The Teacher: Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday.

On this day, Jesus sent disciples into Jerusalem to find a setting for their Passover meal, to follow a man with water, to find the owner of the house that man entered, and to say to the owner, "The Teacher needs to have Passover here," or close to that. The house owner had a large upper room ready for them.

The Teacher. That title always moves me; Christ, the miracle worker, the healer, the multiplier of food, the fisherman, the carpenter, and so, so much more. But, here, he Himself, and elsewhere others who follow Him, use that beloved title "The Teacher." Here at the last meal He would have with them, right before teaching them some of the most important lessons they would need as He, their Leader and Friend, their Hope and their Purpose, knelt before them and washed the dust from those sandy, soiled roads of that Holy Land so they would be clean before they ate, and all the teachings and messages shown there, He called Himself, "Teacher."

Teachers instruct. Teachers show. Teachers plan. Teachers live public lives in front of students. Teachers prepare lessons and prepare students. Good teachers frequently involve themselves with students, love students, defend or reprimand students. Jesus did all of that and more.

If asked, "What do you teach," rather than list parables or laws, He may well have said, "I teach men and women, boys and girls. The LESSONS I teach are about living and giving and parables, etc. But I teach the people in front of me who see me each day."

"The Teacher says. . . ."

Jesus came, and throughout His life, living each day to the full, living it "abundantly," still set His face like flint always towards these final days in Jerusalem. And in this, the last full day of His life, he taught.

As a teacher, that title for Jesus always moves me deeply.

"The Teacher says. . . "

That phrase got an unknown house owner to give over his prepared Passover room to The Teacher and His Disciples for that Last Supper where He continued to teach even after one of His closest friends left the meal to go betray Him until, the hour finally came, and He led them out to the Garden of Gethsemane, prayed for His Father, if possible, for a way out, then turned, willingly, towards His eternal, sacrificial purpose. And even there, He taught.

After which, of course, came Friday. And Saturday.

And Sunday.

With The Teacher. . .