Teaching was the great business of the life of Christ during the days
of his public ministry. He was _sent_ to teach and to preach. The
speaker in the book of Job was thinking of this Great Teacher when he
asked--"_Who teacheth like him_?" Job xxxvi: 22. And it was he who
was in the Psalmist's mind when he spoke of the "good, and upright
Lord" who would teach sinners, if they were meek, how to walk in his
ways. Ps. xxv: 8-9. And he is the Redeemer, of whom the prophet
Isaiah was telling when he said--He would "_teach us to profit_, and
_would lead us by the way that we should go_." And thus we know how
true was what Nicodemus said of him, that "he was a _teacher sent
from God_." John iii: 2. Thus what was said of Jesus, before he came
into our world, would naturally lead us to expect to find him
occupied in teaching. And so he _was_ occupied, all through the days
of his public ministry. St. Matthew tells us that--"Jesus went about
all Galilee, _teaching_ in their synagogues." Ch. iv: 23. Further on
in his gospel he tells us again that "Jesus went about all the
cities, and villages, teaching in their synagogues." Ch. ix: 35. When
on his trial before Pilate, his enemies brought it as a charge
against him that he had been--"_teaching_ throughout all Jewry." Luke
xxiii: 5. We read in one place that--"the elders of the people came
unto him _as he was teaching_." Matt. xxi: 23. Jesus himself gave
this account of his life work to his enemies--"I sat _daily_ with you
_teaching_ in the temple." Matt. xxvi: 55. And so we come now to look
at the life of Christ from this point of view--as a Teacher. There
never was such a Teacher. We do not wonder at the effect of his
teaching of which we read in St. John vii: 46, when the chief priests
sent some of their officers to take him prisoner, and bring him unto
them; the officers went, and joined the crowd that was listening to
his preaching. His words had such a strange effect on them that they
could not think of touching him. So they went back to their masters