Jesus earned the title of Rabbi. People - even high ranking people - also called Him Master. Those titles were not used lightly. They had to be EARNED.
In Jesus' day, fathers took seriously the command to train up a child in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6) and to talk of them constantly to your children.
Deut. 6:6 "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8"You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.…
Fathers would teach their toddlers the whole book of Deuteronomy so they could recite it by the age of five. When the sons were five years old, the child would go to the local ruler of the synagogue and recite what he had learned. If he didn't know it well and stumbled through it, the son would begin to learn his father's trade. If the boy could recite Deuteronomy clearly and accurately, he would go to the next level of schooling.
By the time the boy reached his bar mitzvah, he was expected to know the rest of the Torah, all five books of Moses. During this test, the young man did not recite the whole Torah verbatim. The teachers would question him and he would be expected to know what part of the Torah applied and be able to recite that section truly. When Jesus stayed behind in the Temple when He was twelve, He was passing His test with such a level of understanding that He amazed the Temple teachers.
If, as Jesus did, a young man passed this stringent exam, he would go on to rabbi school. This lasted until the age of thirty. During these years, the scholars would study the histories of Israel, the wisdom and poetry, the prophets, the Talmud, and the writings of well-respected teachers.
At the age of thirty, these men were sent out to officiate in the synagogues as rabbis. But there was yet one more title possible.
If a scholar was observed by his teachers and fellow students to have "schmidah" (sp?), he could become a Master Teacher. This meant he was known to have the Spirit of God on him. He would need two witnesses who attested to this and would have a ritual baptism performed by a priest.
In Jesus' case, He went down to the Jordan River at the age of thirty. The baptism was performed by John the Baptist, the son of a priest. The two witnesses were the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and the Father's voice from heaven.
After this, Jesus was allowed to gather His own students and train them under His own authority. Even being the Word of God in the flesh, even having been the Creator of the world, even with His divinity thinly clad in flesh, Jesus still fulfilled every requirement to earn the right to teach people about God and heavenly things.
God bless us all,
Kathi Linz
My thanks to Perry Stone for sharing this information.
In Jesus' day, fathers took seriously the command to train up a child in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6) and to talk of them constantly to your children.
Deut. 6:6 "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8"You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.…
Fathers would teach their toddlers the whole book of Deuteronomy so they could recite it by the age of five. When the sons were five years old, the child would go to the local ruler of the synagogue and recite what he had learned. If he didn't know it well and stumbled through it, the son would begin to learn his father's trade. If the boy could recite Deuteronomy clearly and accurately, he would go to the next level of schooling.
By the time the boy reached his bar mitzvah, he was expected to know the rest of the Torah, all five books of Moses. During this test, the young man did not recite the whole Torah verbatim. The teachers would question him and he would be expected to know what part of the Torah applied and be able to recite that section truly. When Jesus stayed behind in the Temple when He was twelve, He was passing His test with such a level of understanding that He amazed the Temple teachers.
If, as Jesus did, a young man passed this stringent exam, he would go on to rabbi school. This lasted until the age of thirty. During these years, the scholars would study the histories of Israel, the wisdom and poetry, the prophets, the Talmud, and the writings of well-respected teachers.
At the age of thirty, these men were sent out to officiate in the synagogues as rabbis. But there was yet one more title possible.
If a scholar was observed by his teachers and fellow students to have "schmidah" (sp?), he could become a Master Teacher. This meant he was known to have the Spirit of God on him. He would need two witnesses who attested to this and would have a ritual baptism performed by a priest.
In Jesus' case, He went down to the Jordan River at the age of thirty. The baptism was performed by John the Baptist, the son of a priest. The two witnesses were the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and the Father's voice from heaven.
After this, Jesus was allowed to gather His own students and train them under His own authority. Even being the Word of God in the flesh, even having been the Creator of the world, even with His divinity thinly clad in flesh, Jesus still fulfilled every requirement to earn the right to teach people about God and heavenly things.
God bless us all,
Kathi Linz
My thanks to Perry Stone for sharing this information.
