Jesus of Nazareth was known as a ‘Rabbi,’ even though He had no formal training in a rabbinical school. His disciples called Him ‘Rabbi’ (e.g. Mark 9:5; John 1:49; 4:31; 9:2; 11:8). Even a Pharisee and member of the ruling Sanhedrin called Jesus ‘Rabbi’ (John 3:2).

Rabbi Jesus

The word ‘Rabbi’ means ‘my teacher, my master.’ They had special training in the Mosaic Law and how to be a Jewish religious leader. Several religious groups developed during the years after Malachi prophesied (e.g. Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes). That would have been during the years of the Babylonian exile and afterward. The Pharisees and Sadducees developed as different ‘sects’ within the religious and political life of Jews. The Sadducees were made up of Jewish priests. The Pharisees divided into two groups (sometimes called schools, factions, or houses): Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. Saul of Tarsus, for example, trained in the House of Hillel ‘at the feet of Gamaliel’ (Acts 22:3). Gamaliel was the grandson of Rabbi Hillel and cautioned the Sanhedrin to be careful in how it treated the Lord’s apostles saying, ‘for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God’ (Acts 5:38-39).

Jesus was not a Pharisee of either ‘house,’ even though some Pharisees (like Nicodemus) thought He might be the promised Messiah. After Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven some Pharisees believed in Him (e.g. Acts 15:5). Even though the Book of Hebrews teaches that Jesus Christ is the ‘great High Priest who has passed through the heavens’ (Hebrews 4:14), Jesus was not a member of the Sadducees either.

Jesus was a One-of-a-Kind ‘Rabbi.’ He proved Himself through miracles and healings that He was who He said He was –

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ John 3:1-2

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to Him, ‘How do You know me?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ And He said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’ John 1:47-51

The Rabbi’s Disciples

A disciple (μαθητής, mathétés) was a ‘learner, a pupil’ of a Rabbi. Some disciples would choose to learn from one Rabbi, while others learned from multiple Rabbis. Religious disciples had a desire to learn God’s Word and live a more righteous life. They turned to Rabbis who were seen as being authoritative in both. Disciples would ask permission to learn from a Rabbi with the understanding that they would submit to the authority of the Rabbi’s authority in interpreting Scripture.

Rabbis met with his disciples regularly to discuss various questions about life and how various interpretations of Scripture might affect it. Disciples would debate the various interpretations, sometimes over a period of weeks since Rabbis were in no particular hurry to resolve the questions. When the Rabbi did make an interpretation and declare his authority, the disciples would follow the decision from that point forward.

Jesus broke the mold of being a 1st century Rabbi in so many ways. Rabbis didn’t work miracles. Jesus did. Rabbi’s didn’t heal people. Jesus did. Rabbis didn’t live with their disciples. Jesus did. Rabbis didn’t claim to be Messiah. Jesus did. Rabbis didn’t claim to the ‘Son of Man.’ Jesus did. Rabbis didn’t claim to be God. Jesus did. The Rabbis did not have authority over demons. Jesus did.

Jesus was not the type of Rabbi that Jewish people were used to seeing. Because of that, many people followed Jesus in ways they would not follow the Rabbis of their time.

Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. Luke 4:31-32

And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7:28-29

The Rabbi’s Followers

Jesus chose the men who would become His closest disciples. Some had been disciples of the Apostle John. Jesus chose them to ‘follow Him’ and become those He would ‘send out’ (ἀπόστολος, apostolos) to carry on His work. As part of their ‘training to reign’ with Christ, He gave them power over demons and sickness –

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. Matthew 10:1-4

I recommend you read all of Matthew 10 because it outlines what following Jesus would mean for the twelve apostles, as well as other followers of Jesus Christ. Here’s one example –

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Matthew 10:16-20

‘Following’ Jesus Christ was not easy in the past, is not easy now, and will not be easy in the future. In order for us to learn how to ‘reign’ with Christ, we must go through a period of training. The apostles did and so must we. When the apostles were brought before the ‘council’ and ‘high priest, they were commanded not to teach in the name of Jesus. How did the apostles respond?

‘But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.’ Acts 5:29-32

Obedience is an important key to ‘training to reign’ with Christ. Obedience is not easy because what the Lord requires of us is often in opposition to what the world believes or wants. Their reaction may sometimes even lead to violence –

Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10:34-39

I realize that is not a ‘seeker friendly’ type of message these days, but it is what Jesus said. Either you believe it or you don’t. Jesus also said, ‘Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves’ (Matthew 10:16). Here we are in the ‘midst of wolves’ in this life. We need to be wise and harmless. How do we learn to do that? By following Jesus – being His faithful disciples – training to reign.

Free eBooks

You can download the first 13 chapters of this series here.

You can download chapters 14 – 24 of this series here.

You can download chapters 25 – 30 of this series here.

You can download chapters 31 – 39 of this series here.

Next Time

When the Eternal Son of God left Heaven, made Himself of no reputation, took the form of a bondservant, and came in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7), He had a reason for doing that. As we ‘train to reign’ we need to understand that reason and how it plays a significant role in our lives as Christians. We’ll look at the importance of that for our ministry in the next part of our series, Train to Reign.

“Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

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