IN THE DUST OF THE RABBI
“Sitting at the feet” is a Hebrew idiom to denote a student’s position while learning from the rabbi. Jesus normally sat down to teach his disciples and the crowds, (Matt 5:1-2)(Matt 13:2). Another phrase, “in the dust of the rabbi,” comes from the first century statement, “Let your house be a meeting place for the rabbis, and cover yourself in the dust of their feet, and drink in their words thirstily.” To be in the dust of the rabbi was to have such a close relationship with the rabbi so as to have the dust of his steps fall on you. When following a rabbi, it was not uncommon for the disciple to step in the same footprint as the rabbi so that the disciple would experience what the rabbi was experiencing.
Disciples followed their rabbi wherever he went, even into the latrine. Why such fervency? Because the rabbi often recited a blessing thanking God for the proper functioning of his body and the disciples wanted to become like the rabbi in all aspects of life, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples,” (Luke 11:1). It is even reported by the Hebrew Sages of a disciple who hid under the bed of his rabbi, while his rabbi was having relations with his wife. When discovered and chastised, the disciple explained that he wanted to know the blessing recited at the conclusion of the act so that he might become like his rabbi in all aspects of life. This act was not condoned, but recorded to demonstrate the desired fervency of disciples.
The apostolic text does not record an incident like the one just described, but it does record the actions of a disciple who wanted to be just like his master. When Jesus passed by his disciples walking on the water, Peter asked the Lord to command him to leave the boat and to do the same. Jesus called out to Peter, “Come,” and Peter left the boat and began to walk on the water, just like Jesus. We all know the rest of the story. Peter was not just like his rabbi in all aspects and he began to sink until Jesus reached out and saved him. Rather than criticize Peter, we need to applaud his effort. Peter wanted to be just like Jesus and we should desire the same. In the end, Peter did die at the hands of the Roman on a cross just like the Master, although tradition has Peter being crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to be crucified in the identical manner as Jesus.
The type of dedication a disciple had for his rabbi might require him to leave his home, his family and his wife, although he needed permission from the latter for extended departures. The example of this dedication is found in the relationship of the teacher Elijah and the student Elisha. The Bible tells us that when Elijah found Elisha he was plowing with twelve pair of oxen, (1 Kings 19:16).
“He (Elisha) left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, ‘Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.’ And he said to him, ‘Go back again, for what have I done to you?’ So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him,” (1 Kings 19:20-21).
Elijah seemed puzzled that Elisha wanted to return and say good-bye to his parents. But Elisha demonstrated his dedication by sacrificing his oxen so there could be no turning back. This story may be alluded to by Jesus when he said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God,” (Luke 9:62). In the case of Elisha, he did not return to the plow, but followed Elijah wherever he went.
We see the dedication of Elisha to Elijah in the story of Elijah’s departure. If he had not been dedicated, we might never have had this account in scripture.
“Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho.’ And he replied, ‘As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.’ So they went to Jericho…Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.’ And he replied, ‘As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them walked on…When they had crossed (the Jordan River), Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?’ ‘Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,’ Elisha replied. ‘You have asked a difficult thing,’ Elijah said, ‘yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours – otherwise not.’ As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, ‘My father! My father! And Elisha saw him not more.” (2 Kings 2:4-12)
The dedication of Elisha to follow Elijah wherever he went is an example of the dedication a disciple of Jesus should have for the Master. A rabbi is loved by each disciple and placed in priority above his parents, as a popular saying from the Talmud goes, “the parent only brings the child to the life of this world, whereas the teacher brings him to the life of the World to Come,” (BM 2:2). Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple,” (Luke 14:26). The terms “love” and “hate” are often used as Hebrew idioms to denote priority. Matthew records the same concept, but in words we more easily understand, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me,” (Matt 10:37).
Peter testified to the sacrifice of following Jesus when he said, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” (Matt 19:27). “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.’” (Matt 19:28-29). Leaving houses, family, and even fields is what Elisha did to follow Elijah. It is also what Abraham did when the LORD called him to “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house to the land which I will show you,” (Gen 12:1). Elijah received twice the Spirit of Elijah and Abraham received the covenant and blessings from God for his faithfulness.
In the epistles, Paul taught the churches he established exhorting them as disciples to “be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ,” (1 Cor 11:1). In particular, Timothy is seen as a disciple of Paul (Acts 15:1), who accompanied Paul on many of his journeys, and to whom Paul referred to as “my true son in the faith,” (1 Tim 1:2)(2 Tim 1:2). It is to Timothy, and not to a church that Paul writes his last epistle that is preserved in scripture.
THE TEACHING MOMENT
A popular term with parents is the phrase, “teaching moment.” This term implies that no opportunity should be passed over which can produce a lasting lesson in our children. For the Rabbis, this was the standard operating practice. Rabbis were rarely confined to the classroom, but used everyday life experiences as the background for the opportunity to teach. Many of the lessons taught by Jesus probably originated from daily events witnessed by the disciples. One day when Jesus was leaving the temple, his disciples commented on the magnificence of the temple buildings. Jesus took the opportunity to tell his disciples, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down,” (Matt 24:2).
At other times, Jesus took his disciples to specific locations to teach such as the time he went to Caesarea Philippi to confront the “gates of hades” and teach his disciples that his kingdom will overcome even the strongholds of the enemy. At other times, the backdrop of the seaside town of Caperanum provided the opportunity to make his disciples “fishers of men,” (Mark 1:17). One of the products of Capernaum was the production of basalt stones used in the grinding of wheat and barley into flour. Basalt was harder than other stones found in Israel reducing the amount of the stone that ended up in the flour. When Jesus talked about a millstone being hung around the neck of a person who caused a little one to stumble, he probably pointed to a nearby grinding stone and then to the Sea of Galilee as he said, “it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck; and to be drowned in the depth of the sea,” (Matt 18:6).
The ability of disciples to learn was classified by the rabbis as falling into one of four categories.
“He who quickly understands and quickly forgets, his gain disappears in his loss; he who understands with difficulty and forgets with difficulty, his loss disappears in his gain; he who understand quickly and forgets with difficulty, his is a good portion; he who understands with difficulty and forgets quickly, his is an evil portion,” (Aboth 5:15).
The best disciple is the one who learns quickly and forgets with great difficulty, while the inverse is the worst disciple; the one learns with difficulty and then forgets quickly. James said it this way, “But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God,” (James 1:19).
The rabbis also classified their disciples based on a disciple’s ability to receive and process the teachings of the rabbis. A disciple was said to be either a sponge, a funnel, a strainer, or a sieve.
“There are four qualities among those that sit before the Sages: they are like a sponge, a funnel, a strainer, and a sieve: a sponge, which sucks up everything; a funnel, which lets in at one end and out at the other; a strainer which lets the wine pass out and retains the lees; a sieve, which lets out the bran and retains the flour,” (Aboth 5:18).
The desired disciple is like a sieve that retains the good teaching (flour), while letting out the bad (bran). The sponge absorbs all, the bad as well as the good. The funnel lets all pass through retaining none of the rabbis’ teaching. The strainer lets the good wine pass out, while retaining only the bad. Paul said it this way, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world,” (1 John 4:1). Breaking down into four categories was a common practice of classification by the rabbis to reflect the spectrum from the good to the bad. Jesus used this approach when he spoke of the four types of ground that received the seed of the sower, (Matt 13:3-9 & 18-23).
At the completion of his training, a disciple was expected to be an exact copy of the master, able to walk and teach as the master had done. Discipleship is not about information, it is about transformation, the molding of a life into the exact pattern of the teacher. Years later, long after the original rabbi was gone, people could come to understand who the rabbi was based on the actions and teachings of his disciples, as it is written, “Everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher,” (Luke 6:40). If the disciples were not faithful to the original teachings of their master, they effectively perverted the image of their rabbi. When the lives of believers who call themselves disciples of Jesus do not accurately reflect the teachings of the master, they bring dishonor and scorn instead of glory and praise to the one who came to redeem mankind.
After a rabbi had completed training his disciples, he would turn to them and say, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” (Matt 28:20). The Great Commission is not simply a call to add sheep to the sheep pen, but a command to make disciples into the pattern of the Master, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matt 28:20). This commandment is the responsibility of all disciples, not just those in some distant land. In every disciple’s daily walk, make disciples of all nations.
“Sitting at the feet” is a Hebrew idiom to denote a student’s position while learning from the rabbi. Jesus normally sat down to teach his disciples and the crowds, (Matt 5:1-2)(Matt 13:2). Another phrase, “in the dust of the rabbi,” comes from the first century statement, “Let your house be a meeting place for the rabbis, and cover yourself in the dust of their feet, and drink in their words thirstily.” To be in the dust of the rabbi was to have such a close relationship with the rabbi so as to have the dust of his steps fall on you. When following a rabbi, it was not uncommon for the disciple to step in the same footprint as the rabbi so that the disciple would experience what the rabbi was experiencing.
Disciples followed their rabbi wherever he went, even into the latrine. Why such fervency? Because the rabbi often recited a blessing thanking God for the proper functioning of his body and the disciples wanted to become like the rabbi in all aspects of life, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples,” (Luke 11:1). It is even reported by the Hebrew Sages of a disciple who hid under the bed of his rabbi, while his rabbi was having relations with his wife. When discovered and chastised, the disciple explained that he wanted to know the blessing recited at the conclusion of the act so that he might become like his rabbi in all aspects of life. This act was not condoned, but recorded to demonstrate the desired fervency of disciples.
The apostolic text does not record an incident like the one just described, but it does record the actions of a disciple who wanted to be just like his master. When Jesus passed by his disciples walking on the water, Peter asked the Lord to command him to leave the boat and to do the same. Jesus called out to Peter, “Come,” and Peter left the boat and began to walk on the water, just like Jesus. We all know the rest of the story. Peter was not just like his rabbi in all aspects and he began to sink until Jesus reached out and saved him. Rather than criticize Peter, we need to applaud his effort. Peter wanted to be just like Jesus and we should desire the same. In the end, Peter did die at the hands of the Roman on a cross just like the Master, although tradition has Peter being crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to be crucified in the identical manner as Jesus.
The type of dedication a disciple had for his rabbi might require him to leave his home, his family and his wife, although he needed permission from the latter for extended departures. The example of this dedication is found in the relationship of the teacher Elijah and the student Elisha. The Bible tells us that when Elijah found Elisha he was plowing with twelve pair of oxen, (1 Kings 19:16).
“He (Elisha) left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, ‘Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.’ And he said to him, ‘Go back again, for what have I done to you?’ So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him,” (1 Kings 19:20-21).
Elijah seemed puzzled that Elisha wanted to return and say good-bye to his parents. But Elisha demonstrated his dedication by sacrificing his oxen so there could be no turning back. This story may be alluded to by Jesus when he said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God,” (Luke 9:62). In the case of Elisha, he did not return to the plow, but followed Elijah wherever he went.
We see the dedication of Elisha to Elijah in the story of Elijah’s departure. If he had not been dedicated, we might never have had this account in scripture.
“Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho.’ And he replied, ‘As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.’ So they went to Jericho…Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.’ And he replied, ‘As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them walked on…When they had crossed (the Jordan River), Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?’ ‘Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,’ Elisha replied. ‘You have asked a difficult thing,’ Elijah said, ‘yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours – otherwise not.’ As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, ‘My father! My father! And Elisha saw him not more.” (2 Kings 2:4-12)
The dedication of Elisha to follow Elijah wherever he went is an example of the dedication a disciple of Jesus should have for the Master. A rabbi is loved by each disciple and placed in priority above his parents, as a popular saying from the Talmud goes, “the parent only brings the child to the life of this world, whereas the teacher brings him to the life of the World to Come,” (BM 2:2). Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple,” (Luke 14:26). The terms “love” and “hate” are often used as Hebrew idioms to denote priority. Matthew records the same concept, but in words we more easily understand, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me,” (Matt 10:37).
Peter testified to the sacrifice of following Jesus when he said, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” (Matt 19:27). “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.’” (Matt 19:28-29). Leaving houses, family, and even fields is what Elisha did to follow Elijah. It is also what Abraham did when the LORD called him to “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house to the land which I will show you,” (Gen 12:1). Elijah received twice the Spirit of Elijah and Abraham received the covenant and blessings from God for his faithfulness.
In the epistles, Paul taught the churches he established exhorting them as disciples to “be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ,” (1 Cor 11:1). In particular, Timothy is seen as a disciple of Paul (Acts 15:1), who accompanied Paul on many of his journeys, and to whom Paul referred to as “my true son in the faith,” (1 Tim 1:2)(2 Tim 1:2). It is to Timothy, and not to a church that Paul writes his last epistle that is preserved in scripture.
THE TEACHING MOMENT
A popular term with parents is the phrase, “teaching moment.” This term implies that no opportunity should be passed over which can produce a lasting lesson in our children. For the Rabbis, this was the standard operating practice. Rabbis were rarely confined to the classroom, but used everyday life experiences as the background for the opportunity to teach. Many of the lessons taught by Jesus probably originated from daily events witnessed by the disciples. One day when Jesus was leaving the temple, his disciples commented on the magnificence of the temple buildings. Jesus took the opportunity to tell his disciples, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down,” (Matt 24:2).
At other times, Jesus took his disciples to specific locations to teach such as the time he went to Caesarea Philippi to confront the “gates of hades” and teach his disciples that his kingdom will overcome even the strongholds of the enemy. At other times, the backdrop of the seaside town of Caperanum provided the opportunity to make his disciples “fishers of men,” (Mark 1:17). One of the products of Capernaum was the production of basalt stones used in the grinding of wheat and barley into flour. Basalt was harder than other stones found in Israel reducing the amount of the stone that ended up in the flour. When Jesus talked about a millstone being hung around the neck of a person who caused a little one to stumble, he probably pointed to a nearby grinding stone and then to the Sea of Galilee as he said, “it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck; and to be drowned in the depth of the sea,” (Matt 18:6).
The ability of disciples to learn was classified by the rabbis as falling into one of four categories.
“He who quickly understands and quickly forgets, his gain disappears in his loss; he who understands with difficulty and forgets with difficulty, his loss disappears in his gain; he who understand quickly and forgets with difficulty, his is a good portion; he who understands with difficulty and forgets quickly, his is an evil portion,” (Aboth 5:15).
The best disciple is the one who learns quickly and forgets with great difficulty, while the inverse is the worst disciple; the one learns with difficulty and then forgets quickly. James said it this way, “But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God,” (James 1:19).
The rabbis also classified their disciples based on a disciple’s ability to receive and process the teachings of the rabbis. A disciple was said to be either a sponge, a funnel, a strainer, or a sieve.
“There are four qualities among those that sit before the Sages: they are like a sponge, a funnel, a strainer, and a sieve: a sponge, which sucks up everything; a funnel, which lets in at one end and out at the other; a strainer which lets the wine pass out and retains the lees; a sieve, which lets out the bran and retains the flour,” (Aboth 5:18).
The desired disciple is like a sieve that retains the good teaching (flour), while letting out the bad (bran). The sponge absorbs all, the bad as well as the good. The funnel lets all pass through retaining none of the rabbis’ teaching. The strainer lets the good wine pass out, while retaining only the bad. Paul said it this way, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world,” (1 John 4:1). Breaking down into four categories was a common practice of classification by the rabbis to reflect the spectrum from the good to the bad. Jesus used this approach when he spoke of the four types of ground that received the seed of the sower, (Matt 13:3-9 & 18-23).
At the completion of his training, a disciple was expected to be an exact copy of the master, able to walk and teach as the master had done. Discipleship is not about information, it is about transformation, the molding of a life into the exact pattern of the teacher. Years later, long after the original rabbi was gone, people could come to understand who the rabbi was based on the actions and teachings of his disciples, as it is written, “Everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher,” (Luke 6:40). If the disciples were not faithful to the original teachings of their master, they effectively perverted the image of their rabbi. When the lives of believers who call themselves disciples of Jesus do not accurately reflect the teachings of the master, they bring dishonor and scorn instead of glory and praise to the one who came to redeem mankind.
After a rabbi had completed training his disciples, he would turn to them and say, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” (Matt 28:20). The Great Commission is not simply a call to add sheep to the sheep pen, but a command to make disciples into the pattern of the Master, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matt 28:20). This commandment is the responsibility of all disciples, not just those in some distant land. In every disciple’s daily walk, make disciples of all nations.
Scott
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