Matthew Summary: teaching them

“And teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28: 20a)

 Where should we go for a definition of teaching? The Greek word is didaskontes from the base word didasko. We get our word ‘didactic’ from this word. Does that help? Probably not.

 In the New Testament, the word is used for speaking to an assembly, but also for directing and correcting students. As you might expect, some form of this word appears many times in the New Testament (97 times, to be exact). Didasko has a similar semantic range as the English word ‘teach’. To understand Jesus’ use of the word, perhaps we should look at how Jesus taught his disciples. 

 First, it is clear that something changed when Jesus came of age according to Jewish culture (30 years old). Matthew says that, “From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom heaven has come near’.” (Matthew 3: 17; see also Luke 4: 14-15). What does that mean? First, note that it took three years for Jesus to complete his teachings about the necessity of repentance, how to enter God’s kingdom, and how to live out the requirements of a disciple of Christ. 

 Second, Jesus chose a limited number of disciples to follow him. This type of teaching resembles an apprenticeship as it was practiced from early times until quite recently. A master at a craft, whether it was rhetoric (public speeches with compelling arguments) or art (sculpture or painting or wood carving) or construction (carpentry, design, building, finish), would take young men interested in the craft and train them. Socrates mentored Plato and Plato mentored Aristotle. 

 Third, the disciples, as true apprentices, followed Jesus closely nearly every step of the way. Matthew describes Jesus calling them in Chapter 4, and they are still there at the end of the book, Chapter 28. When Jesus preached, they were there. When Jesus healed, they were there. When Jesus bantered with the Pharisees, the disciples were there. What’s the point? Jesus taught the disciples by lectures, by parables, and by examples. Apprentices are to experience what a day on this job looks like. Disciples got a chance to see how Jesus handled different audiences. They were thus taught how to preach, teach, heal, and enter into public dialogue about what it means to serve God in the new godly society.

   Fourth, Jesus had a larger following as well the twelve, and he met people where they were at. Being successful requires the teacher to speak the students’ language. Jesus carefully crafted his teachings to the level of interest and understanding that people had. To the crowds, Jesus taught in general terms, sometimes pithy one-liners like the Beatitudes. To the disciples, Jesus spoke in parables, made-up stories, which he expected they could understand. However, at times, the disciples needed Jesus to interpret the stories. The crowds overheard the parables and enjoyed them as entertaining stories. The disciples learned the deeper theological meaning of the kingdom and the mustard seed. 

 The Pharisees often challenged Jesus, and he replied to them in a different way than he did to the crowds and the disciples. His message for them did not fail because we know  that some Pharisees were concerned enough to warn Jesus about Herod (Luke 13: 31), and “some believers who belonged to the Pharisees” were members of the early church (Acts 15: 5). We also know that Jewish leaders like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and Saul/Paul became followers of Jesus.

 Finally, to his close friends, like Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, Jesus spoke in more familiar family terms. Jesus showed that it is the job of the teacher,  preacher, and healer to craft his work so that the people have the best chance of understanding what he is talking about. That is why most of the parables have an agricultural setting for a first-century agricultural community. Consider whether or not the stories were for you: How much do you know about herding sheep?

 In mission work, this is obvious. I preached at times in Pidgin English in Papua New Guinea because that was the best medium for communication. “Olsem na yupela i go mekim olgeta lain manmeri i kamap disaipel belong mi.”  That’s Matthew 28: 19.

 In Lithuania, I introduced myself at various churches in Lithuanian. “Labas rytas. Mano vardas yra Maiklas Rinkevicius, ir cia yra mano dukter Katharina Rynkiewich. Man labai malonu buti cia su jumis.” That is how I began my introduction to the congregations. 

 In Zimbabwe, I learned not to casually put my hands in my pockets while preaching because that is a signal that what I am saying is not important.

In Kenya I learned that drama, such as a prepared skit summarizing the points of a lecture series, is a good way to honor the teacher (me) at the end of a conference. 

In your area and your church, it may not seem so obvious, but it is still true. Compare the language and style of a Celebrate Recovery worship service for former addicts with the presentation that you get on Sunday morning in the traditional service. Compare, also, the different musical registers of youth services, contemporary services, and traditional services. You gotta be in the envelope in order to push the boundaries!

 Fifth, Jesus taught his disciples, but he also sent out his disciples, two by two, for in-service training. Matthew tells about Jesus sending the 12 disciples (Matthew 10). Luke tells of the sending of 70 more disciples (Luke 10). On return, the 70 were jubilant and victorious. 

 “The seventy returned with joy, saying: ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning’.” (Luke 10: 17-18). 

 However, the disciples were not the only ones who were jubilant; so was the teacher. 

 “At that same hour, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will” (Luke 10: 21). 

 Finally, teaching means that the life of the disciples is bound to the life of the teacher. We have already seen that baptism reflects the interrelationships of the Trinity that flow out to include the disciples of Christ. The ‘teaching’ part of Jesus’ commission does not mean just sitting in a classroom, though that may be a part of it. Teaching disciples means the teacher enters into their lives and spends time with them in order to develop mature Christians who themselves can teach others.   

 What happens when you are faithful in your discipleship, but the results of teaching are not immediately obvious. I attended a Bethel football game at Homecoming in 2016, our classes’ 50th reunion. At halftime I was talking with an old friend when a woman came up and said, “Wow, I didn’t know that two of my favorite people also knew each other!” I did not recognize her at first, but I faked it. She proceeded to tell my friend that she and her husband were members of my Sunday School class in the 1970s at Central Evangelical Free Church in Minneapolis. Then she turned to me and said, “We became missionaries because of your teaching.” I never knew.

 In fact, that makes three couples out of that class who became full time missionaries. Was I the only cause? Of course not. I played my part, and other teachers and mentors did too. But orchestrating it all was the Holy Spirit working through faithful disciples to teach younger disciples how to fulfill the calling of Jesus in their lives.