Master Teacher

Earlier this year, Dr. Rosalie de Rosset completed 50 years of service at Moody Bible Institute. As a professor of Communications, she specializes in teaching literature and mentoring. “I love my students,” she says. “I love talking to them about their lives, their struggles, and the way Jesus meets them . . . God is good. His grace is profound, and my students have made teaching a marvel of an experience.” Dr. de Rosset does all she does as an ardent follower of the Master Teacher, Jesus Christ.

Today’s reading shows the heart of Christ who often taught with parables, using pictures and stories from everyday life. He wanted the meaning to be clear to those listening in faith (Matt. 13:10–17). He was perfectly in tune to the hearts and minds of His audience, and He always taught following the larger “lesson plan” of His Father.

The second story, later revealed to be an allegory, is built around a problem (vv. 24–28): A good man planted wheat, then his enemy came and planted weeds in the same field. This only became known when both sprouted. The solution was to sort it out at the harvest (vv. 29–30). Why wait? To make sure the wheat wasn’t harmed.

At the disciples’ request, Jesus explained the meaning (vv. 36–41). The good man is the Son of Man (Himself), while the enemy is the devil. The field is the world. The wheat represents people of the kingdom of God, that is, believers in the Son. The weeds represent everyone else. The harvesters are angels and the harvest is the final judgment. The core lesson here focuses on the two contrasting destinies: Sinners will be punished, while “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (vv. 42–43).

Pray with Us

Reading about Jesus as Teacher in today’s devotional, brings to mind Moody’s faculty—undergraduate, graduate, and those leading online courses. Will you pray for our professors to follow their Master Teacher wholeheartedly?

BY Brad Baurain

Dr. Bradley Baurain is Associate Professor and Program Head of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Moody Bible Institute. Bradley has the unique privilege of holding a degree from four different universities (including Moody). He has just published his first book, On Waiting Well. Bradley taught in China, Vietnam, the United States, and Canada. Bradley and his wife, Julia, have four children and reside in Northwest Indiana.