Jesus was a missional rabbi - Missional thought of the day

[James Nored]

Missiologist Eckhard J. Schnabel, author of Early Christian Mission, says, “Jesus had worked as prophetic preacher and teacher, but contrary to the rabbinic model, he did not wait for people to come to him (although that happened as well); instead, he traveled through the towns, villages, and hamlets of Galilee (Mk. 6:56), encountering people where they lived and worked.”

 

People did come to Jesus, and that is okay. We should not be so "missional" that we don't want people to come to us if they so choose. Some missional guys and gals are against even a website or a meeting place sign.

 

I'm not one of those guys.

 

However, two things should be noted. First, by and large people came to Jesus because he healed them. People will come to us if we are bringing healing ministries into their lives, whether it is providing food and clothing, or binding up marriages and creating community.

 

Second, as Schnabel says, Jesus did not wait for people to come to him, as a typical rabbi did. He went out to the people and taught them where they lived and worked. In fact, Jesus called Peter and Andrew, James and John, at their place of work--the sea. He called Matthew when he was sitting at a tax collector's booth. He went to the home of Zacchaeus. And he taught them were they worked and lived.

 

He was, simply, a missional rabbi.

 

Have you thought of Jesus as a missional rabbi before?

[Harry Anderson]

Huh! I did not know that scripture revealed Jesus as a member of a Rabbinical school. Under whom did He study? Oddly enough, everywhere He went people came. If we mimic His mind, Philippians 2:5, we will have people clamoring to us as they did for Him. Anyone who comes looking for the "loaves and fishes" will not truly be a disciple of Christ.