Jesus Taught by Revealing Truths Normally Inaccessible (Contd):
Criteria of Genuine Teaching: After teaching about the bread of life at the Synagogue of Capernaum, Jesus moved about in Galilee as he wanted to avoid Judea since the Jews were looking for a chance to kill him. His own people tried to persuade him to go to Jerusalem, for the feast of Tabernacles, that was fast approaching, in order to gain publicity. Jesus refused to go there in the manner in which the people wanted him to, but went there in his own way for the purpose of teaching the people. The people were surprised at the vast knowledge Jesus had and they were amazed at the source of his knowledge as he had no formal training in the disciplines. "Jesus replied, 'The teaching that I give is not my own; it is the teaching of him who sent me' : (John, 7: 16). Then Jesus gave two very important criteria to know whether his teaching, and for that matter anyone's teaching, is genuine or not. The first criterion is that anyone who has a mind to do the Will of God will know whether the teaching of Jesus comes from God or it is merely his own. The second criterion has two parts with consequences not only for the teaching but also for the teacher. "Anyone whose teaching is merely his own, aims at honor for himself. But if a man aims at the honor of him who sent him he is sincere, and there is nothing false in him" (John, 7: 18). Have we to look for any other reason why very often our teaching and preaching the Gospel are ineffective? Let us not forget that we who go out to influence the world may ourselves be influenced by the world to an extent that we become mere caricatures of the original message while the world gets away with a fig leaf of justification and honor through association with us for its nefarious ways!
Judgment Belongs to God Alone: Jesus forbade us from judging others for two main reasons. First, if we judge others we too shall be judged by the same measure we used in judging others. Second, as one blind man cannot guide another on pain of both of those falling into a ditch, a speck of sawdust in one's brother's eye can easily be taken out if the plank in one's own eye is removed first. Thus by judging others we become hypocrites. "You hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's" (Luke, 6: 42). It is best not to judge others at all since it is very difficult to be just in our judgments. "Do not judge superficially, but be just in your judgments" (John, 7: 24). Human judgments are bound to be incomplete and inadequate as it is arrived at from looking at bits and pieces of information without a comprehensive view of the situation. Thus judgments can come ultimately from God alone and the humans must take utmost care to be just if at all a judgment has to be made. The Pharisees during the time of Jesus considered healing on the Sabbath as a clear violation of the law of keeping the Sabbath day holy, while circumcising a child on the Sabbath was no such violation. Jesus considered this a superficial judgment and not a just one (See John, 7: 21-24).
God the Father: The underlying reason for the alienation of the Jews from Jesus was the fact that they did not know the one who sent Jesus on his mission. Jesus knew him since he came from him and thus an unbridgeable polarity was created between the Jews and Jesus. Although among the people many believed in him, the Jewish authorities wanted to seize Jesus and yet could not do so as the time of Jesus had not come (See John, 7: 28-31). Who is the one who sent Jesus on his mission and what is the latter's relationship with the one whom the Jews say, "He is our God"? It is the same God whom Jesus calls his Father (See John, 8: 54) ." They asked, 'Where is your Father? ?' Jesus replied, 'You know neither me nor my Father; if you knew me you would know my Father as well' " (John8: 19). (To be Continued).
Criteria of Genuine Teaching: After teaching about the bread of life at the Synagogue of Capernaum, Jesus moved about in Galilee as he wanted to avoid Judea since the Jews were looking for a chance to kill him. His own people tried to persuade him to go to Jerusalem, for the feast of Tabernacles, that was fast approaching, in order to gain publicity. Jesus refused to go there in the manner in which the people wanted him to, but went there in his own way for the purpose of teaching the people. The people were surprised at the vast knowledge Jesus had and they were amazed at the source of his knowledge as he had no formal training in the disciplines. "Jesus replied, 'The teaching that I give is not my own; it is the teaching of him who sent me' : (John, 7: 16). Then Jesus gave two very important criteria to know whether his teaching, and for that matter anyone's teaching, is genuine or not. The first criterion is that anyone who has a mind to do the Will of God will know whether the teaching of Jesus comes from God or it is merely his own. The second criterion has two parts with consequences not only for the teaching but also for the teacher. "Anyone whose teaching is merely his own, aims at honor for himself. But if a man aims at the honor of him who sent him he is sincere, and there is nothing false in him" (John, 7: 18). Have we to look for any other reason why very often our teaching and preaching the Gospel are ineffective? Let us not forget that we who go out to influence the world may ourselves be influenced by the world to an extent that we become mere caricatures of the original message while the world gets away with a fig leaf of justification and honor through association with us for its nefarious ways!
Judgment Belongs to God Alone: Jesus forbade us from judging others for two main reasons. First, if we judge others we too shall be judged by the same measure we used in judging others. Second, as one blind man cannot guide another on pain of both of those falling into a ditch, a speck of sawdust in one's brother's eye can easily be taken out if the plank in one's own eye is removed first. Thus by judging others we become hypocrites. "You hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's" (Luke, 6: 42). It is best not to judge others at all since it is very difficult to be just in our judgments. "Do not judge superficially, but be just in your judgments" (John, 7: 24). Human judgments are bound to be incomplete and inadequate as it is arrived at from looking at bits and pieces of information without a comprehensive view of the situation. Thus judgments can come ultimately from God alone and the humans must take utmost care to be just if at all a judgment has to be made. The Pharisees during the time of Jesus considered healing on the Sabbath as a clear violation of the law of keeping the Sabbath day holy, while circumcising a child on the Sabbath was no such violation. Jesus considered this a superficial judgment and not a just one (See John, 7: 21-24).
God the Father: The underlying reason for the alienation of the Jews from Jesus was the fact that they did not know the one who sent Jesus on his mission. Jesus knew him since he came from him and thus an unbridgeable polarity was created between the Jews and Jesus. Although among the people many believed in him, the Jewish authorities wanted to seize Jesus and yet could not do so as the time of Jesus had not come (See John, 7: 28-31). Who is the one who sent Jesus on his mission and what is the latter's relationship with the one whom the Jews say, "He is our God"? It is the same God whom Jesus calls his Father (See John, 8: 54) ." They asked, 'Where is your Father? ?' Jesus replied, 'You know neither me nor my Father; if you knew me you would know my Father as well' " (John8: 19). (To be Continued).
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