Vision Logo Circle
Vision Logo Circle

Walking In The Dust Of Our Rabbi Pt 3

by | Fri, Nov 16 2018

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On our last program we began looking at what it means to walk in the dust of our Rabbi and we took a look at the difference between the Greek and Hebrew mindsets. Because the Hebrew mindset is primarily practical, physical and literal, it’s important that we understand the correct context of the Bible and the events listed in it so that we don’t inadvertently misunderstand what it means.

We learned that the Greek mindset is largely spiritual and analytical, but to be fair, that’s not 100% of the time, gaining and remembering knowledge is important, but there has to be a practical outcome wo that life skills are the end result. Basically, the premise is, you are told information, your study the information, you remember the information, and then you’re tested to see how much information you remember and from those results you’re deemed qualified or not.

The Hebrew mindset is practical and one of teacher and student, Rabbi and disciple, professional and apprentice. The teacher does something, the student observes and then replicates, and he keeps doing it until he gets it right and only then is he deemed qualified. He then in turn, teaches others what he’s learned.

With regard to Rabbis and their disciples, Jewish disciples didn’t automatically join a Rabbi’s classes, they had to be personally hand-picked and chosen by the Rabbi individually, and once they responded and accepted the offer of a disciple-ship, they were then committed to learn everything from the Rabbi, following him everywhere, watching every nuance, absorbing every word, obeying implicitly every tiny instruction until the students finally looked and sounded exactly like their Rabbi. Somebody should be able to watch and observe them and be able to tell which Rabbi they followed. This is why various different groups among Orthodox Jews have specific dress codes, because it connects them to specific Rabbis that they follow.

Walking in the dust of the Rabbi conjures up the image of a disciple walking so closely to his Rabbi that the dust stirred up by the Rabbi’s steps settles all over the disciple, he literally steps into the very footprints of his teacher following him ever so closely so as not to miss a single word, or look, or expression. When Jesus called His disciples and said “Follow Me”, He was literally calling them to ‘walk after’ Him, live alongside Him day and night and learn from Him every moment of every day. To follow Him meant to emulate Him in every aspect of His life, His actions, His conversations, His mannerisms; they were in fact meant to become little mirrors of Him.

Acts 4:13, ‘Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognised that they had been with Jesus.’

Jesus didn’t hand them a textbook, although He did teach them constantly from the Scriptures, He didn’t have them sit exams; His teaching was most akin to an apprenticeship. Again, this is the Hebrew mindset while the Greek mindset is to study information, retain the information in your head and answer an exam and with a passing mark you are declared qualified. To the Jewish mind, you walk alongside, you watch, you listen, you apply and you replicate what you see under the supervision of your teacher, and you keep doing it until you master it. You have more than a head full of knowledge, yes, you have knowledge, but you have the practical understanding and application and you are then able to teach and train others to both understand and do.

If the Rabbi says it, it’s true and must be obeyed. This is what is means to be a disciple of Jesus. As a disciple walks closely after his Rabbi, his heart begins to change, he learns to love his Rabbi, to understand what motivates his Rabbi and what moves his Rabbi.

The disciple’s love for his Rabbi grows and alters his own motivations and his great desire is to please His Rabbi. He begins to adopt mannerisms and phrases and habits that mimic his Rabbi and even begins to talk like His Rabbi, repeating His words to those he comes in contact with. That’s what the disciples did and the general community could tell when they were observed that they knew and had spent time with Jesus.

We are to walk as closely as we can to Jesus…obviously not physically because His physical presence is seated beside His Father in glory, but we have the Word of God – and every single word in both the Old and New Covenant Scriptures is the expression of Jesus Himself.

John 5:39 Jesus said to the religious leaders, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.”

The only Scriptures they had at that time were the Old Covenant Scriptures, so when we study the entire Bible (the whole counsel of God) we should be looking at it and placing Jesus at the centre of it so that it reveals Him. We are to learn it and live it, for practical application from the examples set in it from those who lived during the Old Covenant time frame.

So when we 21st century disciples of Jesus, read the Bible, are we reading it with a view to imitate our Saviour or simply to obtain knowledge or interesting information?

This is a challenge to all of us because we’re so ingrained with a Greek mindset, it pervades all Western society and it’s all we know. It’s particularly challenging for me because I love to study, I love learning new things but having a lot of knowledge or information rattling around in my brain isn’t enough. The real challenge for Jesus’s disciples today is to read His Word and set ourselves to practical living and expression of His teaching so that we look and sound just like Him.

Our Rabbi has personally chosen us to be His disciples and that is a privilege beyond our comprehension.

Jesus said to His disciples in John 15:16, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”

He chose us so that we would learn from Him, imitate Him, talk like Him, serve like Him, love like Him, and represent Him before the eyes of the watching world.

After His resurrection Jesus said to this to His disciples.

Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age.”

They were to go and make disciples throughout all the nations, disciples who would be committed to imitating the Father, Son & Holy Spirit; they were to teach those disciples to observe (attend to carefully, to guard, to keep, to undergo something) all that Jesus had originally taught them and while they were producing and making disciples throughout the world – those who would obey and imitate Jesus – He Himself would be with them throughout all of human history, walking with them throughout that process.

Paul imitated Jesus, Paul was a deeply committed and faithful disciple who never flinched from the call on his life to preach the Gospel to the Gentile world. Paul never stopped preaching the Gospel to his Jewish countrymen, he always went to the synagogues first to preach the Gospel and debate with his fellow Jews, despite the danger it posed to himself, and then he told his own disciples within the churches to imitate him. He was like a father to them, he wasn’t merely a teacher or tutor to them, he loved them like a father and looked upon them as his children in the Lord. (1 Cor 4:16)

Jesus said we’re to imitate Him, Paul imitated Jesus and then told his own disciples to imitate him…that’s the pattern. So let’s imitate Paul, who imitated Jesus. Let’s study His words, His life, His service and His love and walk in the dust of our Rabbi by becoming just like Him.

 

Shalom

Mandy

 

(These studies are based on the book ‘Walking In The Dust Of Rabbi Jesus: How The Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life’ by Lois Tverberg)