Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.Did Jesus teach like the religious leaders of his day?
No, he did not. He did things differently and got the attention of his target audience. He also got the attention of his “competitors” and their crowd.
Did Jesus teach his disciples in such a way as to encourage them to do things they’d never dreamed of doing?
Yes. He prepared them to heal people, raise the dead, and make friends out of enemies.
From Mark 12:35, “While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked…”
From John 18:20, “'I have spoken openly to the world,' Jesus replied. 'I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.'”
From Matthew 21:23, “Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him.”
From Matthew 26:55, “At that time Jesus said to the crowd, ‘Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me.’”
It seems the religious leaders of that day were not interested in learning from Jesus as he sat in the temple, teaching all who would stop and listen.
A willingness to learn and a lot of effort will take you a long way. For instance, learning a new language may be difficult, but anyone can learn a new language if the willingness to listen to good instruction and obey it is there. When you think about it, the disciples that followed Jesus were learning a new language, the language of faith and love. They already knew the language of their past jobs: fishing, tax collecting, etc. Jesus taught about being a peacemaker, having compassion for strangers, forgiving your enemy, and believing God can use you as an instrument of healing.
If anyone doesn’t grow up around love, learning about God’s love is like learning a new language. It may be daunting at first, but if there is a diligence and determination to understand, Love can be learned.
So that’s what Jesus taught. He taught to all ages, both genders, whether they were religious or not. He wanted to spread the message from his Father, the message of “peace on earth, good will toward men”. The same message the angels brought on the night of his birth.
God has been trying to get through to us that same message all this time. Even today God wants us to know His hand is stretched out to us with peace and good will. We can accept him if we will stop fighting him.
The question is: are we willing?
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