I was listening to my ESV bible app the other day while hiking and the word “Teacher” jumped out at me from the book of John. My ears perked up because I know that the Teacher of Righteousness while not mentioned EVER in the bible, is written about extensively in the Dead Sea Scrolls as their long-awaited Messiah. And the Dead Sea Scrolls are now attributed to the Essenes. I am used to thinking of Jesus in the pages of scripture as ‘Rabbi’ or even ‘Master’ but not ‘Teacher’.
When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ~John 11:28
Anyone who has read this (my) blog knows that I believe Jesus was aided throughout his lifetime and ministry by the third group of Jews in ancient times known as the ‘Essenes’. The other two groups are widely known (and written about in the bible) as the Sadducees and Pharisees. Even though Josephus and other historical writers have discussed the Essenes–the third main group of Jews–at length, the Essenes are completely omitted from the bible. I find this curious and as even more evidence that the writers of the New Testament knew the Essenoi and were likely part of their group, at least for a time. But chose not to mention them because of their link with Jesus, which He wanted to keep on the down low.
In various places in the bible Jesus disappears from his disciples. In these places which I will not go into here, I think he was taking nurture from the Essenes. I think some of his disciples must have known about this, but perhaps not all of them, because they genuinely seem perplexed about where he went when he disappeared. In one example, Jesus said to an exasperated group of disciples who were worried about his absence and probable hunger, He said to them:
“I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ~John 4:32
In another famous spot of the bible, He said to them prophetically:
“…saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” ~Matthew 21:2-3
I just don’t think this happened out of thin air, although I do believe in the divinity of Jesus.
Here Wikipedi described the Essenes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes
But back to the word “Teacher” as referred to by Martha, whose family were some of Jesus’ best friends. The Greek word for Teacher is didaskalos (διδάσκαλος) and is used to refer to Jesus approximately 45 times in the New Testament Gospels.
This title, which translates as “teacher” or “master” (depending on the translation), was the most common form of address for Jesus in the Gospels. didaskalos (διδάσκαλος) was rarely used to refer to other ‘teachers’ but was occasionally used as a general reference to teacher. Mostly it was used to refer to or address Jesus, and Jesus Himself even cautioned his disciples on numerous occasions to NOT be called ‘Teacher’:
“But you must not be called ‘Teacher,’ because you have only one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters together. And don’t call any person on earth ‘Father,’ because you have one Father, who is in heaven. And you should not be called ‘Master,’ because you have only one Master, the Christ.” ~Matthew 23:8-10
I think the extensive and exclusive use of the word ‘Teacher’ for Jesus by his closest followers and believers shows that they considered Him the Teacher of Righteousness as written about in the Jewish Essenoi clan. There can be no other good explanation for such a conflation and use of the word ‘Teacher’ in this ancient time period. This is when the Essenes were at or near their peak popularity, and they used this term to mean their Messiah, and the Jewish people at large would have likely been acquainted with its Essenic meaning. Essenes were spread all among the Hebrews and amongst the other Jews. Admittedly there are some places where the Essenic Teacher of Righteousness differs somewhat in description from Jesus’ ministry, but overall, the similarities have too much overlap to be mere coincidence.
Jesus quietly claimed the title referenced by the Essenoi, “Teacher of Righteousness”, by using the shortened version, Teacher, among his disciples. And by teaching others to not use this term outside of Himself he confirms that He is the One Messiah the Essenoi were waiting for.
~selah
~Song of Mary~ 