p. 8 | Our Saviour and Lord by George W. Reaser

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jul 30, 1912

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 39, No. 29.

Our Saviour and Lord

By George W. Reaser

Christ as Prophet and Teacher

AMONG the many offices filled by the Son of God, we find Him officiating as prophet and as teacher. As the former, He is the inspirer of all true prophets; as the latter, the teacher of all who are taught the greatest of all sciences, "the science of salvation."

The very first prophetic promise was Jesus' announcement that He would redeem Adam's failure. This prophecy in reality embodied that same gospel which was more fully announced by succeeding prophecies, and heralded to the watching shepherds that eventful night when, "lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. . . . And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

In brief, this first prophetic promise was that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. It was Christ's own promise that, inasmuch as Satan had been the occasion of the fall of man, He Himself, by coming into the world as "the seed of the woman," would become responsible for the vanquishing of "the serpent," and for the redemption of the man.

It was Jesus acting in His prophetic office who inspired Jacob, just before he "yielded up the ghost," to say, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be." Gen. 49:10.

It was Christ who employed even the perverted lips of Balaam to declare, "There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, . . . and Israel shall do valiantly." Num. 24:17, 18. It was Christ who used the consecrated lips of Isaiah to preannounce, "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isa. 9:6. It was to Jesus' own prophetic utterance that the angel Gabriel referred when he said to Mary concerning the Son that was to be born to her, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end." Luke 1:32, 33. It was the fact that Christ had spoken through Micah, which enabled the scribes to respond to Herod's demand as to "where Christ should be born," that the place of His nativity was prophetically announced to be "in Bethlehem of Judea."

Should the thought that Christ acted in the capacity of a prophet from the foundation of the world be new to any, such will desire proof of the position herein taken. Peter at once comes to our aid, and, in speaking of the "lively hope" and "incorruptible inheritance" secured to us in the gift of Christ, says, "Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify; when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister." 1 Peter 1:3, 4, 10-12. Thus it is proved that the human prophets, of themselves, could not have given us a single detail of the coming of Christ into the world, but after recording the things dictated to them by the Spirit of Christ which was in them, searched their own writings, to discover if possible their meaning. And thus it is clear that men were only prophets, as Christ, the divine Prophet, opened the future to them. "Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear." Acts 3:22.

Pre-Advent Prophecies

The things which had formed the basis of His prophetic announcements prior to His advent as a man into our world, were, that He Himself would become a member of our race,—"the Seed of the woman,"—the last Adam, to redeem the failure of the first Adam; "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," to conquer the adversary; the righteous Branch of David, to sit upon his throne; the Conqueror of the grave, to set the captives free; the Prince of Peace, to fill every troubled breast that would give Him room, with the peace of God, that passeth all understanding; "the Tower of the flock, the Stronghold of the daughter of Zion," to wrest the "first dominion" from the usurper, and restore it to "the saints of the Most High," who "shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever," when "the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."

His pre-advent prophecies also included the rise and fall of kings, the overthrow of cities and nations, the final judgment, the gathering of Israel, and the establishing of Jerusalem as the capital city of the renewed earth.

Prophecies During His Earth Life

During His ministry here on earth His prophecies included the casting of Satan out of heaven; the destruction of Jerusalem; the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon His disciples; the wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes which would come; the long period of papal persecution; the arising of false christs and false prophets; and the signs of His second coming, to be followed by that sublime event. Sixty years after His ascension to glory it is evident that He still acted in His office as prophet, for He sent His angel to dictate to His servant John the book of Revelation, which by numerous parallel lines of prophecy outlines the world's history from the date when it was given till the close of time, the end of the millennium, and the establishing of the city of God and His throne on our planet. Thus will the redemption of Adam's failure be made complete.

The Purpose of His Prophecies

was to prove the existence of an overruling power, and that power Jehovah; to prove Himself to be the true Messiah; to prove the Word of God true; to warn against deceptions; to give opportunity for His people to prepare for impending events; to identify His own church; and to give a firm basis for hope in the great hereafter.

Christ as Teacher

That Christ was a teacher of unusual merit was conceded by Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. As he approached Jesus by night his greeting was, "Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God." It is evident that He must have possessed a rare gift as a teacher, for altho He never attended the rabbinical schools for a single day, yet at the early age of twelve years, as He wandered into the temple at Jerusalem and sat down in the midst of the learned doctors, listening to them and asking them questions, "all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers." Later, when He had entered upon His ministry, it is said that when He taught, the people "were astonished at His doctrine: for His word was with power." There must of necessity have been a peculiar power in His words; for it was He who once spoke into empty space, and our solar system sprang into being. It was He who formed the first man and gave him intellect. Surely He had the knowledge to impart, and the skill to instruct the minds that He had created. And yet while here as a man, He was dependent upon the wisdom that comes from above; but by prayer, through faith, and being a consecrated channel of blessing to others, He was constantly filled with wisdom from the fountain above. This same source of wisdom is open to all His disciples.

While possessing all knowledge, His specialty as a teacher was to teach the truth, of which He was the living embodiment. In teaching the truth, He undermined all error, unmasked "the father of lies," showed the universe to be real, tangible, not mythical, unreal. He taught that all things, even "the lily of the valley," and the wandering sparrow, are under the watch-care of an omnipotent hand. He taught men how to live, how to pray, how to labor successfully, how to glorify God, and thus the priceless secret of how to live eternally. In His statement to one whom He had healed, "Go thy way, and sin no more," He showed that all sickness is either directly or indirectly caused by sin, and thus He taught the way of physical health, as well as of health for the soul.

He recognized that one of the most direct avenues to the heart is through the eye, and hence we find His lessons on eternal truths beautifully embellished with object-lessons. Among these were the beauty of the lily and the protection of the sparrow to illustrate God's care; the withered branch to demonstrate forcefully the necessity of being connected with the True Vine; the withered fig-tree to demonstrate the power of faith; the lost sheep to show the intensity of God's desire for the rescue of the sinful one.

"He loved to gather the people about Him under the blue heavens, on some grassy hillside, or on the beach beside the lake. Here, surrounded by the works of His own creation, He could turn the thoughts of His hearers from the artificial to the natural. In the growth and development of nature were revealed the principles of His kingdom."—"Desire of Ages," page 291.

He taught by the wayside well, on the dusty road, on the mountainside, from the boat on the lake, at the humble evening meal, as well as in the synagogues and in the great temple at Jerusalem.

Results of His Teaching

Altho He was the Majesty of Heaven, yet in His teaching He came down to the level of humanity, so that the common people heard Him gladly.

We may form some idea of His ability as a teacher, and also of the results of His teaching, when we consider the wonderful work accomplished upon the twelve "ignorant and unlearned" men whom He chose as His apostles. In the wisdom of the world it would seem to be utter folly to select ignorant fishermen to be the leaders of a work that was intended to grow for nearly two millennia, until it permeated every nation under heaven. But such was the choice and such the wisdom of the great Teacher. He, "the Light of the world," was abundantly able to qualify them for the positions for which He had chosen them.

"Never had the world's great men such a teacher. When the disciples came forth from the Saviour's teaching, they were no longer ignorant and unlearned men. They had become like Him in mind and character, and men took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus and learned of Him."

The Light of the World

"The world has had its great teachers, men of giant intellect and wonderful research, men whose utterances have stimulated thought and opened to view vast fields of knowledge; and these men have been honored as guides and benefactors of their race." "But there is One who stands higher than they." "We can trace the line of the world's great teachers as far back as human records extend; but the Light was before them. As the moon shines by the reflected light of the sun, so, as far as their teaching is true, do the world's great teachers reflect the rays of the Sun of Righteousness. Every gem of thought, every flash of intellect, is from the Light of the world:" That which He taught in words was revealed also in His character. It has been said that when He taught the people in person, "the day seemed to them like heaven upon earth."

O, the blessed privilege of sitting at the feet of Jesus! for He still comes to us as the great Teacher, in the name of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. If we learn of Him that which He designs to teach us now,—even righteousness of character,—we may eventually follow Him as Creator, Redeemer, Life-giver, and Teacher, wherever intellectual feasts may be found awaiting the redeemed, throughout the universe.