04/10/20 They Came to Hear Him

READING: Judges 4-6, Luke 21

I’m a teacher at heart. I knew in kindergarten I would someday be a teacher, when I fell in love with my teacher and the work she did. I have on my desk at the seminary two gradebooks I used when I played the role of teacher as a teenager; I so wanted to teach that I practiced doing it long before I had the opportunity to do it officially. There’s just something about helping students learn and grow that lights my fire.

When I read about the way Jesus taught, though, I’m challenged to look far beyond my teaching ability. In several places, the Gospel of Luke emphasizes Jesus’ teaching and the people’s response to it:

  • “Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout the entire vicinity. He was teaching in their synagogues, being praised by everyone.” (Luke 4:14-15)
  • “. . . all the people were captivated by what they heard.” (Luke 19:48)

Today’s New Testament reading then concludes with a summary statement of Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem. There, we read that He was teaching every day in the Temple, and “all the people would come early in the morning to hear him” (Luke 21:38). Likely, there were many people in the holy city for the Passover celebration, and something about Jesus and His teaching caught their attention. They wanted to hear the teacher. They apparently prioritized hearing Him early in the morning, not wanting to miss anything. There was something powerful about the message, and there was something powerful about the messenger.

I have the same message to teach and preach today. How I pray that His message and His Spirit would so fill me that others would want to hear that message from me!

PRAYER: “God, make me the teacher You want me to be.”

TOMORROW’S READING: The weekend is for catch-up and review

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