Was Jesus a rabbi? Not formally. In this week’s video teaching series by Ray Vander Laan, we learn about Jesus’s function as a respected rabbi in the Jewish tradition.  He wasn’t an ordained rabbi in the way we think of ordained clergy today. However, He was certainly honored and addressed as a teacher.

When the Israelites went into exile under God’s judgment, the temple was destroyed, and they were displaced from their homeland. Without the temple, they needed a new structure to maintain religious life. During the exile, a practice evolved in which certain individuals—respected and educated in the Scriptures—became teachers who helped preserve Jewish worship and law. These teachers were the early rabbis, though not by title yet.

Life is a journey, a walk on a path that began at creation and leads to the climax of God's incredible narrative—Jesus, the Messiah. We've been exploring the context into which God sent His Son which is a Galilean, text-centered culture. They were focused on Scripture and passing on its interpretation. Study was integrated into daily life. Even meals included moments of teaching. The synagogue was another key piece of this culture, an ongoing immersion in the Scriptures which they believed were living and active (Hebrews 4:12).

Ray then moves the conversation to the roles of rabbis and disciples with a focus on Jesus as the Jewish Messiah operating as a rabbi. In Jewish life, the rabbi is the heart of the community. This used to be true in Christian tradition as well, where pastors were people of deep respect and reverence. Today, pastors are often seen as ordinary people, but in Jesus’ time a rabbi was treated with honor, and for good reason.

In John 6:25, the crowd finds Jesus and addresses Him: “Rabbi, when did you get here?” (The term rabbi doesn’t appear in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Nor do terms like synagogue, Pharisee, or Sadducee. These developed during the 500-year period between the Old and New Testaments as Jewish life evolved in response to exile and the destruction of the temple.)

Because the people failed to care for the poor, the alien, and the marginalized, God allowed them to be sent into exile (Jeremiah 22:3–9). In Babylon, the Jews began to seriously study the Torah which they mostly  ignored. During this period, a class of teachers emerged  who would become the rabbis. This shift begins at the end of the Old Testament and is clearly present by the time the New Testament begins. (Keep in mind there are about four hundred years that separate the Old and New Testaments.)

The word rabbi comes from the Hebrew root “rav”, meaning “great” or “important.” It implies someone of superior knowledge in a specific area. This doesn’t mean it was superior in value, but wise and worthy of respect. Students would address their teacher as “rab”, meaning “master” or “teacher,” in the sense of learned authority.

The formal title “rabbi” didn’t exist during Jesus' life in the structured, institutional way it does now. After the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD, the role of rabbi as a synagogue leader became formalized. In Catholic and Christian traditions, the equivalent might be “Father,” “Reverend,” or “Pastor.” But that formal structure came decades after Jesus ascended to heaven.

Jesus was not ordained clergy in the formal sense. They didn’t have that system yet. The term rabbi in His time was a title of honor, meaning “respected teacher.” Jews today typically don’t refer to people who lived before 70 AD as “rabbis.” The best English equivalent would be “rabbi” with a lowercase "r." Unlike today’s professors or teachers, these teachers traveled with their disciples and lived among them.

These traveling teachers weren’t paid salaries. Instead, people supported their ministries through gifts, hospitality, and provisions. Jesus adopted the same teaching methods as other rabbis of His time. He used parables, a hallmark of this kind of teaching. In No other group in Judaism is known to have used parables besides these honored teachers.

One technique He used is called “kal va-chomer” which means "light and heavy". For example, Matthew 6:30 says, “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” Similarly, Matthew 7:11 says, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him?” The phrase “how much more” illustrates this technique. If God takes care of flowers and sparrows, how much more will He care for us, who are made in His image?

Jesus also used allusion, referencing other parts of Scripture without quoting them directly. While we often define a teacher as someone who helps others master information, a rabbi was more than that. They were people who modeled and embodied the interpretation of Scripture. They walked the walk as well as talked the talk. Over time, rabbi came to mean those who specifically taught and interpreted God’s Word.

The story of Scripture is that God revealed Himself first through oral tradition and then in written form. As His Word was written down, people recognized it as God's self-revelation. The Bible not collected arbitrarily but because it conveyed what God wanted people to know. It is alive. His Spirit is present when His Word is spoken or read in a way that is not present in any other writing.

What does God want from us considering His Word? He does not merely want for us to go to heaven, but for us to partner with Him in bringing shalom to tohu, or peace to chaos. God's desired response from us begins with the Shema, the command to “hear.” In Hebrew thought, to “hear” means to listen and respond. So God is looking for people who will listen, believe, and obey. He desires not just belief in theory, but faith that is lived.

Jesus echoed this same invitation. In Mark 4:2–3, it says, “He taught them many things by parables, and in His teaching said: ‘Listen!’” This “listen” is Shema. It’s not passive hearing—it means to listen, believe, and obey. His parables weren’t just clever stories; they were invitations to act. Ray Vander Laan believes the people didn’t need much convincing to hang on Jesus’ every word. And when Jesus said, “Listen,” He was saying, “I want you to Shema—to hear, believe, and obey.”

In Hebrew culture, a great communication skill was to say the same thing twice using slightly different words. This technique adds nuance and broadens understanding. Psalm 24 is an example of this parallelism: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it; the world, and all who live in it. For He founded it on the seas and established it on the waters” (Psalm 24:1–2). The earth refers to the geographical world; the world refers to the people. Jesus used this method frequently in His teachings.

In John 3, Jesus speaks about what we often call being “saved”, a theme He doesn’t address frequently but does here. The famous verse states, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life… Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already” (John 3:16–18).

In many Bible translations, “believe” and “obey” are treated as being interchangeable. In fact, some translations of John 3:36 (such as the ESV) say, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life.” For Jesus, belief and obedience were not separate. To say you believe but not obey is to contradict your claim. Obedience is the evidence of true faith. If someone says they believe in Jesus but lives in direct opposition to His teaching and denies correction, their belief is questionable.

Jesus teaches that while belief is what saves us, it must be demonstrated through obedience. We are not saved by obedience but through His blood. Still, for Jesus, belief and obedience are one and the same.

Jesus is not only our Savior—He is our Rabbi. He is the model. In one sense, we have no rabbi but Jesus. He alone perfectly models what it means to live a godly life. In another sense, we do learn how to follow Jesus by following others. Paul wrote, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).