John 13 | Teacher

December 13th, John 13

You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.

John 13:13

Jesus is often refereed to as these identifiers in the Gospels, even today we still refer to Jesus as “Lord”. But do we give it much thought? What does it mean for us that Jesus is our Teacher and our Lord?

Teacher

Jesus as Teacher. There is a reason the 12 who followed Jesus intimately are called “His Disciples” and that we are today called his disciples. A disciple was a follower of a teacher. They would have traveled with the teacher, observing him, spending large amounts of time with him… the saying is that a disciple “is to follow so closely to his/her teacher that the dust of the teacher is on their robes.”

For us to view Jesus as not simply our teacher, but the Teacher… we must ask ourselves how we interact with His words. When He says things, do we read by it? Do we selectively read and think about what we like? Or, taking his entire counsel, do we apply His words to our lives? What He says about money, sex, religion, pride, prayer?

Are you approaching Jesus’ words as the words of Your Teacher? If not, you are not His disciple.

Lord

He is Lord. It makes this chapter of John even more piercing when we realize the Lord of all things is stooping down and washing the disgusting, feces covered feet of His disciples.

What does it mean for us to view Jesus as Lord? It means that Jesus isn’t a mere teacher of good ideology. Jesus isn’t offering suggesting to implement into your life. Jesus is God. Jesus is supreme. Jesus was there at creation. Jesus has power over life, death, nature, and the heart. Jesus is transcendent. Jesus is Holy. Jesus is like the empire state building, you and I the ant.

Do you submit to Him? Do you view the blessings in your life as gifts from Him? Do you attempt to steward your life with Him in mind? Do you worship Him as Lord?

The Mix

I think it’s intentional that this chapter of John highlights these identifiers of Jesus right after He shows his servanthood. Jesus is all of these things… and he also loves us deeply. He serves us. He is for us. Jesus is the perfect mix of authority and tenderness. Power and care. Kingship and Fatherhood.

May we submit our lives to King Jesus, Teacher and Lord.

Reflection

I spent 5 minutes after reading to pray and meditate on this thought: “Do I treat Jesus as Teacher and Lord? What areas have I not submitted to Him?”

Worshiping with you,

Josh.