In Rabbis and Disciples Pt. 2: The Jewish Educational System, Brad Gray unpacks the intricate and intentional method for creating disciples in Jesus’s day. Drawing on the work of Shmuel Safrai (a brilliant rabbi and scholar who knew the Hebrew Scriptures by heart) and other notable scholars, Brad outlines the best composite picture we have of the Jewish educational system of the first century. Because when you understand how disciples were made, you realize what a big deal it was for Jesus to choose the disciples he did.

Because Torah was the center of Jewish life, the study became the highest priority. Jewish children wanted to become brilliant Torah scholars in the same way many kids want to play in the NBA. Beginning in the home, children from birth-5 years of age would learn the Shema (the central prayer of Judaism) as well as the major Bible stories. From the ages of 5-10, boys and girls would attend Beth Sefer where they would receive instruction from a Torah teacher and begin memorizing the Text. In addition to learning the Oral Torah, boys between the ages of 10-13 would learn the art of asking good questions in Beth Talmud. Between the ages of 13-15, the best male students would enter Beth Midrash where they learned to discuss rabbinical legal decisions and debate with teachers. Beyond Beth Midrash, only the best and the brightest students could pursue becoming a Talmid or a disciple. Most students at this point were done and would enter into their father’s trade.

Which raises a whole host of questions: What were Jesus’s disciples doing fishing with their father when Jesus called them to be his disciples? Why weren’t they studying? And why did they drop everything and follow Jesus? And what does that have to do with Jesus inviting you or me to follow him and be his disciple? In Rabbis and Disciples Pt. 2: The Jewish Educational System, we’ll answer all those questions and more.

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