Who Is My Teacher?

So the Jews grumbled about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is this not Jesus,the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down from heaven?'" 43 Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father

comes to me..."

-----John 6:41 - 45 (ESV)

Timing is everything.  Over the past few days, I've been thinking about Biblical criticism--the treatment of Scripture by scholars who view the texts as historical accounts, or by those who look to sources of the writings (trying to establish who exactly wrote--or more precisely, who did not write--them), or the scholars who examine the texts for errors made by scribes. There are many categories of Biblical criticism. And each seem to reflect the scholar's point of view, their agenda for presenting their conclusions. Most aim to tell us that Scripture is not inspired by God. And so, we have scholars telling us that Scripture is not saying what we read it saying. Scholars tell us that we are not capable of reading Scripture.

Didn't we have a Reformation to set that one straight?

When we become "incapable" of reading Scripture on our own, we allow the scholars--well-educated, yet ordinary men and women--to teach us. In this passage from John, Jesus referred back to the teaching of the prophet Isaiah (54:13). God teaches, the prophet declared. We learn from God through the Scriptures. He speaks directly to us through His word. He never lies, distorts, or deceives us. God never leads us astray. In fact, Jesus affirms here in John 6:44 that God is always drawing us to Jesus. God of grace is always
opening ways for us to know Jesus, to come to Him, to trust in Him.

It is God who does the teaching. Not the intellectuals. Not the highly-educated, multi-degreed. Not even me. Once in a while I might have a good sermon. If someone connects, it's not me, but rather God who has done the teaching. And all with the goal of drawing another one to Christ Jesus.

Oh, Great Teacher, Father God. Thank you for all you have taught me. Thank you for truth that helps me see my need for you. I also thank you for the smart ones around us. Even those who put their faith in what (and how much) they know. I know that even these--even the Jews who scoffed at Jesus--even these, YOU are teaching. I pray that all our eyes are opened to see that our leaning comes from you, O God. Keep me humble in this, Father. It is an area where I can become so arrogant.