By all accounts, Jesus was a master teacher. Followers were drawn to Him by the magnetic power of His words which have been described as "short, precise, terrible and full of refreshment".
Jesus gave His most time honored and enduring lessons spontaneously...right on the spot. Most were in response to a question raised, i.e.: "Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" "Is it lawful to pay taxes to pagan authorities?" "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Just as He responded to questions, His responses were themselves often questions. Pushing the seeker to search His own mind and heart for the answers.
His use of parables served His purposes perfectly. Everyone loves a good story and His were able to hold the interest of farmers and fishermen and all in between. Most of those He spoke to were illiterate and the stories He told helped preserve the message for years to come.
After all, it is one thing to speak in lofty, abstract terms about the love of God but it's quite another to tell of a man who lays down his life for his friends or of a father, heartsick with worry, scanning the horizon for a long lost son.
Although some of the images Jesus used in His teaching are confusing to us, after all, much has changed in the 2,000 years since He taught, with time and study (and the use of search engines on the internet), they can still speak to us today. One thing has never changed, most of us still love a good story!
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