“Go and learn what this means …” (Matthew 9.13). Jesus uttered these words to the religious leaders who were criticizing him for associating with “sinners.” Jesus quoted to them Hosea 6.6: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” He was not trying to teach his critics a new idea or an innovative principle. It was something they already knew in their head. They were experts in their Scripture. The problem is that their intellectual expertise did not transfer to their way of living. It was all head knowledge. They were missing the point of the teaching of Scripture. Their infatuation with scriptural proficiency somehow led to spiritual pride. Jesus was challenging his critics to go beyond mere mastery of information.
In the Gospel of Matthew, the role of Jesus as Teacher is highlighted. Many are familiar with the extended speech in chapters 5-7, popularly called the Sermon on the Mount. Upon close consideration of that sermon one would soon discover Jesus’s primary concern. It was not merely that his listeners would get to know the concepts about the gospel, but that the gospel would take hold of their lives and transform their way of thinking and living.
At the end of the sermon, Jesus describes the wise man as one who “hears these words of mine and puts them into practice” (Matthew 7.24). Jesus is not interested in how much we know about him or his commands. What matters is that he and his words do make a positive difference in our lives. Does our knowledge lead us to think and act like Jesus? Theological sophistication is not as important to our Lord as the expression of pure love and devotion to him, resulting in a life reflecting the Christ we follow.
When Jesus commissioned his followers to make disciples, he made clear that the goal of teaching is not just the mastery of information but that believers would “obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28.20). The apostle Paul learned well, for he too tells his readers: “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice” (Philippians 4.9). James echoes the same exhortation: “Do not merely listen to the word … Do what it says” (James 1.22).
Discipleship is about the practice of the faith, the living out of the truth of the gospel, the working out of our salvation. What biblical truth, information, or commandment do you already know or have come to know recently? “Go and learn what [it] means.”
—Keith Y. Jainga