DAY 80 - THE SMARTEST MAN IN HISTORY
KEATON TUCKER, YA GROUPS TEAM LEAD
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20
Quick question: who is the smartest man in history?
Einstein? He is certainly up there.
Galileo? His contributions to the sciences were before his time.
Any president? It takes quite a lot of smarts to be any country’s president.
Who is on your list of the smartest people in history?
What about Jesus? Do you think Jesus was one of the smartest people in history? I do. I think he was the smartest person to have ever lived.
He has the best knowledge of everything that pertains to life. He fully understands the psychological aspects of being human, governing structures, systems, and what it means to be human. It was through him that the world was created (Colossians 1), he is currently overseeing the course of human history while simultaneously creating a place for you and me in the future. He knew how to change the molecular structure of water to turn it into wine and also to make it solid enough to walk on. You could call him a master of molecules. He knew exactly how to answer each person's questions and the words to say to set people free by a word.
His teachings on life are the pinnacle of philosophy and we have not made one inch of progress in moral teachings past his.
Jesus was and is smart and he is the best teacher you can find. That is why, as part of his great commission in Matthew 28 he said to make students of all nations and people groups.
Okay, technically he said “make disciples” but that begs the question “what is a disciple?”.
The best English words we have for the Hebrew word talmid is disciple, student, or apprentice. Those words adequately capture what Jesus was after. He was after students of his way and teachings.
In 21st century America when we think “student”, we also think “classroom”. Where else could you go to learn? But in 1st century Israel, when they thought “student”, they wouldn’t think of going to a classroom to learn, but finding a teacher to follow.
That is why Jesus says “follow me.” In its purest form, it means to literally follow around the teacher, imitate the teacher, learn what the teacher knows, and do what the teacher did.
That is what being a disciple is: it is following a teacher and learning his ways and imitating his life.
Wouldn’t you want your teacher to be the smartest man who has ever lived? I would.
You can go to Jesus to learn exactly how he would live your life if he were you. He can teach you all of the most important things in life. You will find he himself has the truth about everything, just as he promised.