Hello Beloved,
Let us continue our study of the names and titles for Jesus. In the last two months, we considered the teaching titles of Jesus as the “Rabboni” and “Didaskalos.” This month we will continue to focus our attention on Jesus’ titles as a teacher, but this time as the “Kathegetes” or Instructor.
The word, “Kathegetes” is found on only one occasion in the New Testament, and in that situation, Jesus used the word to describe Himself. In Matthew 23:8-10, Matthew writes:
8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. Matthew 23:8-10 (ESV)
In this passage, Jesus is teaching His disciples to avoid the religious leaders’ love for titles of honor like Rabbi, Father, and according to the ESV: “instructor.” The word “Kathegetes” is translated in a variety of manners throughout the many versions of the Bible. The King James Versions translates “Kathegetes” as master, and the New American Standard translates it as leaders or teachers. In the Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, the word “Kathegetes” is used:
In the NT only in Matt 23:10 (bis), most likely in the sense of master; Jesus rejects any claim to leadership made by anyone in the Church, since he alone is the disciples’ καθηγητής (cf. 23:8 v.l.). The word is used frequently in Hellenistic literature of the authority of teachers and of those whose actions are given as models.
The reason Jesus’ disciples are not to pridefully pursue these titles is because (1) all believers have one teacher who is “the Christ,” and (2) we as believers are all brothers and sisters through Christ to the Father. Of course, this text does not deny the necessity of teachers in the Church, but rather it speaks against the elevating of some individuals over that of others and the pride that is descriptive of this divisive spirit. Elmer Towns states that the word “Kathegetes,” “conveys the image of a teacher who influences and guides a student not only intellectually but morally. Jesus is unique among teachers in that He alone can teach the truth and lead us most fully in the way of truth.” I leave you with the words of Erwin Lutzer, the famed preacher of Moody Bible Church. “Jesus Christ alone is qualified to guide us into the vast unknown. Since he is the only one who has returned from the grave, he tells us accurately about life after death.”
Until next time, this is Pastor Daniel writing, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”