“And [Jesus] spake a parable unto them, ‘Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.’”
(Luke 6:39-40)
Here in today’s verse passage we have the Lord’s remarkable statement on education. Students seek out teachers to help them, to give them certain training and instruction. Their teachers are helpful in this regard, however, only if they themselves are properly trained and instructed. A teacher operating under the delusion that he is enlightened when he is actually in darkness will not only wander into disaster, he will take his students with him. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in our current public education system and in our institutions of higher learning. Teachers routinely instruct their students, with great confidence and with much assurance, views of reality, knowledge, and ethics that are clearly wrong, being in hopeless contradiction with each other. By holding such contradictory beliefs, these people actually “oppose themselves,” (2 Timothy 2:25). The great apostle Paul wrote of such people that, “professing themselves to be wise they became fools” (Romans 1:22). Praise God, things are different in the household of faith. Mature, diligent, godly students of the Scriptures can declare the whole counsel of God to others without fear of contradiction or error. God’s word is perfect (Psalm 19:7), pure (Proverbs 30:5-6), and wholly true (Psalm 119:160). The man of God who knows, believes and obeys God’s word is himself “perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17). Such men are tasked with teaching these things to other faithful men who will teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2). In the beginning, the gap in knowledge, understanding, and experience between the teacher and the student is very great. Over time, however, as the student receives more training, instruction, and life experience, the gap closes. The teacher becomes a peer; the two men become intellectual and academic equals. In some cases, as with the apostle Paul, the student surpasses the teacher, being granted even greater wisdom and insight (Galatians 1:14). Things are very different for those who receive instruction from the Lord Himself (1 Corinthians 2:11-12). No matter how much we learn from Him, we will never see him as a peer or an equal. In fact, the more we learn from Him, the more amazing and mysterious He appears. The more knowledge He imparts to us, the greater the intellectual chasm between us is manifest (Isaiah 55:8-9) May God help us to be consistent, diligent students of His word, even as we strive to be humble instructors of that word to others, for God’s glory and for the good of those He loves.
God bless you,
Pastor John
English