John 13:12-17 (ESV)
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Did you know that in the Gospels, Jesus was referred to as 'Teacher' or 'Rabbi' forty-five times? Jesus was mostly called a teacher by his disciples and those who followed him and listened to his teaching. 1 But Jesus also affirmed this description when He said in John 13:13 (ESV), "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am."
Jesus was not an ordinary teacher. Jesus was a great teacher who drew multitudes of people to follow and listen to Him and used his teaching to demonstrate justice.
He preached to a Samaritan. He corrected Pharisees. He taught Nicodemus, a Pharisee, the way to the Kingdom of God. He taught women. He spoke to children. He did not preach to only a select group of people but became a teacher for everyone.
Jesus taught every day, in every place He went to, and to every person he met. He met people in their own situations and spoke to them in words they could understand, allowing them to connect and relate to whatever He was teaching. No one was out of reach.
Jesus taught without discrimination. He also taught by example.
In this passage from John, Jesus did not simply tell the disciples, 'go ahead, wash each other's feet’. He did it Himself. The act of washing another person's feet was considered to be something only people of lower status did.2 However, Jesus did it without hesitation. He showed how the disciples should exemplify humility in the service of others through his actions and not merely by words.
And even before He finally left earth, He left a commandment. "And then he told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone’" (Mark 16:15). Sharing the Good News is what Jesus did in the entirety of His ministry on earth. He already showed how it is done. Then, it was the disciples' turn to continue His legacy. And now, the baton is passed onto us to continue the same.
Jesus did many great things during His time on earth. We can look at His ways and learn how we can teach others, or just how we could live as we walk here on earth as His followers. It has been more than two thousand years since Jesus did these great things, but His legacy lives on.
He taught about justice, and lived his life as an example of how to show justice to everyone regardless of their situation.
He is, without a doubt, the Greatest Teacher who ever lived.
Download a printable file here: Jesus the Great Teacher