The Genius of Jesus' Teaching

Jesus is admired for many things, but less often for his intellect. In these sessions we consider evidence of Jesus’s profound knowledge of the Old Testament as shown in his parables, his use of memory techniques, and his methods of teaching. It is hoped that you will come away both with a sense of wonder at the depth of the stories you already know and inspired by the practical lessons we can learn as we convey God’s truth to others.

Watch recordings from this Master Class:

1) How Jesus Interacted
This session will focus on Matthew’s Gospel. We’ll see Jesus’s use of questions to get to the moral heart of an issue and begin to consider the place the Scriptures play in Jesus’s teaching.

2) The Lesson on the Mount
This session will consider the most detailed lesson plan we have of Jesus. We’ll see evidence that Jesus used both Greek and Aramaic in his teaching and that he made use of techniques that would help people remember what he said.

3) Jesus’ Longest Parable
This session will examine the parable of the Prodigal Son (or the Two Sons). We will see how its careful structure reflects the Old Testament.

4) Echoes of the Old Testament
Going deeper into the parable of the Prodigal Son, we will consider four specific Old Testament stories that it echoes in striking ways.

5) More Echoes of the Old Testament
This session will consider how this pattern of echoes can be found in many other parables of Jesus. Finally, we will reflect on how Jesus embodies the Wisdom of God in a range of areas.