watched and imitated so as to become JUST LIKE HIM. HE WAS THEIR GREATEST TEACHER. FOR LIFE. But here is the point.  JESUS WAS A RABBI… A TEACHER person of significant knowledge and understanding to be able to teach.And Teach with SIGNIFICANT AUTHORITY. Q: IS JESUS YOUR GREATEST TEACHER? IS JESUS YOUR GREATEST SOURCE OF TRUTH AND KNOWLEDGE. John 14:6 “6 Jesus explained, “I am the Way, I am the Truth,[a] and I am the Life. No one comes next to the Father[b] except through union with me.[c] To know me is to know my Father too.” Is he your GREATEST TEACHER?? Because he Needs to be. & THIS SERIES IS GOING TO LOOK INTO THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS AND IN A SENSE I WOULD LOVE ALL OF US TO LOOK AT THESE TEACHINGS LIKE A STUDENT… … AS A DISCIPLE. BECAUSE THATS WHO WE ARE: We’ve become DISCIPLES OF JESUS. SO WHILE JESUS IS LORDJESUS IS KING
JESUS IS SAVIOURJESUS IS FRIENDJESUS IS SHEPHERD. …. HE’S ALSO OUR TEACHER. So were gonna go through some of the teachings of JESUS. JESUS BROUGHT REVOLUTIONARY TEACHING. A RABBI WOULD INTERPET THE TORAH.A RABBI WOULD FULFIL THE LAW..Which mean to interpret how it was woven into your life. A Rabbi would teach with pictures and story. And thats how JESUS TAUGHT AS WELL. Rabbis used similar teaching techniques like the use of parables. More than 3,500 parables from first century rabbis still exist and Jesus' are among the very best. He uses similar themes (landowner, king, and farmer) as well. (Matt. 13:3,34)

1.WE ALL FOLLOW SOMEONE

The question is, who is it?

It’s a good question today in the world we live isn’t it? WHO DO YOU FOLLOW?

This is an import thing to grasp today? It’s a time when INFLUENCERS is what we now give title to. Don’t we?

(A quick scan of social media reveals that we all follow someone or something: Instagram: 650Million followers….YouTube: 250Million Subscribers) and we could go on.. and on.)

Who do you follow?

Who are you being INFLUENCED BY: take some time and take a wander around your life…. You’ll see it, it’s a healthy thing to take inventory of to take stock of and future out what is the potentially influencing your life.

Who do you allow to be your biggest influence in life?

A coach? A professor, A spouse a parent?

Be careful: we all follow someone…. who is that someone?

The opportunity today and everyday is to make and ensure that the person you follow is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Our greatest teacher.

2.TO BECOME A DISCIPLE, WE MUST FIRST BE A LEARNER

WE MUST BE READY TO LEARN. WHICH TAKES HUMILITY. ARE YOU A LEARNER?

Do you study?

Let me say it this way: DO YOU HAVE A TEACHABLE SPIRIT IN YOU?

Proverbs 9:9 “9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”

Proverbs 13:18 “18 Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored.”

Proverbs 19:20 “20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.”

Proverbs 22:6 “6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Hebrews 12:6 “6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.””

Psalm 143:10 “10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!”

Are things a little rocky? …. a teachable spirit with the Lord leads to the straight path, the level ground.

But are you willing to submit yourself to become a learner.

They say you cant teach and old dog new tricks. May that never be said of us. That even in my latter years.. God is still showing me things, revealing things… deepening things. Amen?

I have no idea how old Peter was, but this I know about fisherman. They know what they are doing and they don’t like being told to try something new:

Luke 5:4–6 ESV

And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.

You talk about an old dog and a new trick. This was something else.

What was the axis by which this story hinges on though?

It’s these four words:

But. at. Your. Word.

Open to learn, to be taught: I don’t know what Peter saw that day in Jesus but I think it was a glimpse of his authority as the PRE-EMINENT TEACHER that He is.

He caught a glimpse… and he responded.

Who has the prevailing VOICE of Authority in your life… and… are you willing to everyday ordinary life.. like catching some fish, or working through a thing at work, or dealing with a situation with your kids… allow the greatest teacher of them all: Jesus to show you how its done?

This leads to a knowing of our need:

Check out peters response:

Luke 5:8 ESV

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

This isn’t a rejection of Jesus (like get away from me) this is evidence of an encounter: repentance: He realized in this moment and through this incredible encounter: He became aware of his need

He knew that he needed Jesus.

Do you know that you need Jesus.

3.JESUS IS READY, WILLING AND ABLE TO TEACH US EVERYTHING

What right now, in your life: could you learn from JESUS? What is it that Jesus could teach you, as his disciple, to grow in and become in this season.?

Teach you greater understanding of your purpose in him?

A deeper revelation of His grace in your life.

Everything WE NEED TO LIVE OUR LIVES effectively, passionatley and fullly devoted to and FOR HIM

We will never find God unwilling, unable or insufficient when we come to him for help

And the attitude of the disciple needs to be one that recognizing that he is the one that has the answer for every single thing that I seek and need in my life

No matter what the season no matter what they need no matter what the struggle Jesus is the one who has the best help for me

Become who you now are: a disciple.

notes:

Isaiah 8:16 ESV

16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.